In today’s increasingly digital world, social media marketing is a cost-effective tool for building brand awareness and driving business growth for entrepreneurs.
This is why we at Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) organized a Social Media Marketing and Branding workshop for participants of our 2024-25 Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs on 19 October. What made the workshop special is that it was a collaboration with Maryam Khan, Founder of Foodie Explorerz and former mentee of our Mentorship Program.
With over four years of experience in content creation, branding, and social media management, Maryam gives back to the FSI community of ethnically diverse entrepreneurs by generously sharing her knowledge and expertise with entrepreneurs who are at a similar stage as she was just a year ago.
Led by Maryam, the workshop was an interactive session where entrepreneurs engaged in activities and discussions to evaluate the current status of their social media pages and explore ways to improve them.
Said Yulia Kim, Founder and Floral Designer of Blooms.Forever Atelier: “Most flower shops in Hong Kong have professional photos, but I don’t have the budget for that. There are certain rules for content in the flower market that I want to follow, but I also want to stand out. My goal isn’t just to gain followers. I think it’s more important to connect with the audience and build my brand identity.”
Challenges, Consistency, and Self-care
To help the entrepreneurs solidify their learning from the workshop, Maryam prepared a booklet for the entrepreneurs to complete during the day. She began by explaining digital content marketing strategies for both Instagram and LinkedIn, using examples from her own social media accounts. She also provided feedback on mentees’ pages throughout the session, highlighting their strengths and offering specific advice.
Maryam also shared her personal experience with social media in her career. “In the beginning, I struggled with taking good pictures and producing reels when they first appeared. Recently, it’s been about staying consistent. Your content gets better with time, but you need to post continuously to figure out what really works,” she said.
Even as she emphasized that consistency is the most important aspect of growing a brand’s account, she agreed that content creation sometimes feels like never-ending work. “It’s important to take breaks in between. I usually post three times a week, but there have been times when I posted less. Recently, I would post twice a week, but I don’t beat myself up for that because I know I need to look after my health,” she said. “You need to balance it out even while pushing yourself.”
Growth Strategies for Social Media
In the next session, Maryam talked about growth strategies, helping fellow entrepreneurs understand how they can increase engagement, respond and interact with the audience, and evaluate the success and reach of their content on social media. The entrepreneurs then spent time revisiting their own social media posts, analyzing the content that performed well and those that did not.
Philbert Chin, an ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter coach paired with the mentee, Karl Baboucarr Sarr, reflected on a challenge he faced before: “We tried posting on different days of the week and at various times of the day. We tracked every post for six months. When we thought we got the pattern right, it changed again. We really have to constantly adapt to the changes.”
Creating Real Content
The entrepreneurs’ desire to enhance their social media presence was so great that their enthusiasm carried through the short break. When they returned, Maryam led a hands-on activity where mentees planned actual content to publish on their social media channels.
With inspiring examples from Maryam’s Instagram and LinkedIn pages, the mentees chose one platform to focus on for the day, with the mentors and coaches assisting them in brainstorming content and selecting photos and videos for the post. Here, Vivian Seo, FSI’s Executive Director, reminded the entrepreneurs that the FSI team and interns are always ready to offer advice, tips, and direct support for any content they need to create to drive visibility and growth for their businesses or organizations.
A Successful Workshop on Marketing and Branding
The collaborative workshop was a success, with 100% of the participating entrepreneurs agreeing the training was well-organized and delivered effectively, while 91% said that they gained useful and relevant information.
Amongst those who expressed gratitude was Yulia: “Thank you, Maryam, for the presentation and highlighting how important it is to post regularly. It was insightful to see how she uses different social platforms and it has motivated me to finally build my LinkedIn account!”
Another mentee, Tinotenda Muzariri, Business Development and Marketing Manager of Africa Center Hong Kong, commented, “Content creation is an art, it can be very beneficial for a positive trajectory in terms of growth and branding.”
The next cohort session will take place on 23 November, which will serve as a mid-point check-in for the mentees, mentors, and coaches. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for tips and guides on digital marketing, visit our Entrepreneur’s Toolkit to find out how you can increase your Instagram engagement, list your business on Google, set up Google Ads, and more. Stay tuned for more updates on the entrepreneurs’ six-month journey!
Our Partners
Big thanks to the Hive Poho for being our program’s venue partner, and the Impact Lab Course interns for their support in event coordination and coverage.
Our annual Mentorship Program wouldn’t have been possible for the third year running without the long-time support of The Hong Kong Club Foundation, ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter, Africa Center Hong Kong, and FundFluent. If you would like to support our work in empowering under-resourced entrepreneurs, email us at cbs@shared-impact.com!
*This blog post was drafted by Hyewon Lee, Communications and Marketing intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Fall 2024 semester of the Impact Lab Course.
