I know I'm not alone when I express my amazement over the fact that several of the online social network sites have valuations in the billions of dollars. "Billions" with a big capital B. Online sites where you share information about yourself, your family, your friends, your work, your background... Billions. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at all though. Looking at the trend of marketing and communication, it's pretty easy to understand that one-to-one networking is the foundation of the current trend and Social Media, in its current form is the most fundamental path. I've seen Gary Vaynerchuk speak at a few events and he is very outspoken. The one thing he talks about that resounds with me is the idea that Social Media is critical to business. There is no way around it. Whether your business is in it or not, it is in it. You don't have to put up a Facebook page or set up a Twitter account in order to be part of Social Media; but if you don't do it, someone else will! Your area of concern should be who is controlling what is said about you in the market. Again, you can choose to be in it or not; either way, you are! I love Social Media. I love the whole idea of it, especially for business. Never before in history could a business have such complete control over its brand. Social Media can help a company create and manage a brand online in addition to influence others about the perception of their brand. Besides Social Media for Business, there's personal Social Media to consider. Let's say you run a small personal business, like in direct sales or network marketing; you can use Social Media to build leads and generate sales. How? It's simple. The whole mantra of direct sales is working with a "warm market." With Social Media you have access to multitudes of people who willingly tell you what they like, what they dislike and what their challenges are. You can join groups of people with common interests that could number in the thousands and you can spark emotion, debate, and warm and fuzzy feelings all with a simple quote, photo or video. This book is specifically all about how Social Media impacts businesses. The "Symphony" is simply an elegant way of describing the concerted connection between all of the popular social sites that help you manage your brand and achieve your marketing goals efficiently and very cost-effectively. We will go into detail on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Blogs here; mainly because those are the most travelled and will give you most impact, especially when you are just starting out.
About the Author: Mike Magolnick is a recognized marketing and sales executive with twenty years of proven leadership. Mike is a social media pioneer and is among the most connected people in the world with a personal reach of more than twenty-five million people including business and political leaders, celebrities, authors and more. The blog at Magolnick.com hosts an average of 10,000 people every day. Mike has personally worked with dozens of companies on strategic planning for social infrastructure and growth. He also speaks at conferences and business events as well as hosting group calls and webinars training thousands of people on Social Media and advanced marketing strategies. Mike has been a recognized expert in the Internet industry having been interviewed and/or appearing in print in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, American Venture Magazine, Direct Selling News, Entrepreneur Magazine, eCommerce Times, The American Business Journal and several other national publications. Mike is also a member of American Mensa.