On Social Media: What Every Business Owner, Creator, and Person With a Message Needs to Know

Summary: 
In this episode of Wisdom for Wannabes, Jackie Morreale explores the multifaceted world of social media, discussing its potential for connection and growth, as well as the challenges it presents. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity and community engagement, while also addressing the evolving landscape of influence, including the rise of AI influencers. Jackie encourages listeners to embrace social media as a critical tool for personal and professional growth, urging them to overcome their fears and be visible in their endeavors.
 
Takeaways:

• Social media can expand ideas and foster community.
• Authenticity attracts connection and engagement.
• Fear is the real barrier to using social media.
• Social media is a critical tool for visibility.
• A 1% increase in social media activity can boost revenue.
• Raw, imperfect content often outperforms polished content.
• AI influencers are emerging and changing the landscape.
• Building a community requires consistent and authentic engagement.
• Every platform has its unique audience and energy.
• Embrace the journey of growth and learning through social media.

 
Quotes:

• "I love social media."
• "AI influencers actually already exist."
• "Be visible, be human, be fearless."

 
Chapters:
00:00 The Love for Social Media
02:21 The Shadows of Social Media
04:41 The Power of Authenticity and AI in Social Media

Transcript:

Jackie Morreale (00:00): Hi there and welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes. My name is Jackie Morreale and I am the host.
 
Today I am here to talk about a very important subject.

​You ready for this? Social media.
 
I love social media. I know it's not a fashionable thing to say. We're supposed to talk about burnout and algorithms and doom scrolling. And yes, all of that does exist. But still, I love social media, because Social Media took ideas that once lived only in my head and expanded them into the world. Took thoughts I had that I wasn't sure anyone needed to know and showed me that there is a community, thousands of people, in fact, who want to seek wisdom alongside of me.
 
And thank you so much to my community, the one that we are building together, seeking wise words in business, beauty and betterment. I am eternally grateful for you. Thank you for tuning in.
 
One reel, if it lands right, can even reach thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people. It's crazy and I'm just scratching the surface.

That kind of reach, that kind of exponential growth, I have never experienced anything like it and I am grateful. Thank you.
 
Now let's be honest, social media does have its shadows. Anxiety, comparison, fear of missing out, insecurity, not so nice comments mixed in with the nice ones, and as your message grows, so does the resistance. And with the likes also come the dislikes.
 
But here's the thing that I'm learning in real time.

You have to be willing to get better.
 
And that's just not social media. That's with anything.
 
I'm speaking as someone who has used social media as a professional tool for over a decade for brands, businesses, public figures. But now I'm also speaking about it as an entrepreneur, a creator, as a human with a message to just something to sell, but something to say. Social media is no longer optional. It's a critical tool.
 
And if you're not using it, you're invisible. I recently heard this line and it hit me so hard.

The real barrier is not technology.
 
It's fear.

​Fear of putting yourself out there.

​Fear of putting your face out there.

Fear of putting your thoughts out there.

Fear of being judged for how you look, for how you sound, for how you think. 

Thank you, Wisdom for Wannabes, lovely community, for your support and for helping me get past that fear. I've posted interviews, videos, spoken essays...

Imperfect, evolving, very human work.
 
I still don't know exactly where this is all going, but I do know this:

• It's building thought leadership.
• It's building wisdom. We're learning!
• It's building connection, and possibility.
• I'm excited to see where it goes...

 
Every day is new, every day is interesting.

Thank you, social media. That's why I love you.
 
Each platform is also its own unique world. YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, different audiences, different languages, different energy, and I'm just mentioning a few. Podcasts add another layer entirely.
 
Yes, it is this tangled web that we weave, but it's also a super powerful one. Opportunities appear that simply would not exist otherwise.
 
Here's where my gratitude deepens. In the last six months, I had the opportunity to study social media academically, really study it, research it, question it. Learn from data, not just intuition. And what I learned is something that every business owner needs to know.
 
