Want a NOOK? Explore Now
The In-Your-Face, Results-Focused, No-“Kumbaya” Guide to Social Media for Business!
Stop hiding from social media--or treating it as if it’s a playground. Start using it strategically. Identify specific, actionable goals. Apply business discipline and proven best practices. Stop fearing risks. Start mitigating them. Measure performance. Get results. You can. This book shows you how.
Jason Falls and Erik Deckers serve up practical social media techniques and metrics for building brands, strengthening awareness, improving service, optimizing R&D, driving better leads--and closing more sales.
“Conversations” and “communities” are wonderful, but they’re not enough. Get this book and get what you really want from social media: profits.
Think social media’s a passing fad? Too risky? Just a toy? Too soft and fuzzy? Not for your business? Wake up! It’s where your customers are. And it ain’t going away. Does that suck? No. It doesn’t. Do social media right, and all those great business buzzwords come true. Actionable. Measurable. And...wait for it...here comes the big one. Profitable. Damn profitable.
Want to know how to do it right? We’ll show you. And, yeah, we know how because we’ve done it. This is the bullshit-free, lie-free, fluff-free, blessedly non-New-Age real deal. You’re going to learn how to use social media to deliver absolutely killer customer service. How to R&D stuff people actually want. Develop scads of seriously qualified leads. You’ll figure out what you want. You know, the little things like profits, market share, loyalty, and brand power. You’ll figure out how to measure it. And then you’ll go get it.
One more thing. We know what scares you about social media. Screwing up (a.k.a., your mug on the front page of The Wall Street Journal). So we’ll tell you what to do so that won’t happen. Ever. No B.S. in this book. Just facts. Metrics. Best practices. Stuff to warm the hearts of your CFO, CEO, all your C-whatevers. And, yeah, you. So get your head out from under the pillow. Get your butt in gear. Let’s go make some money.
Introduction .. . . . 1
Part I: Social Media Is for Hippies. Social Media Marketing Is for Business.
Chapter 1: Ignore the Hype. Believe the Facts. 9
Social Media and the Hype Cycle 11
The Problem with What Social Media Purists Preach 15
But Asking About ROI Is Asking the Wrong Question 16
Seven Things Social Media Marketing Can Do for Your Business 19
1. Enhance Branding and Awareness 19
2. Protect Brand Reputation 20
3. Enhance Public Relations 21
4. Build Community 21
5. Enhance Customer Service 22
6. Facilitate Research and Development 23
7. Drive Leads and Sales 23
When You Add “Marketing,” It’s About Business 24
Endnotes 25
Chapter 2: It’s Not Them; It’s You! 27
Today’s Consumer Is Different.You’re Still the Same Old Dinosaur 29
You Never Controlled Your Message 31
If Social Media Can Help Overthrow a Government, What Will It Do to a Company? 32
It’s Not About Being on Social; It’s About Being Social 34
If You Don’t Trust Your Employees, You Hired the Wrong People 36
Don’t Blame It on IT, Compliance, or Legal 38
Social Media Doesn’t Violate Company Policy. People Violate Company Policy 39
So What Can You Do with Social Media? 40
The Ball Is in Your Court 41
Endnotes 42
Chapter 3: Your Competition May Have Already Kicked Your Ass 43
Your Audience Doesn’t Trust You Anymore, Anyway 45
Go Ahead, Buy an Ad 47
But We’re a B2B Company; We Don’t Count 48
Destroy Your Printer 49
The Shipping Industry Goes Social 50
But It Doesn’t Have to Be That Complicated 50
Do You Want to Be Greg Tackett or His Competition? 51
Endnotes 52
Chapter 4: Here’s the Secret: There Is No Damn Secret! 55
Social Media Marketing Is Not About Technology, It’s About Communication 56
Tools Change; the Need for Messaging Won’t 57
Social Media Is Not an Advertising Medium, but Social Platforms Can Be 58
This Ain’t “Rocket Surgery” 61
Starting in Social Media Is Like Asking an Investor for Money 61
Social Media Marketing Is About Planning and Measuring 64
Five Mind-Set Shifts That Make Successful Social Media Marketing Managers (and One Caveat) 65
Part II: How Social Media Marketing Really Works
Chapter 5: Make Some Noise: Social Media Marketing Aids in Branding and Awareness 71
Your Brand Is What the Community Says It Is 73
Traditional Marketing and Its Metrics Have Lied to You for Years 77
Why We Can’t Measure Traditional Marketing and PR 78
Why We Can Measure Social Media 79
Compare Costs Between Social Media and Traditional Media 81
What Traditional Marketing Costs 82
What Social Media Marketing Costs 83
The 500 Million Water Coolers Are Now One Big One 84
Putting Metrics Around Branding and Awareness 86
Endnotes 89
Chapter 6: It’s Your House: Social Media Marketing Protects Your Reputation 91
What Is “Crisis Communication”? 95
You Just Can’t Wait for Traditional Media to Catch Up or Get It Right 96
When You Don’t Listen or Respond, You Get Chi-Chi’d 98
Six Steps for Dealing with Detractors 100
But It’s Not Always About the Negative 101
Protecting Your Reputation Has a Technology Side, Too 102
Putting Metrics Around Protecting Your Reputation 104
Endnotes 107
Chapter 7: Relating to Your Public: Social Media Marketing and Public Relations 109
Public Relations Is Not Only About the Mainstream Media Anymore 112
Journalists Are Using Social Media, Too 115
Social Media Lets PR Skip the Gatekeepers and Editors 116
Quit Waiting for Traditional Media to Catch Up 117
Avoiding the Filter of the Traditional Media 118
The New Media Relations Landscape 119
Crisis Communication Starts Months Before You Have a Crisis 122
