Social Media Marketing 101: Tips From Pros

Welcome back to our 40 different ways to make money online series. Losing my former laptop with numerous resources that I didn't backup set me back greatly. But I will ensure I finish this series before credicoins network takes off.

My short term (2 years) financial goal and plan to raise a billion naira is already fully underway, and I have not had time and motivation to resume/repeat researching for this series (again because though my laptop was stolen in January, my last backup was in November). Registering a new company, raising a competent and passionate team of young Nigerians, and researching for the business plan, while not neglecting this blog has not been easy. And of course, my income has not been as regular as before. My only consolation is that we have a more responsive government now in Nigeria.

I digressed. While many may think that this sub-series on making money online from internet marketing isn't for them, there is really no way to make good money, real cool cash online without becoming a marketer. Yes, you must be willing to market something to make substantially worthwhile money online. Even if you don't start out as a products/services marketer, selling yourself as a brand is a form of marketing and that is what social media marketing is all about.


So, I will be delving into how you can start to make money leveraging on the precious time- thousands of hours- you spend online checking friends' status updates, liking and sharing comments on facebook, posting pictures on instagram, following celebrity tweets, and other activities you carry out on your favorite social media sites.

You will make money mostly through one of the following: marketing your own product, or branding your image, or pitching another's product (affiliate marketing) to followers, or managing a government official/governmental agency/a company or celebrity's social media page/account for them.

Social media started online with the defunct website Sixdegrees.com which ran from 1997-2001. They got the patents on most of what you see online today as 'web of contacts' model of social media, as against the 'social-circles' network model which was used by sites such Friendster. SixDegrees was created by Andrew Weinreich, and was the first site to combine personal profiles, instant messaging, friend lists and the ability to search other members’ friend lists.

I will take on Social Media Marketing with focus on the following social media giants, though you know that there are now more social media sites than one can count:

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Youtube
4. Google plus
5. Pinterest
6. LinkedIn/Slideshare
7. Instagram
8. Vine
9. Digg/Stumbleupon/Reddit/Tumblr
10. Snapchat/Whatsapp/BBM (Social apps)

I will also say something about Email marketing under this subsection.
Note that most authorities put blogging under social media (marketing) too.

Some of the best companies/sites I found online (and there are thousands of them) involved directly with social media marketing include Buffer, Moz, Qwaya, Social Media Examiner, Ignite Social media, Social Fresh, Copyblogger, etc. And some of the names you will come across include Sean Clark, Geoff Livingston, Phil Gerbyshak, Rachel Karl, Michael Stelzner, Jeff Bullas, Ching Ya, Tom Martin, Brent Csutoras, Mark Schaefer, Carla Dewing, Ari Herzog, and many others. 

General tips include:

•  Moz.com's beginner guide to social media defines it simply as a way for people to communicate and interact online.
• Know the #1 reason why people join social media sites. Jeff Hurt identifies three:
  
  1. Identity: The number one reason why people join a social network is to showcase who they are. We join a social network because it says something about us. In other words, social networking really is all about me, me, me!
  2. Connections: The number two reason why people join social networking sites is to connect with others. We want to build relationships.
  3. Community: People join social networking sites to belong to a community.
  
  It’s important to remember that people join social networking sites to showcase their identity first, build relationships second and then belong to the community. They don’t join a social networking site because of community. We often get that backwards.
• Choose your platforms making them relevant to what you/your business is about. For example, a baker, cake, beads or craft maker will find Instagram, Pinterst and Youtube more relevant than Linkedin. While a consultant who freelances will find Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin more relevant.
• Schedule your posts, especially if you have a very busy schedule, using tools such as Bufferapp, Hootsuite, etc.
• Check out the popular Fast Company infographic 'The 36 rulesof social media' that sums up most of these (and you can check others at this link, and this one too:

  

  Credit: Ampliffy

See you soon.