Introduction to How to Make Money with Social Media
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
IF YOU'RE LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA. YOU MAY BE ASKING WHETHER SOCIAL MEDIA IS OVERHYPED, WHETHER SOMETHING ELSE WILL REPLACE IT, OR WHETHER IT'S JUST A BIG, FAT WASTE OF TIME.
But the important questions is, "Can I make money with social media?" After all, what's the point of setting up, launching, and running a social media campaign if it's not going to make money?
Well, we've got some good news. You can make money with social media—if you follow the right plan. The problem is that many people think that simply updating a Facebook page or uploading a YouTube video is a social media campaign.
It's not.
A well-run social media campaign is a program that's well thought out, well executed, and well managed. It's set up with a clear set of objectives, strategies, and tactics. Most importantly, it's designed to ultimately accomplish one thing: to make money. Everything else is just a stop along the way.
Maybe you're thinking, "I'm just a small business owner, and all of my time goes into running my business. How can I possibly make the time to learn and use social media?" We can tell you from our own experience that social media doesn't have to be time-consuming, especially if you set it up properly from the start.
Or you might be thinking, "I run a huge division of a large global organization. I just need to hire the right people to do my social media." But you can't delegate social media until you understand social media. And we're here to help you do exactly that.
You might even be thinking, "I work in a business-to-business company where it's all about requests for proposals (RFPs) and low price. Social media doesn't have a place in our company." We're here to tell you that social media isn't just for business-to-consumer companies. In fact, social media can be an extremely effective sales tool for business-to-business companies, too.
If you picked up this book looking for an encyclopedia of marketing theory, this might not be the book for you. Or if you picked it up looking for a simple introduction to the basics of social media, it might not be the book for you, either. But if you're looking for a book that will give you a practical roadmap designed to help you set up, launch, and run a money-making social media campaign, this could be just what you're looking for.
A Few Tips on Using This Book
We've divided the book into several segments that explore concepts such as the social media landscape, how to get set up for success, different social media platforms, how to integrate social media into your marketing plan, and how to measure social media. All these sections are designed to give you a practical roadmap to help you get going with a successful social media campaign.
We've also included a variety of callout boxes to highlight key ideas in the book. Sometimes you'll see boxes that read "The Big Idea"; other times you'll see boxes titled "Did You Know?" And still other times you'll see boxes titled "Money-Making Tip." They're all designed to help frame some of the issues in that section of the book.
You'll also see a number of references to additional content located on the 60 Second Marketer Web site. The 60 Second Marketer is an information station for the marketing community sponsored by BKV Digital and Direct Response. We've included several additional pages on the Web site that expand on topics covered in the book. Interested in learning more about a certain topic? Stop by the links mentioned in the book, such as www.60SecondMarketer.com/SeventhDeadlySin or www.60SecondMarketer.com/SocialPromotions.
Finally, you'll notice that we end each chapter with key concepts and action steps that are designed to recap the chapter and review the specific steps to take based on those concepts. The key concepts and action steps aren't there just for grins—use them!
Okay, we've covered a lot of ground here. You're probably eager to get going.
You ready? We are, too. Just turn the page and we'll get started.