Media

Vince Cabansag

Building Visibility: Entrepreneurial Narratives on Social Media

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Vince Cabansag is a marketing and communications professional based in Toronto. They are passionate about creating impactful stories. Vince has worked in diverse industry sectors, namely: education, science, research, fashion, finance, and entrepreneurship. Currently, they are working as a communications assistant at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), assisting with events, programming and initiatives to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Canada. Vince is an artist, a journalist, and they do runway photography in their free time.

This study examines how women entrepreneurs in Canada use social media to construct and communicate their entrepreneurial identities, build visibility and promote their businesses. Using a qualitative approach grounded in post-structuralist rhetorical discourse analysis, the research analyzes Instagram content from Michelle Romanow and Manjit Minhas to identify patterns in language, visuals and persuasive strategies.

The findings show that entrepreneurial communication is shaped by dominant narratives of growth, empowerment, resilience and mentorship. Romanow’s content emphasizes expertise, financial literacy and strategic decision-making, while Minhas’ content highlights relatability, personal experience and community engagement. Together, these narratives construct entrepreneurship as both a professional pursuit and an aspirational identity tied to personal values and lifestyle. The analysis also identifies a key gap. Despite strong messaging around success and empowerment, there is limited discussion of systemic barriers such as funding inequities and structural challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. This suggests that social media discourse reinforces individual achievement while minimizing broader structural realities.

Overall, the study shows that social media is not only a promotional tool but also a discursive space where entrepreneurial identities, authority and definitions of success are constructed.

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