What is Social Media, and Why Does It Matter to You?
I’ve been reading David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR since being given a copy at the National Speakers Association convention last week. I haven’t finished it yet, but I can tell by what I’ve read so far that this is absolutely a must-read if you’re trying to figure out how — or if — social media fits into managing and growing your speaking business. (And if you are, you’re not alone.)
Social media is a subject of confusion and frustration for many speakers. Does it matter to me? Can it really help my business? How do I plug in with social media and not waste my time?
A good place to start is getting a good understanding of exactly what social media is — then you can figure out what to do with it. David answers this question — “What is social media, anyway?” — very effectively in his book:
Social media provides the way people share ideas, content, thoughts and relationships online. Social media differ from so-called ‘mainstream media’ in that anyone can create, comment on, and add to social media content. Social media can take the form of text, audio, video, images, and communities.
And here’s the bottom line:
The best way to think about social media is not in terms of the different technologies and tools but, rather, how those technologies and tools allow you to communicate directly with your buyers in places they are congregating right now.
After reading those statements, is there any question that social media needs to be a part of your business strategy? As someone whose livelihood is based on creating and delivering content, one could argue that no one can make better use of social media than professional speakers, authors and thought leaders. To use David’s words, sharing “ideas, content, thoughts and relationships” is what your business is all about. Right?
As perfect as the fit is between speakers and social media, though, don’t think you can just jump right in and get results. You must know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you are guaranteed to waste your time at best, and hurt your reputation at worst.
That’s why you need to read a book like David’s — which, as Mark Levy writes on the back cover, “…teaches readers how to launch a thought leadership campaign by using the far-reaching, long-lasting tools of social media…” — or check out a comprehensive social media coaching program like Social Profit Formula offered by Don Crowther.
Don is one of the “Big Kahunas” when it comes to social media and his Social Profit formula program may be the perfect solution if you’ve been wondering how to make money (whether by booking dates, selling product, getting coaching clients, or otherwise) with social media, or if you’ve tried social media and given up in frustration because it didn’t work for your business.
Social Profit Formula is only open for a limited time, so check out this preview video (and you’ll also be able to access some high-content free training videos) and see if it may be right for you — watch to the end and you’ll see that Don is the real deal… Otherwise he couldn’t offer a never-before-seen $5,000 GUARANTEE that you will make money from his coaching!
NOTE: I’ve been so impressed by what I’ve seen from Don that I set up an affiliate relationship to help him promote Social Profit Formula. That means he’ll pay me a commission if you enroll in his training/coaching program through one of the links in this blog post, and that means I can “give back” something special to you: If you enroll in Social Profit Formula and stay in for 31 days or more, I’ll get on the phone with you for a free one-on-one, one-hour coaching call to help you adapt Don’s social media training to your speaking business — You know your speaking business, Don knows social media, I know the speaking/meetings industry… together we can do something special!
The final word: Social media does matter to your speaking business and it’s worth your investment of time, energy and money to figure out how to do it right and get results — whether that’s buying David’s book, enrolling in Don’s coaching program, hiring an independent social media consultant, or something else.
