HOW TO MONETIZE SOCIAL MEDIA
INTRODUCTION
Definition Social
media are computer-mediated tools that allow people, companies
and other organizations to create, share, or exchange information, career
interests, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual
communities and networks.
The popularity of social media websites has exploded in recent years. Part of their appeal is that they enable you to connect quickly with people virtually anywhere, receive updates, photos and more all through a user-friendly interface.
While people use these free sites to chat with friends, and families to stay in touch with relatives web-savvy entrepreneurs are also using them to generate revenue.
In some ways, social media is the ultimate sales channel: minimal to no cost, with many opportunities to turn a profit. Social media sites are a natural choice for monetization, due to their high visibility and constant traffic.
The popularity of social media websites has exploded in recent years. Part of their appeal is that they enable you to connect quickly with people virtually anywhere, receive updates, photos and more all through a user-friendly interface.
While people use these free sites to chat with friends, and families to stay in touch with relatives web-savvy entrepreneurs are also using them to generate revenue.
In some ways, social media is the ultimate sales channel: minimal to no cost, with many opportunities to turn a profit. Social media sites are a natural choice for monetization, due to their high visibility and constant traffic.
The
monetization process
in order to be successful in your social media monetization process, you need to have a huge following. In fact, your audience is the core in this whole process. This thus means that you must build an authentic audience and maintain them.
Tips on how to build and maintain a following on social media platforms
in order to be successful in your social media monetization process, you need to have a huge following. In fact, your audience is the core in this whole process. This thus means that you must build an authentic audience and maintain them.
Tips on how to build and maintain a following on social media platforms
i)
Tailor you content to the platform. The
term social media is an umbrella under which many platforms fall. Developing
only one social strategy won’t be effective since each platform have different
means of operating. E.g. facebook are more visual mediums and twitter is an
instantaneous outlet. Tailor the message to the medium, so that the audience
can really engage with the updates.
ii)
Interact with the followers you get
and anyone who mentions you- most social networks are all about making
connections and having conversations. Just as you should be regularly sharing
your articles, you should also be monitoring your presence and interacting with
your fans and followers. This’ll help you build a loyal, engaging following.
iii)
Avoid activity bursts by using a
scheduling tool- avoid overwhelming your audience with lots of updates as it
tends to be boring and nagging, which might make them unfollow or unsubscribe
from your updates.
iv)
Give away special offers or
promotions- you can leverage contests and promotions to engage the audience,
convert passive followers into active followers and build a larger following.
These strategies will also increase traffic to your channel
v)
Design various channels- . You also need to make your presence
in as many platforms as possible- circular momentum. This will ensure that you
get as many channels to communicate with your target audience as possible. By
doing that you increase the likelihood that they'll connect with your brand in
any number of ways.
Here
are some ways via which you can monetize your social media platform.
Banner advertising
many companies have used display advertising (banners) and contextual advertising such as Google Ad Words. There are plugins to help; you make money from clicks. There are also ad networks that you can join that pool several advertisers. You get a code and banner ads rotate from their network. Once you post the banner with the link to their products on your page or account, you get paid per click.
You could also consider combining rich media advertising with display advertising. Video advertising and promotional material can be quickly and easily streamed to your social community. Google adwords
Banner advertising
many companies have used display advertising (banners) and contextual advertising such as Google Ad Words. There are plugins to help; you make money from clicks. There are also ad networks that you can join that pool several advertisers. You get a code and banner ads rotate from their network. Once you post the banner with the link to their products on your page or account, you get paid per click.
You could also consider combining rich media advertising with display advertising. Video advertising and promotional material can be quickly and easily streamed to your social community. Google adwords
Step 1.
Step 2
Step 3
Set
up virtual shop
Facebook fan pages are another way to generate sales and enthusiasm especially if you have loyal fans that follow your updates. You can list your products on your Facebook page for fans to easily share with their own friends and essentially allow your product offerings to go viral.
Facebook fan pages are another way to generate sales and enthusiasm especially if you have loyal fans that follow your updates. You can list your products on your Facebook page for fans to easily share with their own friends and essentially allow your product offerings to go viral.
Offer Deals
if you own a business, deals are a great way to monetize your social media presence and drive customers into sales. Put up decent discounts on your Facebook page or any other platform. Make sure that you clearly state that it’s a discount and it only lasts a certain time period to gain more traffic and sales.
if you own a business, deals are a great way to monetize your social media presence and drive customers into sales. Put up decent discounts on your Facebook page or any other platform. Make sure that you clearly state that it’s a discount and it only lasts a certain time period to gain more traffic and sales.
Affiliated
marketing
this is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s or company’s products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make. The good thing about affiliate marketing is that you don’t have to invest the time and effort to create a product to sell. You can begin selling something as an affiliate as soon as you have a platform to sell it on. And the platform in this case is the social media.
this is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s or company’s products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make. The good thing about affiliate marketing is that you don’t have to invest the time and effort to create a product to sell. You can begin selling something as an affiliate as soon as you have a platform to sell it on. And the platform in this case is the social media.
Engage
Your Audience
Social media is about having a dialogue. When you have a dialogue with a customer or prospect, the communication is much more fulfilling and much more profitable. Your Page isn't just for updating your followers – it's a great place to have conversations, hear their opinion and ask questions. When your customers have questions or comments, it's the perfect time to show that you're listening. Talk with customers on your Page as if you're talking to them in person – in a friendly way that makes them feel welcome. Industry experts stress that you have to know your community and know how to take part within that community and through that create great content or conversation that will raise awareness and increase sales.
