Book Research: Q2. What Works? What Principles Have Helped You Make Money Directly Or Indirectly With Social Media/Networking?

I'm in the process of writing a book for Pearson on best practices for monetizing social media as part of a company's holistic growth strategy. I'm interested in learning what works for your business. Thank-you sharing with me and many others the good things you have learned and accomplished.

Book Research Update:
- Q1. What Social Media/Networks Work Best For You? There are over 120 comments in response to this research question. Further additions are welcome.
- Q3. New - What Are Your Business Social Media/Networking Success?

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Please share your views for "What Principles Have Helped You Make Money Directly/Indirectly With Social Media/Networking?" in the Comments section below. Thanks for your contribution.

1) What have you specifically done that has lead to directly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

Examples:
    - publishing a blog twice a week and inviting my database to read it weekly by email
    - finding prospects on networks and building a relationship which converted to a sale
    - posting a sales message within my network offering my company's services
    - offering free teleseminars/webinars to generate interst in your business

2) What have you specifically done that has lead to indirectly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

Examples:
    - found new staff without a recruiter or ads
    - found new strategic business partners that have enabled growth or cost savings
    - learned valuable information that lead to making money or cost savings

3) What actions did you/your company take that made the biggest difference between being able to gain benefits from social media/networking versus taking action without any results?


About Your Participation - This book will be an exciting venture in capturing testimonials and case studies from every day businesses and their social media/marketing success on how to get the best out of social media for businesses.

Should your information fit the context of the book, I'll be in touch with you to gather more information. Before any information can be approved by my editor for inclusion in the book I'll require a signed and faxed release form returned within 48 hours.

Should you have a question I will endeavour to reply to your response within 4 days or sooner. Presently I am in contact with hundreds of professionals as I am researching and writing the book and may be delayed while keeping up with the volume of activity.

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Comments

[Richard Kastelein]

1) What have you specifically done that has lead to directly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

- finding prospects on networks and building a relationship which converted to startup positions.
- posting messages within my network offering my company's services and found clients.

2) What have you specifically done that has lead to indirectly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

- found new strategic business partners that enabled projects to be initiated.
- Joined 50 groups at Linkedin and learned valuable information that lead to making money and cost savings

[SEO Expert]

1) What have you specifically done that has lead to directly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

I use social media as a way to get my name out there and to show people that I can back up my claim to be an SEO Expert...I mainly use it as a way to get potential clients, almost all of my business has come from people finding me on one profile or another.

The first thing I do when registering on a new site is check to see if my company name is available as the user name, because often times that becomes your url. Example: http://twitter.com/onearmedseo
You'll want to do that for branding purposes and so competitors don't grab it and start doing underhanded things with it...that would be extremely low if they did, but there are dirt bags out there who will use those tactics!

2) What have you specifically done that has lead to indirectly making money from your social media/networking? Explain in as much detail as you wish to share.

I guess just helping people who post questions online. I don't mind helping and answering questions because it's done from a good place, I truly like helping people if they don't know something that I can answer easily without it being lost...sometimes answering by email or posting can get confusing...anyway, a lot of time other people will see the answers I've posted and pass my name along to someone who's looking for an SEO Expert.

3) What actions did you/your company take that made the biggest difference between being able to gain benefits from social media/networking versus taking action without any results?

Going into it with an open mind! Sometimes when people have to start doing something new to keep up with the times, they get frustrated and angry, and then start saying things like "This doesn't work" or "It's useless for my company" I've heard them both. There's a lot of people who feel that way about Twitter, there is a lot of junk on there, but also a lot of useful information being passed along.

[Adam Murphy]

1) What have you specifically done that has lead to directly making money from your social media/networking?
It really depends on which horizontal of social media we are looking at. Social sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo etc have little effect. They serve to develop a group of friends/Customers who are interested in the social side of business which include webinars, golf days etc. This type are the next managers/CEO's and they are a big investment for the future

Business social media has a direct result. From Linkedin you can find the correct contacts to call regarding projects and prospecting. This has led either directly or indirectly to business. You will also find that over time you gain more referrals which results in less complicated bidding processes.
Twitter and blogs focus on technology for us and a discount coupon will tend to yield the best results. However twitter will traditional only have small returns but it has a large and quick outreach.

What have you specifically done that has lead to indirectly making money from your social media/networking? The main benefit has to be recruitment and the fees saved from it. However you have to make sure that the time spent out weighs the saving. It is easy to look at the figure on the balance sheet rather than the cost of the time it takes.

What actions did you/your company take that made the biggest difference between being able to gain benefits from social media/networking versus taking action without any results?
You need to have total buy in. Things such as linkedin can work on an individual basis but benefit from all people using it. This is more so with Twitter which is all about coverage. If all of your staff re-tweet an announcement then you hit a much wider community than you would if the company followers read it.

[Ed Barton]

The social networking platforms allowed us to reconnect with epople who had moved companies in the last few years, leading in one case to a connection on a relatively large portfolio purchase.

It also allowed us to find some subject matter experts in allied fields that we could call on for assistance.

I have been approached by a number of potential customers and vendors as well as a result of our social media strategy, and in at least one instance, it led to us being used as a story in an industry journal.