Social Media Step by Step
9/15/2011
By Gina Goodman
Eric Yaverbaum does not consider himself an expert in social media. As the best-selling author of two Public Relations for Dummies books, founder of Ericho Communications and with 30 years of experience in the public relations industry, it is safe to say he is an expert in PR. As the co-founder of four new social media magazines set to launch in October, he says it is difficult to consider anyone an “expert” in social media, yet.
“I’ve personally been fascinated with [social media] for about five years now,” said Yaverbaum. “The question always comes to me, ‘Why are you an expert in social media?’ I’m not. I’ve had some great successes in social media, but it doesn’t make me an expert. I’m still trying to figure it out because I know it’s going to be different tomorrow.”
Yaverbaum, along with co-founders Larry Genkin and Jay Abraham, decided to join forces with some of the most social-savvy minds in the industry to create four magazines geared toward the most popular social media platforms. FB & Business, Tweeting & Business, LI & Business and The Big G & Business are all set to launch in October, and will each offer original content and targeted stories detailing the steps other companies have taken in successfully utilizing social media.
“Every one of our magazines are big in each of their respective categories — in Facebook, on Twitter, in LinkedIn and on Google,” Yaverbaum said. “The point is supposed to be that if you want to figure how to put a ‘Like’ button on your webpage, we can give you an A-B-C of how to do it. It’s going to be step one-two and- three of how you do this, by people who have done it.”
While the magazines are not the very first publications to cover social media practices, they do have the largest circulation — at 13.8 million subscribers they surpass The Wall Street Journal, even before the official launch. By partnering with professional communities EFactor.com and the Pro2Pro Network— and with the additional deal to offer the publications at Office Depots around the nation — the venture is off to a good start.
“I have the largest circulating magazines in the country, which just goes to show you what is possible with social media,” Yaverbaum said. “Office Depot wants to give this kind of information to every one of their small businesses and every one of their entrepreneurs who shops there, because they’re all interested in social media. Social media is a great equalizer.”
The publications will be available in eight mediums, including on the iPhone, iPad, Android, tablet, BlackBerry and Kindle, as well as digitally and in print. New print versions will come out monthly while the multimedia editions will have five new stories a day.
The first edition of FB & Business is set to feature a look into the ways President Obama utilized social media during his campaign and how he still uses it today to get his message out to the masses. Yaverbaum hopes pieces like these will resonate with readers and allow them to put the same practices to use.
“It’s seriously interesting to look at what that guy did, how he got people to vote for him, how he raised money and how he used the Internet,” he said. “That’s what we want these magazines to be. I don’t care which page you flip to, I want you to read a story and think ‘I can do that’ and see how successful it was for them.”
Making the Pitch
Yaverbaum looks for story ideas and pitches that can offer anyone, from large corporations to entrepreneurs, advice on how to use social media to create a successful business. The ongoing learning curve is part of the experience, he said.
“Everybody needs to learn in real time, and real time is pretty darn rapid now,” he said. “Being central to these four different publications means every day, on any given issue, I have exposure and I personally get an education from people who are doing things successfully. We’re looking for the absolute best case studies and lessons that we can find out there, period.”
Contact Information
GSG WorldMedia
1301 Skippack Pike Ste 7A # 218
Blue Bell, PA 19422
www.socialmediamags.com
610-879-8828