Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Mentor
Dr. Lily Xiao
Abstract
Social media has completely changed what it means to start a business. It was once just a place for personal interactions but is currently a powerful channel that drives the growth of multiple industries (Felicia, 2022). Now, anyone can use their personal creativity and hobbies to build a brand, especially on apps like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. The purpose of this study is to identify the common themes behind social media entrepreneurs’ success, which allows individuals to become both creators and business owners in the digital age. Furthermore, a key part of writing this paper is personal; it connects to my own motivation to create a fashion brand and use social media to promote it. To understand how it’s done, I studied the success stories of three online entrepreneurs. By studying successful social media entrepreneurs and influencers, I aim to understand the patterns, strategies, and mindsets that helped them build their brands.
Through the study, I found that successful online entrepreneurs tend to excel in a few key areas: being authentic, which means showing their true personality in a planned and thoughtful way; listening to their followers by letting the audience help decide what products to make or what to do next; and fitting the platform by creating content perfectly designed for apps like Instagram and TikTok. The profound discovery is that lasting success doesn’t come from one lucky viral post. It comes from creating a reliable system of talking with your audience, staying consistent and learning from them. The most important skills are no longer just getting to create a craft from scratch or developing an innovation. Rather, the key skills are building a loyal online community and understanding how social media apps work.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Citation Information
Ishiari, Lys, "Integrating Social Media and Entrepreneurship: A Study of Social Media, Creativity, Strategy, and Innovation in Building a Successful Brand Presence in the Digital Era" (2026). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 80.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/undergrad-honors/80
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Analytics Commons, E-Commerce Commons, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons, Fashion Business Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Marketing Commons, Sales and Merchandising Commons, Technology and Innovation Commons