Kevin O’Leary | Social Networking | BNN

You gotta love Kevin O’Leary. You can catch him during the week on Dragon’s Den or on BNN’s Squeeze Play. Kevin’s delivery can be a little  harsh (did I say a little) at times but nobody asks the tough  questions like Kevin does. You never have to guess what side of the fence he is on. He is the Don Cherry of business television.

On Sunday, Kevin and his co-host, Amanda Lang interviewed Matthew Fraser, co-author of a new book Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom:How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World. After several minutes discussing the many positive aspects of social networking, Kevin asked the big question, ” How do I make money?”

No matter how you slice it, that is what it is all about, making money. Mr. Fraser went on to point out that major pharmaceutical companies are using the open source method of developing the next generation of products faster and cheaper through social networking, thereby beating their competitors to market with new products the public needs. Still, social networking is a long term project. You need to have the commitment and financial backing to bring you project to fruition.

On the social media side, results can be seen much more quickly. If you are a relatively new company, using Facebook and Twitter to get your message out quickly can make you money and build your brand at the same time.  One example is a new company that gave away a purse per hour. Spreading the word through blogs, social media sites and user generated content they were able to build their brand and develop a customer base early in the game. They also managed build links to their site in the process; more links, better rankings – better rankings, more exposure on the internet.

So when you are looking for a social media plan, make sure to ask Kevin’s question, “How will this make me money?”  Now if we could only get him to dress like Don Cherry……