Leverage Social Media to Reach Target Markets at Scale

Social media has become a key catalyst for business growth, enabling firms to reach target markets at scale, build brand awareness organically, and interact directly with customers. Platforms also help cut marketing costs and accelerate purchasing decisions through reviews and interactive content. Irene Yandi Sandrika, a woman from Gresik, East Java, leveraged social media to run a fruit soup business, serving more than 4,000 cups a day and generating billions in revenue. Before selling fruit soup, she sold packed coffee from a mobile cart at traffic lights. ‘By using Facebook to promote my fruit soup, I gradually became more known and decided to open a roadside stall with a modest setup,’ she said on Thursday (21 May 2026). In addition to fruit soup, Irene offers fruit salads and frozen food; between stall day-to-day activities, she creates daily sales content and uploads it to social media. ‘Around 2018 I started posting about my daily selling routine on TikTok and Instagram; I didn’t expect my content to go viral, but people got to know me because I posted every activity,’ she explained. The posts drew more customers and her business grew rapidly. However, the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 hit her business. She remained persistent and continued to grow her fruit soup business as well as a Padang nasi warung. By 2023 her business had expanded further, employing more than 90 people. Today her fruit soup is not only sold in Gresik, Surabaya and Sidoarjo, but across several areas of Java. ‘Many people became my jastip sop buah, helping spread my distribution,’ she added. She notes that with revenue of up to Rp1 billion per month, she has not forgotten those who helped her along the way, especially her parents. Irene told the younger generation not to be discouraged when starting a business, noting that one can begin with small and medium enterprises. ‘What matters is hard work and making smart use of technology as a key to success,’ she added.