Social Media for Business

Chapter 1 Social media — policy, plan and profitability

Key areas we will cover in chapter 1:

• ✓ using social media, and why it’s important
• ✓ explaining social influence
• ✓ growing your business with social media
• ✓ networking and making connections
• ✓ making effective social media and content plans
• ✓ monitoring your social media profitability.

If you think social media is for the young ones and that you are too old to even contemplate it — never mind finding the time or having the resources to do it — then you should read on.

Do I need social media?

I have heard people say, ‘I have no time for social media’, to which I respond, ‘You have no time for marketing your business and building relationships with prospects and customers?’

Think about that for a moment.

Yes it takes effort, but so does every aspect of running a successful business, and there are tools available to help you pull it all together. When we put your plan together later in this chapter, you will see how easy it is.

You may also think that your customers and prospects are not on social media, and so social media can’t help your business. Did you know that the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook is females over 55, or that LinkedIn’s most popular sector is ‘service’, with personal profiles for everyone from cheese-makers to the president of the United States? There is a group of people, however large or small, on these channels — or accounts — just waiting for you to put yourself or your brand on their radar. ...