Social media is about having a dialogue. When you have a dialogue with a customer or prospect, the communication is much more fulfilling and much more profitable. Your Page isn't just for updating your followers – it's a great place to have conversations, hear their opinion and ask questions. When your customers have questions or comments, it's the perfect time to show that you're listening. Talk with customers on your Page as if you're talking to them in person – in a friendly way that makes them feel welcome. Industry experts stress that you have to know your community and know how to take part within that community and through that create great content or conversation that will raise awareness and increase sales.
Paid
Posts
Paid posts or paid reviews can generate some cash flow. You get to write an article about a product or company which portrays the subject in a positive light and you get paid for it.
The truth is that blogs are a powerful branding tool.
Paid posts or paid reviews can generate some cash flow. You get to write an article about a product or company which portrays the subject in a positive light and you get paid for it.
The truth is that blogs are a powerful branding tool.
Build
It & Sell It (aka Flipping)
You can build up a blog, build an audience, then turn around and sell the thing. Some people actually buy blogs which are dead or are vastly underutilized by their owners. They’ll then put their marketing skills to work, build the SEO backlinks, and build the readership. Then, they turn around and sell it at a profit.
You can build up a blog, build an audience, then turn around and sell the thing. Some people actually buy blogs which are dead or are vastly underutilized by their owners. They’ll then put their marketing skills to work, build the SEO backlinks, and build the readership. Then, they turn around and sell it at a profit.
Build
an Email List
this is a list of all people who have subscribed to your articles if it is a blog. You keep the list of their email addresses and sell the list to entrepreneurs who then can send promotional emails to the addresses
this is a list of all people who have subscribed to your articles if it is a blog. You keep the list of their email addresses and sell the list to entrepreneurs who then can send promotional emails to the addresses
Cost Per Mile Advertising
Cost per Mile advertising (CPM) is similar to Paid Per Click advertising, however instead of getting paid on a per-click basis, you get paid according to the number of impressions (page views) you get on the advert you’ve placed on your blog or any other social media account. This is worked out for every 1000 impressions that it has. For example, a website that gets 200 page views per month that displays a K shs 100 CPM ad will generate you KShs 20,000 a month.
Cost per Mile advertising (CPM) is similar to Paid Per Click advertising, however instead of getting paid on a per-click basis, you get paid according to the number of impressions (page views) you get on the advert you’ve placed on your blog or any other social media account. This is worked out for every 1000 impressions that it has. For example, a website that gets 200 page views per month that displays a K shs 100 CPM ad will generate you KShs 20,000 a month.
Advertising Space
You can monetize your blog by selling
space on your website for advertisers to display a banner. This can be a very
lucrative method as it allows you to cut out the middleman and charge what you
want for other people to advertise on your site.
Generally these deals are worked out so that you display an ad for a fixed
amount of time for an agreed fee with the advertiser.
RSS
Adverts
RSS stands for rich site summary. It is a format foe delivering regularly changing web content. Many weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS feed to whoever wants it. It removes the need for your subscribers to manually check the website for updates instead their browser constantly monitors the site and notifies user of new content. If you have an RSS feed you can start placing ads on it.
Many RSS feed generators now offer this service, so that it is even easier to implement them. Some offer CPM or PPC advertising, however you could opt to do it yourself and offer to sell sponsored messages or banners directly on your feed.
You can find adverts for your RSS feed on BidVertiser that you can implement to monetize your feed, though Google FeedBurner lets you do this as well.
RSS stands for rich site summary. It is a format foe delivering regularly changing web content. Many weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS feed to whoever wants it. It removes the need for your subscribers to manually check the website for updates instead their browser constantly monitors the site and notifies user of new content. If you have an RSS feed you can start placing ads on it.
Many RSS feed generators now offer this service, so that it is even easier to implement them. Some offer CPM or PPC advertising, however you could opt to do it yourself and offer to sell sponsored messages or banners directly on your feed.
You can find adverts for your RSS feed on BidVertiser that you can implement to monetize your feed, though Google FeedBurner lets you do this as well.
Be a Consultant
you could monetize your
social media space by offering consultancy in your specific niche. You need to
have a large number of followers and have built a good reputation in your field
for this method to earn you money. You can offer one-on-one consulting to people
over the phone or via Skype for a fixed rate. People would be willing to pay a
premium for this service as they are paying for your undivided attention for an
hour or more.
For example, you have built a reputation as being an expert in health and fitness
and have a successful social media space about methods of weight-loss and
healthy eating. You could offer a consultancy service, where for one hour a day
people can arrange to talk to you via web-cam to plan out a personal tailored
exercise regime. You might charge per hour and the individual might not need to
contact you until the next month.
CONCLUSION
Social media have created a lot of business opportunities that if utilized well can create revenue to a large number of people. For instance we should make sure that we create connection first and ensure that we have mass audience in our channel. The social media industry have moved to being a small business platform to a large business platform that is utilized by large companies.
Social media have created a lot of business opportunities that if utilized well can create revenue to a large number of people. For instance we should make sure that we create connection first and ensure that we have mass audience in our channel. The social media industry have moved to being a small business platform to a large business platform that is utilized by large companies.
This is great. Now i know how to make money from the social media.
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