Can you turn social capital into startup funding?

I was asked this question recently by Twitter user @funding_tech and it has

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

had me thinking quite a bit today. About the nature of social media, social markets, social capital…what is this exactly and can you turn it into startup funding?

I propose that social capital, defined as:

“the collective value of all “social networks” [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other [“norms of reciprocity”].
Source: Harvard Kennedy School

can be turned into startup funding.

Case in point: Facebook. Facebook is the powerhouse social media network across the globe, recently surpassing 1 billion users in a single day.

The recent earnings report highlights that there is value in a social network.

I’d expand this value a bit and posit that Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, etc., are social media banks unto themselves.

They are depositories of social capital and do pose significant value.

Stay tuned as I develop this out a bit further!

P.S. Please follow me on Twitter @rob_t_realtorco!

Are you on social media?

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photo from pixabay

If you aren’t, you’re leaving business on the table.

Do you have a Twitter account? A Facebook page? A Facebook group?

If not, let’s chat. I want to help you grow your business.

Why does social media matter? There are two very good reasons I think it matters:

  1. Over half of all web sharing is now occurring via Facebook.
  2. 50 million + small business use social media to connect with consumers.