Dealing with Detractors 123
Putting Metrics Around Public Relations 125
Endnotes 127
Chapter 8: The Kumbaya Effect: Social Media Marketing Builds Community 129
Understanding Different Types of Communities 133
There’s More to Building Community Than Just Making Friends 135
Measuring Community 136
You Can Even Build Community Around Scissors! 138
But What If Our Competition Shows Up in Our Community? 140
Okay, So How Do You Do This and How Much Will It Cost? 142
Endnotes 145
Chapter 9: It’s About Them: Social Media Marketing Drives Customer Service 147
Why Do You Want to Hear from Your Customers? 150
Putting Your People Where Your Mouth Is 151
You Can’t Help Everyone 152
You’re Not the “Jackass Whisperer” 153
Sometimes It’s Just Two Little Words 155
Putting Metrics Around Customer Service 157
Measuring Customer Service Savings 159
Endnotes 161
Chapter 10: Get Smarter: Social Media Marketing Drives Research and Development 163
Collaboration Is the New Black 164
Collaborating with Customers Breeds Customers 165
Let’s Collaborate About Scissors...Yes, Scissors 166
Papa’s R&D Is in the House 168
Measuring Research and Development 169
It’s Adding R&D to Your R&D 171
But We’re a Small Business;We Don’t Do R&D 172
How to Plan For Research and Development 175
Endnotes 177
Chapter 11: It’s All About the Benjamins: Social Media Marketing Drives Sales 179
Nothing’s Wrong with Advertising 182
Advertising Is Outbound. Social Media Is Inbound 183
Case Studies in Social Media Marketing for Sales 184
The PIs and the KPIs 185
Putting Metrics Around Sales 187
We Know What It Can Do; Now How Do We Do It? 190
Endnotes 191
Part III: Get Off Your Ass, Would Ya!
Chapter 12: Remedy Your Fears with Sound Policy 193
Why Do We Need a Social Media Policy? 195
The Question of Ownership 198
What Can Employees Do at Home? 199
Telecommuting Is Not the Same as Personal Networking 200
What Should a Social Media Policy Include 200
What Should You Do About Privileged Information and Avoiding Giving Advice? 204
Trust Employees, but Not Everyone Should Speak for the Company 205
Who Should Enforce It? 205
Let’s Be Clear on the Responsibility 207
What If People Spend Too Much Time on Social Media? 208
Endnotes 209
Chapter 13: Assign Responsibility and Be Accountable 211
The Question of Ownership 212
A Quick Review of the Pros and Cons 213
Marketing 213
Sales 214
Public Relations 214
Customer Service 215
Who Should Not Be in Charge 215
The Ideal Setup 216
Social Media Management Is for Senior Staff, Not Interns 217
Who Are the Ideal Social Media Practitioners? 218
What If Your Employee Becomes a Social Media Rock Star? 219
The Models of Social Media Management 221
Hold Your Team Accountable 223
Chapter 14: This Is NOT a Sandbox. It’s a Business. 225
You Know What It Can Do, Now Decide What You Want It to Do 226
Done Is Better Than Perfect 228
Turn Your Plan into Action 229
Planning for the Unexpected 231
Sometimes You Can’t Do It Alone 233
Endnotes 236
Chapter 15: Being Social 237
Being a Social Business Makes Customers Proud to Wear Your Badge 238
Social Media Marketing Is More Than Just Business 239
Five Kickstarters to Change a Traditional Mind-Set 241
Kickstarter No. 1--Hear, Then Listen 242
Kickstarter No. 2--Share, Then Solve 243
Kickstarter No. 3--Launch, Then Learn 243
Kickstarter No. 4--Trust, Then Adjust 244
Kickstarter No. 5--Give, Then Get 244
In the End, It’s a Business 245
Endnotes 247
Index 249
The BS in the title of this book seems to be referring to the notion that social media is somehow an end in itself, a worthy goal and pursuit that any organization should engage in in its own right. The authors of this book don’t really buy into it, and they suggest that neither should you. They view social media as just another form of media engagement. It either helps your business in very tangible and concrete ways, or it doesn’t. Any organization should view their social media engagement through a very utilitarian standpoint, and not treat it as a hobby or, even worse, a good-will nebulous outreach. So if that’s what you mean by social media BS, then sure, this book will not provide you with any of it. However, if you are looking for a very specific set of advices on how to build your own social media strategy, then you will be somewhat disappointed. The authors are in fact very clear about this point: they don’t believe that there is a single overarching strategy for approaching social media. What they do instead in this book is provide you with a collection of insights and case studies that, when understood properly, can give you ideas about how to approach social media in your own situation. This is all fine as far as it goes, but I was really hoping for much more of a concrete, actionable advice.
I am neither a social media maven nor am I looking into a career in such a field, but I have done a fair amount of personal social media promotion over they years. I’ve read a lot of books and articles on the topic, but am yet to come across one that can provide me with a clear sense of how to grow my own personal brand through social media strategies. So far I have been relying mostly on trial and error, and this book is only marginally helpful beyond the insights that I’ve come across on my own. However, if you are completely new to the world of social media marketing, then this book could be a useful first resource.
Anonymous
Posted December 11, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The In-Your-Face, Results-Focused, No-“Kumbaya” Guide to Social Media for Business!
Stop hiding from social media--or treating it as if ...