Cancel culture 101: Navigating the business of social media

Social media can be a lucrative business, but one wrong move and it could all come crumbling down, faster than you can click ‘post’.

Cancel culture has gained global prevalence among social media users, who’ve seemingly managed to weaponise the ‘unfollow’ button beyond the boundaries of the world wide web. 

The modern-day concept entails the instant withdrawal of support by online audiences, usually as a reaction to conduct or opinions commonly frowned-upon.

While this may sound petty, the ripple effect can be detrimental to the bottom line, hitting ‘cancelled’ parties hard on the pocket. 

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Customer’s not always right

South African TikToker, Jelly Babie recently discovered how volatile the online community can be amid a social media storm.

This came after a viral video of the influencer yelling at a grocery store cashier sparked outrage on social media – costing her thousands of followers within hours.  

While, the social media sensation has since revisited the grocery store to right her wrongs and make peace with the cashier – but undoubtedly, the incident is a learning curve for many. 

Public figures move differently

Weighing-in, brand architect, Sylvester Chauke said public figures have a great responsibility when it comes to their use of social media platforms.

“Public figures have to navigate [their way] much more intricately because of the voice and space they have in society.”

“If you have a public image, you have a responsibility to protect your business by ensuring that how you show up is also reflective of the values most people in our world espouse to.”

With the rise of social media came a variety of new careers and business opportunities in the online space, giving techno-savvy users a chance to secure the bag.

Notably, major brands have leveraged the power of social media through paid partnerships with highly-followed influencers. 

While this may be a win-win for both parties, the contractual relationship hinges greatly on strict T’s and C’s, so one wrong move and it could all end overnight.

Echoing, Chauke said brands were usually quick to pull out when the conduct of a public figure or influencer appears to be misaligned with their values.

“Currently, many people in South Africa are not being booked because of what they said online, and also what they’re perceived to have contributed to in terms of negative publicity that brands do not want to have.”

Global pandemic?

However, cancel culture isn’t unique to Mzansi, even global stars like Kanye West and Tiger Woods have experienced the bitter taste of instant disapproval.

Kanye West’s seemingly anti-semitic views on social media costed him a multi-million dollar deal with Adidas.  The instant rug-pull came after the wrapper took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his seemingly ‘problematic’ views on the Jewish community.

“We’ve seen it locally as well. Nonhle Thema had a big fallout, and that resulted in her losing her Dark and Lovely deal.”

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‘Not permanent’

While instant cancellation might seem like the end of the world, Chauke doesn’t believe it’s permanent.

“I don’t think cancel culture is a permanent state of mind.

“We’ve seen people who’ve said things, and people who’ve misrepresented their audiences come back improved and more mature than they were at a particular time – especially among our young audiences.”

However, he noted that the unfortunate part about cancel culture is the associated assumption that people cannot learn from their mistakes.

“We’re all learning, and sometimes the experience that you go through within that moment of a social media storm allows for you to reflect and to learn from it.”

The trick to bouncing back? Chauke said acknowledging where you went wrong was a great starting point.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being able to say – ‘I really do regret saying that,’ or I shouldn’t have said it that way,” he concluded.

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