Make money from your social-media efforts

David Jacobson has figured out something that has eluded many an entrepreneur: how to generate revenue through Twitter. Mr. Jacobson is the founder of TrivWorks, a 3-year-old Brooklyn-based company that runs corporate team-building sessions and live events built around trivia contests.

Since 2011, he has organized six public trivia competitions and several corporate ones with collaborator Pat Kiernan, the longtime news anchor on NY1 who is a pop-culture buff and former game-show host. They promote the events in a Twitter stream filled with fun trivia questions, as well as on the TrivWorks blog.

“This has resulted in direct revenue,” said Mr. Jacobson. Thanks mainly to his firm's success in spreading the word on Twitter, it will typically sell out the public events, which seat 275 to 300 people, at $26 a head. That adds up to between $7,150 and $7,800 a night in gross revenue.

According to a survey by the Social Media Examiner, an online social-media marketing magazine, nearly 38% of marketers spend one to five hours a week on social media, and another 26% spend six to 10 hours. If you have only a fuzzy idea of how much your efforts on these sites are helping you, you may be misdirecting them. As Mr. Jacobson's experiences show, it's very possible to go a step beyond raising brand awareness and pull in real paying customers by using social-media sites. Here are some tips from entrepreneurs and experts on how to boost your bottom line by using a well-focused approach.

Choose the right venues.

Paying attention to the social sites your target customers respond to—and directing your efforts there—can go a long way. Mastering YouTube, for instance, has paid off for Dan Nainan, a Manhattan comedian who has performed at venues such as the Democratic National Convention, a TED conference and three presidential inaugural events. He has posted videos of his live performances on the site. “If people like it, it will be forwarded to other people,” he said.

As a result of these efforts, Mr. Nainan, a former senior engineer at Intel who began his comedy career three years ago, said he now gets a “a fair chunk” of his domestic work and all of his international bookings from people who've seen those videos. His one-man business now generates about $200,000 a year in revenue as a result. (It doesn't hurt that he's been able to post a YouTube video of President Obama saying, “Dan is just hilarious.”)

Deliver the right message.

To attract corporate clients through his blog, Mr. Jacobson writes posts that target their interests and concerns. For instance, one candid entry, “5 Companies Trivia Team Building Activities Won't Work For,” discusses the types of clients who might not benefit from hiring TrivWorks (among them, “the incredibly small company” that won't be able to muster decent-size teams for trivia competitions). One client who booked Mr. Jacobson's services after reading the post “saw this as a level of transparency and honesty,” he said. “Showing that this is not just a faceless company resonated.”

Try deals and contests.

Although many professional-services firms are shy about offering coupons on social-media sites, they can help attract clients. Ask Nickie E. Robinson, a former compliance officer on Wall Street who is president of Good Girl PR, a three-person firm in Manhattan. She has attracted projects and retainer work for the company, founded in 2008, by sending out a deal on Twitter advertising $100 off on press releases. “If you do a nice marketing campaign around a coupon and send it out consistently, people are going to pick it up,” she said. Ms. Robinson estimates that, from Twitter, she gets about 25% of her more than $250,000 a year in revenue, which comes from a combination of publicity work, event planning and compliance consulting for banks.

Retailers often need to be creative to grab consumers' attention. For Cory N. Schifter, vice president of family-run Casale Jewelers on Staten Island, promotion on Facebook of the store's Race for the Ring, where couples complete challenges to compete for a $10,000 engagement ring, has been a powerful way to draw in customers—though it's costly. “People come in and say, 'I read your post on Facebook,' ” said Mr. Schifter. (His business is now getting some additional publicity because it is a winner in a contest run by American Express Open called Big Break for Small Business, where the prizes include $25,000 and professional marketing advice.)

Use search-engine optimization.

Many companies include keywords designed to pull in customers on their websites but neglect to weave them into their social-media presence—missing an additional opportunity to be found in customers' searches. “As you're tweeting or writing blogs, make sure to use your keywords,” advised Ms. Robinson. For instance, a publicist hoping to attract new clients through Twitter might use the hashtag #PR.

Stay alert to business development opportunities.

LinkedIn isn't the only site where you may find potential business partners, so pay attention to the notes and comments that arrive via other social-media sites. Mr. Kiernan, for instance, reached out to Mr. Jacobson at TrivWorks by a direct message on Twitter after seeing Mr. Jacobson's stream. “If it were not for Twitter, he would not have known about me,” said Mr. Jacobson.

Use search-engine optimization.

Many companies include keywords designed to pull in customers on their websites but neglect to weave them into their social-media presence—missing an additional opportunity to be found in customers’ searches. “As you’re tweeting or writing blogs, make sure to use your keywords,” advised Ms. Robinson. For instance, a publicist hoping to attract new clients through Twitter might use the hashtag #PR.

By Elaine Pofeldt, Article Source: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120907/SMALLBIZ/120909939

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