Share, Retweet, Repeat: Get Your Message Read and Spread

Social Media has made it possible to reach many more people, at a much lower cost, than ever before. But this also means that people are faced with a huge flood of information every day. For someone trying to spread a particular message--whether a traditional commercial advertisement, a political campaign, or a fundraiser--the questions raised by this new communications world are many: how to craft a message, how does this media differ from traditional media, and most importantly, how do you reach your target audience. Hlinko sets out to answer these questions.And he does a pretty good job. The problem with a book like this is that it's potential audience has a huge range of experience with social media--from this who have only vaguely heard of it, to those who are already actively engaged. He pitches the book to those who have a very basic awareness (he begins with the basic: how to set up an account on twitter). As a result, I found some of the intro stuff far too basic. However, he quickly moves into a discussion of crafting your message, engaging people, and ultimately how to work towards going viral.As a good overview, this is a perfect book. It takes you from ground zero to a pretty sophisticated understanding of strategy. But some parts, like crafting your message, and working with "multipliers" get sorter shrift than I would have liked. In the end, the advantage of books like this is less the specific information they provide than the opportunity they provide for reflecting in a critical way on what I am currently doing, and what I could do better.Well worth the time to read (and by the way, it is quite well written, has a nice almost breezy style, and is a pretty quick read), but is only a step toward the goal of successfully using social media, not the "bible."

John Hlinko has been there, and has done that, and has written four jokes about it. (Jokes that are funny, and that make you think.) He's a veteran of advocacy, politics, media, and How To Stand Out From The Crowd, and he's been successful at the local, state, and national level. (And he's still wanted for forging a fake ID in Beirut, I think.)Hlinko has written a book that not only tells you how HE's done things to extraordinary effect in the sphere of public opinion and public attention, but hands over some tools that novices can use. He is thoughtful about explaining how people can move from point A to point B, while always remaining clear about how we must focus, focus, focus on content and creativity - as no amount of perfect buzz can get people to pay attention to a crap idea.Hlinko is a successful communications professional. He's been kind enough to share the contents of his Big Brain with us; we should be grateful enough in return to buy his damn book.

This book really helped me get a handle on social media by offering two things that are sorely lacking from most business books generally and especially most books on social media: (1) step by step guidance, and (2) lots of specific, and telling examples, e.g. the discussion of the impact of viral videos on the Obama presidential campaign. Everyone hears about the power of social media and yet at the same time often it feels like twitter and youtube are mostly about people posting what kind of sandwich they had for lunch or videos of their cats being chased by the vacuum cleaner. This book, though really helps you create a systematic approach to using some amazing (and amazingly cheap) tools like twitter, email, websites and facebook to get your message out. Like Al Ries and Jack Trouts' "Positioning" or Chip and Dan Heaths' "Made to Stick" what is great about this book is that it gives you a new way to think about the process of communicating your message along with practical advice that you can start using today.

I really enjoyed this book. For a 50+ year old man I really needed a primer on how "social media" works - and Mr. Hlinko provided just that in his informative and easy to understand book. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Websites - all are covered and the author's ideas and suggestions changed the way I manage my own social media. If you own a business - this book is a must read as it will provide you with ways to get your message out to a large audience and details how to create advertising that appeals directly to the customers you are trying to reach. (You owe it to yourself to read his story about "Georgetown Cupcakes.") If you don't have a business - it's still a great read - as it provides insights on how businesses/companies are trying to reach "me". The author is a highly skilled writer who provides an easy, and at many times, a funny read. I highly recommend this book.

In recent years, social-media platforms like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have helped topple repressive governments; transform an unknown 12-year-old boy into an international pop-music sensation; turn a critically panned horror movie into a box-office smash; even elect a President. No matter what your budget, no matter what you have to promote--a book, a dress, a band, a candidate, a blog, a cause--social media can supersize your success too. In this book, John Hlinko shows you how. "Share, Retweet, Repeat" provides step-by-step instructions for launching a viral marketing campaign through social media, including real-world examples, candid advice and insider tips and shortcuts he's gleaned from nearly two decades in the biz. An indispensable guide to getting noticed, suitable for any business or organization--but particularly the small ones that dream big.

If you have been in marketing since after the age of social media and have even half a clue what you are doing, pass on this. This book is a jr. level waste of time. If you have never even begun to know about marketing and want a clue...hire a marketing person because this book still won't give you any real insight to how anything works outside the most general details like "be funny" or "write good subject lines."

An interesting read with an accent toward the overall concept and philosophy of social media primarily as a marketing tool, rather than a nuts and bolts explanation of how the platforms actually work.