I’ve always dabbled in social media, but lately it’s become a bit of an obsession!
I wanted to know if I was hire-able with the skill set that I have grown being freelance for these past 8 years so I did a casual search. What I found was that web designers/web masters were definitely in demand and I was definitely hire-able. (Great!) And I could earn a substantial living if I chose to go back to the 9-5+ work life. What surprised me however, was the dramatic spike in hire-ability and salary for web masters who could manage social media!
The average yearly salary for your standard web designer/master was between 45K – 65K. Not too shabby. But the average pay for a social media manager – just doing that alone – was closer to 95K! WOW! I was shocked. My immediate reaction was, “I can do that!” And began my obsession.
I work with my clients on their social media, but I am from the era where search engine optimization was the essential ingredient to a successful website and many of those principles are still applicable today. I tend to focus there. However I have definitely taken note of the increase in social media outlets and popularity.
I am aware of the most common outlets like FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest etc… and I know the aggregate companies that try to tie them all together so you don’t spend your life posting to all these multiple sites each day like Hootsuite and Linksalpha. It’s the strategy and process that intrigue me more. How to gain traction and launch a new product is where it’s at. Leading edge stuff!
So, at the moment I am happily devouring a few books on the topic.
First up, The Social Media Bible, by Lon Safko. “Tactics, tools & strategies for business success.”
This is an exhaustive volume filled with sections on everything having to do with online marketing. It has a lot of information on having a website and blog, email campaigns, as well as SEO. The last sections have directly to do with social media and tying everything together. I am hoping for an updated take on SEO and online marketing. (I would choose a different title based on the contents, however. I do not believe this is a Social Media Bible. It is an online marketing handbook. In order for this to be a Social Media Bible it would have to include specifics on each platform and also strategies surrounding each one.)
Next in line, 30 Days to Social Media Success, by Gail Z. Martin. “The 30 Day results guide to making the most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn, and Facebook.”
Everything you wished The Social Media Bible would have been! Information on each platform (8 specific outlets are touched on), information on strategy, and also information on finding your angle and voice. This is a very slim book – only 198 pages. It is PACKED with information. This woman doesn’t write a single wasted word. And there are EXERCISES in each of the 30 chapters which clearly lives up to it’s title. I am very excited to put these things into action.
Last but not least, and my personal favorite of the three, Trust Me I’m Lying, by Ryan Holiday. “Confessions of a Media Manipulator.”
Holiday is a master at showing you how it’s done while maintaining eye contact with the reader through cynically humorous anecdotes to illustrate his main points. He is amazing. I love reading it just for the crazy stories alone. But the strategy inside is shocking, mind blowing, and laid out for you step by (super simple) step; How to feed the, “media monster,” and watch the tidal wave. All the while he creates interest and intrigue because it can easily get away from you and spin out of control once you know how to work the system. The amount of strategy and knowledge in this one book might be all you really need to launch a product or spin up some serious fame/infamy!
I am not even close to finished with these books. Hopefully I will get to reviewing each one once I have read and attempted to implement the strategies each one lays out.
What social media platforms do you like? Hootsuite or LinksAlpha? SEO vs Social Media – leave me a note below.