For every 1 % increase in your social media activity, there is a measurable increase in your revenue. That impact has grown over time.
 
So Social Media doesn't just feel good or look good for your brand. It actually moves your bottom line, which makes it low-hanging fruit. Be creative, be consistent. be moderately frequent. There is a sweet spot where engagement thrives.
 
Research shows (Colliander, & Marder, 2018) that raw, imperfect phone photos on Instagram actually outperform the polished, expensive looking studio shot photos.

Why? Because people see themselves in realness.
 
Authenticity attracts connection. And that's why we're here after all.
 
Then there's a future: AI. Did you know that it's already here on social media?

AI influencers exist and they hold surprising amounts of trust, especially when it comes to investments made in tools and technology (Belanche, Casaló, & Flavián, 2024). Humans still lead the emotional decision making when it comes to influencers, but influence itself is evolving and fast.
 
It's fascinating, it's a little bit scary.
 
So I will end where I began.
 
I love social media. Without it, I wouldn't be connected to people around the world, people like you, people who've been following Wisdom for Wannabes.

Thank you so much for building this community with me. As someone who spent over 20 years in marketing, I am endlessly grateful to witness and test how this amazing medium of social media works. It changes daily, and it's moving at the speed of light.
 
And if you are a business owner, a creator, or someone with a message to share, use it.

• Increase your effort by 1%.
• Be visible.
• Be human.
• Be fearless.
• Be willing to grow.

So now you know. Have a wonderful day.

---

Further Reading on Social Media

Balabanis, J., & Chatzopoulou, E. (2025). The value of social media content to browsing and searching consumers of luxury products on Instagram. European Journal of Marketing, 59(5), 1227–1246.
https://www.emerald.com/ejm/article/59/5/1227/1246548/The-value-of-social-media-content-to-browsing-and

Belanche, D., Casaló, L. V., & Flavián, M. (2024). Human versus virtual influences, a comparative study. Journal of Business Research, 173, Article 114493.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296323008524

Bentley, K., Rajagopal, P., & Kulow, K. (2024). Unfaithful brands: How brand attachment can lead to negative responses to influencer marketing campaigns. Journal of Consumer Psychology. Advance online publication.
https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcpy.1432

Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez‑Sánchez, S. (2020). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 117, 510–519.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318303187

Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez‑Sánchez, S. (2021). Be creative, my friend! Engaging users on Instagram by promoting positive emotions. Journal of Business Research, 130, 416–425.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320301089 

Chung, J. (J.), Ding, Y., & Kalra, A. (2023). I really know you: How influencers can increase audience engagement by referencing their close social ties. Journal of Consumer Research, 50(4), 683–703.
https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/50/4/683/7077143

Colliander, J., & Marder, B. (2018). ‘Snap happy’ brands: Increasing publicity effectiveness through a snapshot aesthetic when marketing a brand on Instagram. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 34–43.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.015

De Vries, L., Gensler, S., & Leeflang, P. S. H. (2017). Effects of traditional advertising and social messages on brand‑building metrics and customer acquisition. Journal of Marketing, 81(5), 1–15.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jm.15.0178

Gambetti, R. C., & Kozinets, R. V. (2024). From killer bunnies to talking cupcakes: Theorizing the diverse universe of virtual influencers. European Journal of Marketing, 58(13), 205–251.
https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ccd7cce0-07e5-3e6a-8540-b798260e988a/

Hwang, K., & Zhang, Q. (2018). Influence of parasocial relationship between digital celebrities and their followers on followers’ purchase and electronic word‑of‑mouth intentions, and persuasion knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 155–173.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563218302553

Kapoor, K., Tamilmani, K., Rana, N. P., Patil, P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Nerur, S. (2017). Advances in social media research: Past, present and future. Information Systems Frontiers, 20, 531–558.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10796-017-9810-y

