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The book Social Media for the Rest Of Us is a simple guide to using the four main social media platforms, and how to build your social media profile.
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Had I remained in my corporate job in London which I decided to leave some 13 years ago, I am not certain that I would have much of an idea about social media and all the marketing opportunities that it opens up to the small business entrepreneur.
“Social Media For The Rest Of Us: Simple Steps To Understanding & Optimizing Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+”, by Deb Scott, is a brief guide to using the four main social media platforms for the purpose of promoting oneself.
For the younger generation of tech savvy entrepreneurs the book “Social Media for the Rest Of Us” will appear to be over simplistic. However, there are many from my generation who have moved on in life to become motivational speakers, authors, and even decided to start a small business for themselves. For them, this book is an ideal starting point to learn the basics of how they, too, can make use of social media to promote themselves or their business.
The author starts by explaining the benefits of having a presence on each of the four major platforms. The “simple steps” needed to be taken to achieve this are provided together with the links to enable the reader to create an account on each platform.
“People can’t find you if you are not there …”.
Deb Scott (@GreenSkyDeb) continues by explaining that it is through the use of social media that customers and followers can be obtained, and how this can serve you well in the promotion of a service or product. She advises that studies have shown that when attempting to engage your customers and followers that the best way is through the use of images and pictures.
That’s the Way to Do It
By the use of screenshots from her own profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+, the author details the type of information that should be placed on a profile, and underlines the importance of completing all the information fields available.
Having dealt with the process of creating a profile on each platform, she goes on to give some brief hints and tips on the best ways to use each of them.
For example, in “Social Media for the Rest Of Us” she recommends that when using Twitter that you regularly check your home page to see who has retweeted any of your tweets, and that you should make sure to thank them for doing this.
Additionally, she advises that the creation of lists and getting on Twitter lists will help to enhance your credibility and visibility.
The difference between a personal Facebook page and a Facebook business page is also explained, as is the advantage of having a LinkedIn page, the author stating that she finds that when using LinkedIn:
“You are in a venue where people are already in the mind-set to do business with you”.
How Well Are You Connecting?
To measure your success and amount of followers on these social media platforms, the author explains in “Social Media for the Rest Of Us” how she does this through the use of Klout and Kred. Kred is preferred by Scott as it appears to be more transparent and only measures your impact on Facebook and Twitter.
Klout, on the other hand, measures your impact on Instagram and Foursquare as well, which the author admits to not using.
Twitter Terminology
The final section is a seven-page glossary of keywords and terms used on the Twitter platform.
If you have never used Twitter before and want to start using it you may find this section of some use.
However, as the author states herself and references for the benefit of the reader, there are many books and blogs available to get a more in depth knowledge on how to get the most from Twitter.
Conclusion
Should you have yet to discover the various social media platforms and all that they can offer you in the marketing of yourself or your business, or if you are simply overwhelmed by all that is available, then this should serve as a useful starting point.
About the author
Deb Scott is an author, motivational speaker, a certified professional coach and a Top Rated & Award Winning Radio Host. Through the use of her 20 years of sales background, she specializes in working with individuals, businesses, and in the corporate environment. To read more about the author you can visit her website.
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