I’d build community first with value-added posts that are aligned with the values and pain points of my dream customers.

Then develop a robust content plan that serves that community… consistently.

The next step requires some planning but I’d follow a content schedule that shows off my expertise but also serves the needs of my followers *HINT: Publish a piece of content (long or short form) every single day

Community magnets are crucial, so I’d make sure to create those as hooks.

Next up on the list,  formulate a funnel that would move my community from the public park of social media to the private space of my email list and other owned assets.

Now let’s get into the tougher parts. I’d build and automate a content  funnel and..

Develop a  sales /revenue funnel that got my audience to convert from being followers to customers.  

Of course this would require an irresistible offer and an accompanying lead page.  

Monetizing On The Back Of Social Media

All of these are the seeds you plant along the way, bit by bit. It’s like a puzzle really. You  just have to make sure the parts fit together well.

As the months go by, if you do it right, you’ll see something magical start to happen.

It’s called monetization and you don’t need thousands of followers to begin to start making money using social media as a starting point.  Note: Make sure this is not the end point.

Now you have to be super intentional about your monetization strategy. This is not “Genie In A Bottle” Stuff.

I’ll give a couple of examples.

 You can “productivize” your services. A good way to see how this works is to have a look at my the Content Parlour on the home page of my website. 

 What I sell in the Content Parlour stems directly from the services I offer to small business owners.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE $$$ WHEN YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS

You can also go the affiliate route.  Have conversations and share links about products, services etc that you naturally love and use.

This goes back to the community magnets I was talking about earlier. 

Affiliate links work well  because they provide so many benefits to all parties at the same time.

That’s the kind of business to love the most — the kind where no one loses and everyone gets a piece of the pie.

1) You win because money hits your account just because you recommended something you love

2) The buyer wins because you saved them heaps of time providing them with a solution 

3) The partner company wins because they got something sold

And if you build a funnel that leads from information > to awareness > to sales, you can monetize consistently without doing much work (except at the top where you have to put in endless time building your automation systems).

 Now, thread carefully. 

You don’t want  to overkill your social media content with sales talk.

Maintain a balance between your value-added posts and profit-driven content to earn and keep a high level of trust with your potential customers.

Your followers don’t want to feel sold to all the time on social media. 

RELATED: How To Build A Content System