Introduction: Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein
Social Media Myths BUSTED: The Small Business Guide To Online Revenue
How effective are you at using social media to achieve your goals? I have been using social media for a long time, but I wanted to learn how to use it more effectively, so for the past few months, I have been reading books on the topic, and that’s why I decided to read Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein.
I was curious about social media myths and how Rubinstein debunks them. She deals with a lot of myths such as the fear of overexposure by using social media, the platforms are for young people, not enough time for social media, social networking is irrelevant, there are too many platforms to keep up with, and having thousands of likes/followers/connections equate to sales.
I like the way she sets things up, by first presenting the myth, debunking it, then demonstrating how to bust through it. The book, Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein contains a lot of information that I already know, but there are some important nuggets of wisdom I gleaned from reading it. Even if you are skilled at social media, I am sure you will learn new information because no one is skilled at using all the major social networks.
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It’s interesting how things have a way of coming together. Let me tell you what I mean by that. In March, while I was in New York, I dusted off and updated the reader profiles that I created years ago and had never used.
Last week, I participated in the webinar, “5 Ways to Start Getting REAL Traffic from Pinterest (Even if You've Never Used Pinterest Before!” And with nearly all webinars, there was an offer at the end, and I purchased the course on Pinterest.
I just started the course, but the reader profiles I created were handy, and enabled me to create a Pinterest marketing plan. Some of the same questions I answered from the Pinterest course, Laura Rubinstein asks in Social Media Myths BUSTED, so I seem to be on the right track. I have never taken the time to create a plan. At the end of each key section in Social Media Myths BUSTED, Rubinstein asks some questions that focus your thinking around using social media more effectively.
What is Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein About?
In the book, you are not only hearing the voice of the author, but also those of many social media experts, who give you top notch advice. And it’s not only the positive, they talk about some of the mistakes they made and the price they had to pay, so you know what not to do. Social Media Myths BUSTED covers Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. For me, the most beneficial sections were on LinkedIn and Instagram, and I have to do a lot of work to use them more effectively. I also liked the Action Guides for using each social media platform. So for instance, here are a few of the great action steps to take:
“Twitter Action Guide
- Identify keywords for finding people on Twitter.
- Do your research and follow the people you most want to reach.
- Engage them strategically by retweeting a couple of their posts weekly, and reply to their interesting tweets.
Facebook Action Guide
- Create an ideal strategic alliance profile and have handy and refer to it when accepting Facebook friend requests and requesting new Facebook friends.” Comment from Avil: This is something that I have never thought of doing.
Google Plus Action Guide
- Start a Hangout TV Show and create a circle of people who want to be invited.
LinkedIn Action Guide for Small Business
- Set up showcase pages with keyword URLs and offer updates to your audience.
- Get in Group digests by contributing to discussions in the early morning.”
Tips from Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein
- Do not rely too heavily on social media as your main platform because others own the platforms and can take them down at any time with all your information. Also build a following on a platform that you own such as your website where you own the domain. Additionally, engage with your connections via email and your website and blog.
- Connect with your tribe and the people you want to be a part of your tribe on social media.
- Create lists/circles such as industry leaders, prospective clients, and market influencers. Find ways to be helpful to your connections.
- Contrary to what some may say, social media is not free. It may be free to use the platforms, but you have to invest the time to use them properly, and it may cost you money if you outsource the function. Set a budget of time and money to invest in social media.
- Having a social media presence helps you to build credibility, so make time for it and include in your marketing strategy.
- Invest in as little or as much social media as you want to. It should fit into your lifestyle and not the other way around.
- Develop a social media strategy that addresses your most important networks.
- If your offers and posts are not getting good response, perhaps they are not perceived as valuable, and you have to tweak them. Or it could be another reason, and you still have to tweak them.
- Do not use images found through a Google image search because you may be infringing on someone’s copyright. If you hire someone to create images for you, make sure that they sign the rights over to you. You can use tools like Canva, PicMonkey and Quozio to create your own beautiful images.
- Be judicious about what you post on social media. If you wouldn’t want to see it on a billboard, or want your grandmother to see it, then don’t post it.
An important point in the book is to put the social back into social networking, and what that means is that it is about building relationships, and not selling your products and services. Make sure you take people through a process of engaging with you. I have already talked about information I found useful in Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein, but I also appreciated the advice on how to decide which connection requests to accept on LinkedIn. Books like this one are needed because there is no way that we can keep current on all the social networks – we need a little help from our friends.
Final Thoughts: Social Media Myths BUSTED by Laura Rubinstein
At the end of the book, if you have carefully thought about the questions that Laura Rubinstein raises, you will be able to develop a social media strategy that is relevant for you. Having read this book, I am more confident about how to be strategic about connecting and friending. If you want to step up your social media activities, give Social Media Myths BUSTED: The Small Business Guide To Online Revenue
by Laura Rubinstein a read.
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