Kim, H.J. & Chan-Olmsted, S. (2022). Influencer Marketing and Social Commerce: Exploring the Role of Influencer Communities in Predicting Usage Intent. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 22(3), 249-268.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15252019.2022.2111243

Kübler, R., Colicev, A., Pauwels, K., & Gándara, M. (2020). Social media’s impact on the consumer mindset: when to use which sentiment extraction tool? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 50, 136–155.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094996819300933

Lee, J. K., & Junqué de Fortuny, E. (2021). Influencer‑Generated Reference Groups. Journal of Consumer Research, 49(1), 25–45.
https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/49/1/25/6380146

Leung, F. F., Gu, F. F., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Online influencer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(2), 226–251.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-021-00829-4

Leung, F. F., Gu, F.F., Li, Y., Zhang, J.Z., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Influencer marketing effectiveness. Journal of Marketing, 86(4), 94–114.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00222429221102889

Liadeli, G., Sotgiu, F., & Verlegh, P. W. J. (2023). A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Brands’ Owned Social Media on Social Media Engagement and Sales. Journal of Marketing, 87(3), 406–429.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00222429221123250

Meire, M., Hewett, K., Ballings, M., Kumar, V., & Van den Poel, D. (2019). The role of marketer‑generated content in customer engagement marketing. Journal of Marketing, 83(6), 21–42.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022242919873903 

Möller-Herm, J., Gottschalk, S. A., & Mafael, A. (2025). To post or not to post: How minority opinion and posting frequency impact online review posting. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 42(1), 235-254.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811624000661

Nistor, C., Selove, M., & Villas-Boas, J.M. (2024). Influencer Authenticity: To Grow or to Monetize. Management Science, 71(6), 5251-5267.
https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03479

Pan, Y., Blut, M., Ghiassaleh, A., Lee, J., & Palmatier, R. W. (2024). Influencer marketing effectiveness: A meta‑analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 53, 52–78.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-024-01052-7

Pham, T. R., Septianto, F., Mathmann, F., Jin, H. S., & Higgins, E. T. (2023). How construal–regulatory mode fit increases social media sharing. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 33(4), 668–683.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcpy.1375

Reich, B. J., & Pittman, M. (2020). An appeal to intimacy: Consumer response to platform-appeal fit on social media. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 30(4), 660–670.
https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcpy.1154

Shrum, L. J. (2024). The metaverse and consumer psychology: Introduction to Research Dialogue. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 34(1), 140–141.
https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcpy.1355

Stathopoulou, A., Kreuzer, M., & Frisenberg, C. (2024). Is social media B2B engagement driven by impression management strategies? Understanding corporate‑driven versus individual‑driven LinkedIn profiles. Industrial Marketing Management, 121, 55‑73.
​https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124001056

Tyrväinen, O., Karjaluoto, H., & Ukpabi, D. (2023). Understanding the role of social media content in brand loyalty: A meta-analysis of user‑generated content versus firm‑generated content. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 58(4), 400‑413.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10949968231157281

Unnava, V., & Aravindakshan, A. (2021). How does consumer engagement evolve when brands post across multiple social media? Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(5), 864–881.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-021-00785-z

Van Reijmersdal, E. A., Aguiar, T. D., & Van Noort, G. (2024). How is influencer follower size related to brand responses? Explaining influencer follower size success through cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Journal of Advertising Research, 64(4), 451‑464.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2501/JAR-2024-024

Wies, S., Bleier, A., & Edeling, A. (2023). Finding Goldilocks Influencers: How Follower Count Drives Social Media Engagement. Journal of Marketing, 87(3), 383–405.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00222429221125131

Yannopoulou, N., Chandrasapth, K., Bian, X., Jin, B., Gupta, S., & Liu, M. (2024). How disinformation affects sales: Examining the advertising campaign of a socially responsible brand. Journal of Business Research, 182, 114789.
​https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014829632400293
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