Team Alpha 375

The Money Magic of Social Media
Your Best Opportunity to Make It Big Since the Birth of the Web
By Nick Usborne

What's with all the hype surrounding social media?

(And, maybe the real question is... Can you make money because of all this hype?)

It's as if every company on the planet has become distracted from the serious business of marketing. It seems as if they are wasting their valuable time and resources on messing about with Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Well, it's easy to think that way. But if that's really your view of social media, you are missing out on the biggest opportunity to come your way for at least 10 years.

The truth about social media is that it is not a fad, or an add-on.

Social media is not an add-on to the Web, it is fast BECOMING the Web.

Facebook already has over 845 million users. Hundreds of millions of people are also using Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other social media services.

Why is social media so popular? Because it gives people what they want.

Facebook never advertised. Nobody needed to be sold on Facebook, because it gives people what they want. It enables people to share, chat, play, and even buy.

It's the same with Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. They didn't have to buy ads on TV to "sell" people. They are popular because they address an absolute need in the marketplace.

Do companies "get" social media?

For a while, they didn't. They just saw social media as a distraction. They went through that denial phase, just wishing it would go away.

Then they came to accept that social media was here to stay, and many companies began to dip their toes in the water.

Finally, a very small percentage of companies "got it," immersed themselves in social media, and found that it offered a huge Return On Investment.

Those companies in the toe-dipping phase had better wake up to reality fast, because they are losing out big-time. A truth in marketing is that you need to go where your audience is. And online, the place where people spend the most time is not on traditional websites, but on social media sites.

That's where the audience is.

That's where the money is.

That's where the opportunity lies.

When an industry is seriously disrupted, opportunities are plentiful.

It's hard to make serious inroads as an entrepreneur when an industry is in a state of stability. Everyone is happy with things just the way they are.

Online right now, nothing is stable. The whole Web has been disrupted by the growth of social media. In other words, now is the ideal time to step in, hang up your shingle, and make your mark.

What are the opportunities, exactly?

There are several.

1. Set up as a specialist in social media.
   The most recent figures tell us that over 50% of companies that are using social media outsource the work. They just don't have the skills or resources in-house. As for the kind of work you could offer, there are plenty of choices.
   You can be a social media strategist... helping clients with their big-picture thinking and planning. Or you can help them implement, by setting up and managing their social networks. Or you can focus on social media writing, on their networks and on their websites.
   Once you immerse yourself in the skills of social media marketing, you will see there are plenty of opportunities out there. Choose the opportunity that's right for you, and grab your share of the market.
2. Add social media to your existing line-up of services.
   If you already have a freelance or consulting business, you can simply add social media expertise to your existing line-up of freelance services. In fact, deep knowledge of social media will soon be a must-have skill for anyone involved in marketing online.
3. Use social media to grow your own business.
   Even if you don't want to offer professional services as a social media expert, you can use what you learn as a means to promote and expand your own business. For many top-earning entrepreneurs and freelancers, social media is becoming a key driver in attracting new and better clients.
4. Use social media to grow your own Money-Making Websites.
   Perhaps you already have one or more revenue-generating websites of your own. If so, a deep knowledge of social media is becoming essential in the fight for eyeballs and wallets.
   In my case, I use social media extensively to attract new visitors to my website about coffee, CoffeeDetective.com.

This is why I wrote my program on social media.

Maybe I have an eye for shifts and opportunities online.

Back in 1998, I was among the first to see that companies were making the mistake of writing their websites in the same way as they wrote their print materials. Right away, I saw that was a mistake, and I built a business on helping them "get it" and start writing in a way that better matched the Web. In 2001, I wrote the first book on the topic, Net Words.

Well, I'm having another one of those moments. Not many people see that the Web and social media are fast becoming one and the same thing.

And, as with any other fast-moving change, I know that most companies will be slow to get it. They'll dip a toe, then up to their ankles, and by the time they are into it up to their knees, they will have missed the boat.

Think about that. Social media is fast BECOMING the Web, and most companies just don't get it yet. What does that sound like to you?

To me, it sounds like opportunity.