Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks)

Not very likable

The blurb on the back of Dave Kerpen's "Likeable Social Media," advises that in order to be successful with word-of-mouth marketing on the web, you need to listen, deliver value, excitement and surprise, and most important engage your customers to get them to spread the word.

I'm not convinced it was worth spending $20 and the time it takes to read 223 pages to buy the book and find out how he expands on that advice. What I found most unsettling was his failure to take his own his advice in chapter 9 to "Be Honest and Transparent."

The strength of Kerpen's book is his use of illustrative examples. For each topic, he offers relevant examples of companies, institutions and individuals who either successfully or unsuccessfully used social media to further their goals. I found the majority of the examples relevant, informative and 'the lessons learned' applicable.

The book is set-up in an easy-to-read format, which allows the reader to jump to different subject areas, but still experience a consistent format of example, advice, example and action items.

According to Kerpen, a friend's recommendation is more powerful than any advertisement - with which I would agree. But I'm very skeptical of the premise of engineering likeability, and still maintaining trust and transparency. Kerpen didn't convince me, either in his book or by his example.

I choose this book, after cursorily scanning recommended titles, because of its high review ratings - except I never read the reviews. After I read the book and went back to the online reviews, I notice there was a disturbing pattern.

On the Barnes and Noble site, "Likeable Social Media" got an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Six of the nine "most helpful" reviews were all posted on the same date - June 20, 2011 - and most reference their professional relationship to the author (many of the reviewers appear to be subordinates.) While the reviewers "disclosed" their association, their 5-star ratings and glowing reports felt manipulative, designed only to skewed the overall rating score. I have to agree with the posting by "anonymous" on October 30, 2011: " Reviews written by co-workers is fraud. If this is the social media strategy of the author then it's not worth a dime!"

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Awesome MUST read for businesses thinking about jumping into social media

This book is an incredible resource for my company, and really helped me, as a CEO, create action items for exactly what to do next to get started in social media. I also don't love business books, and found this to be an easy to read guide for how to succeed in social.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Bogus

Reviews written by co-workers is fraud. If this is the social media strategy of the author then its not worth a dime!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely Worth It

In the spirit of being transparent, I must disclose that the author is my CEO. However, I will review the book honestly. This book is straight forward and gets the job done. The author clearly demonstrates how to utilize social media in a likeable and valuable way. Gone are the days of merely flaunting one's social life all over the web. In order to stand out from the other billions of users, one must create a presence online and "Likeable Social Media" tells you how.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Something for Everyone

Before I review, I must state that I worked very closely with Dave and I'm currently on the Likeable Media team HOWEVER...I can state that this book is real, and down to earth. How? My mom created a Facebook page on her own after reading it...I was amazed. With this being said, Likeable Social Media is good for the beginner who only wants to figure out how to set up a page, the social media enthusiast who just wants to here Dave's POV, and most importantly the brand manager/small business owner/entrepreneur who needs to figure out just HOW to do social and WHY it's important. Like I said, it's a little something for everyone no matter who you are.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read for Businesses or Anyone Interested in Social Media

I am presently working at Likeable Media as a Buzz Builder. Reading this book by the CEO (Dave Kerpen) not only prepared me for my endeavors with the company but it gave me knowledge I would not have been able to obtain from any other source. Not only did I learn a lot the book was an enjoyable read, I don't normally enjoy this genre of book either. I personally appreciated the case studies Dave included in the book, they show how real the company and Dave is. With so many people/brands/companies with an online presence Likeable Social Media can teach yours how to stand out. That being said, this book is great for a many audiences. The business owner/associate who is curious about the world of social media and how they can benefit from utilizing the various platforms available, a social media junkie of any age, and for those who have no idea what this whole facebook/twitter thing is about and is curious to see. To sum it all up, I recommend this book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

FINALLY- More than just vague cliches

Even though I work with the author and have heard these stories many times, I still managed to learn something. So many marketing and social media books try to give you advice in the form of vague statements like "have great content" or "be responsive" but the advice normally ends there. This book goes beyond the vague suggestions and cliche terms. Dave outlines exactly what counts as "great content" and exactly what steps are required for "being responsive." Each chapter tackles a necessary component to being successful in social media marketing and each chapter ends with action items that can put his words into a reality for your business. If you want to learn where to begin with using social media for your business, I would recommend this book. If you already think you know everything about social media marketing, I would still recommend this book because so many of the obvious necessities are the things we forget to do everyday. Overall, education & fun to read! Very #likeable!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Social Media can be LIKEABLE!

The world we have been living in shows that no one wants to be bothered with advertisements. People complain when YouTube makes them watch a 30 second clip before their video. No one wants to be interrupted when they are trying to relax. Social Media has become to new way people have learned to unwind. Dave Kerpen writes about finding a way to reach out to people without "interrupting" their time on the internet. The idea is to engage and listen to people out there. Dave does a great job of showing how this can be done with examples in his book. He also teaches everyone to see the social media world as a giant cocktail party and that can help brands and companies assess before they reach out. I don't want to give away the whole book because it's definitely one worth reading but I can say- all that Dave says in this book is an effective way to market your brand. The amazing thing about this book is, if you really learn from it and use what Dave is saying, not only will your marketing improve but so will your advertising and Public image. All very beneficial in operating a successful company/brand. I am a Buzz Builder at Likeable Media and everything that Dave maps out in this book is what we as buzz builders practice everyday. We learn it from our team from day 1. People do not like being told something, they want the call to action and they want to feel like they can contribute and that they matter. In the end, Dave writes an amazing book and he himself has a bunch of experience and knows what he is talking about. I highly recommend the book, not just because I work for the company but because I truly believe there is something to be learned to create a world filled of Likeable Social Media.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review

not+Worth+anything%21

1 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

K.

Very nice book!

Great Read and Still Relevant!

I actually run a mobile development and design agency and, while half of the book is beating me senseless to abandon my old marketing ways (which I started out having abandoned), the other half is meaty and full of great tips and advice on how to kick ass with your Facebook campaigns (and briefly other networks).

If you're new to social media--buy this book!

For a generation of business owners who have no idea how social media even works, let alone how to use it for their businesses, this book is great! It gives you a step by step guide to everything anyone needs to know when just starting in social media. Dave Kerpen is the CEO of the company that I'm currently interning at--Likebale Media, one of the leading companies in the social media industry and he definitely knows what he is talking about. He gives away expert advice on how to use Facebook in order to promote your business by creating a strategy on getting the most "likes." This book is gold to anyone who is looking to break into the social media world and doesn't quite get it or know what they're doing just yet. Definitely give it a read!

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