Small business owners tend to view
social media negatively and with great scepticism. Small business owners usually believe that social medias purpose is simply non-commercial. They are both right and wrong in their thinking. What
social media allows for, in fact, is simply another way to communicate. With calling, texting, paging, emailing, chatting, or simply speaking with someone,
social media was originally thought of as a place to connect, and stay connected. It is no surprise that companies continue to parlay this means of communication as ways of advertising with social media. However, social media is evolving quite rapidly. Facebook fan pages are slowly becoming like full blown websites. There are also opt-in forms, newsletter subscriptions, and the Facebook marketplace which keeps increasing in popularity.
What makes social media special is the very reason that internet users are spending so much time with it; SHARING. Internet users are sharing stories, videos, pictures, illustrations, songs, information, games, , and other diverse media. In fact, the internet itself was originally designed for just that SHARING information. The internet originally began as a tool to access and share information. It then became very popular for e-commerce, and searching for information in a more self-serving and commercially controlled fashion. Interestingly enough, the internet is going back to its roots in that people are demanding to access information that is most relevant, reliable, and peer-approved!
Because people now, more than ever, connect and interact using social media it has become a very influential tool for relationship-building and can highly affect brand-image. Also, affiliate marketing campaigns are beginning to turn Facebook fan pages into goldmines. There is one guideline that must be employed when using social media; when using social media for promotional purposes remember that it is a tool for communication, building credibility, awareness, and loyalty do not attempt to use it for strictly promotional use. In fact, make a point to make only a bare minimum of your posts commercial, or get ready to lose your target audiences faith, and long-term investment in your company.
Now to get back to the original question: How can I make money using social media?
The truth is that you should not try to make money using social media. Instead, try to use social media to build relationships, help people, provide information, add value, share knowledge, donate freebies, contests, rewards, free samples, and give as much as you can to your social community. The more you put out into the social universe, the more you will be rewarded. The same principles apply for your YouTube channel, Facebook Fan Page or Twitter Account.
