Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks) 1st Edition

Over the last decade, I've developed hundreds of websites, marketed them for Google, and have helped make my clients millions of dollars. Likeable Social Media is hands-down one of best marketing books I have read in a very long time. There's no fluff. No filler. Simply terrific advice on how to make the most of social networking in order to improve your business.The best part about this book is that it's absolutely stuffed with case study after case study of how businesses have triumphed (and suffered) by harnessing or ignoring the power of engaging people through social networks.While many books on marketing simply offer up theory, the author has noticeably poured a significant amount of time into researching real examples of how social networks can make or break a business. You're treated to concrete examples of what works, and what doesn't. Granted a few case studies are from the author's major corporate clients, but the information he provides is still extremely useful.With the conclusion of each chapter, you are offered a quick recap of "action items" that make it easy for you to plan your marketing efforts.I'm no stranger to marketing through social networks, but the author has definitely given me great new ideas. A few involve how to encourage more people to become fans of a business page, I'm a little ashamed I hadn't thought of them sooner.What's interesting is that the author doesn't simply help you to positively engage existing fans, but how to deal with unhappy customers. While some of the info is Customer Service 101, he offers a fresh take on how a bad situation can be spun into great free promotion.Not every technique outlined in the book is brand-new. But many ideas haven't been addressed in other books on social network marketing, which makes this book worth its weight in gold. Take my advice as a longtime internet marketer: add this book to your cart right now if you want to engage potential customers and improve your business.

David Kerpen has focused on the what is arguably facebook's most powerful function with regards to communication and marketing--likeability--extensions of which are appearing now on other platforms as well as on over two millions websites and counting. 'Likeability' functionally transforms the entire Internet into a social space, where individuals assert preference and where that preference is a means by which others learn about interests, communities, products, and brands. Naturally, it is worthwhile for organizations and marketers to harness this functionality as a means of tracking consumer preference, to appeal to a connected and (social)media-savvy marketplace, and most importantly to powerfully promote products across social networks augmented and amplified by word of mouth marketing, and by relying on the ways which "liking" something builds trust among peers.Kerpen has written an excellent guide that seeks to answer the question "But how do I become likeable?" The book is a guide in the true sense of the word, but it is also a workbook with recommended activities and guiding questions that individuals or teams can use to make the book actionable.He strongly underscores the importance of listening in the world of social media. This includes identifying target markets and the spaces where they interact with one another to discuss preferences, and taking time to listen in to conversations before jumping in. Customers will know that an organization is listening effectively when that organization is able to respond to comments, both positive and negative (and he offers excellent guidance when it comes to responding to comments), and to offer appropriate, meaningful, interesting, and valuable content over social networks. Kerpen also reminds organizations that they must think like their consumers in order to generate the right kind of content to be likeable. In a useful example, he shows how businesses like The Pampered Chef create online spaces that seemingly have little to do with the products they sell, but are able to create communities that seek out their products or services. It's a great reminder that community-building is an essential aspect of social media communications and marketing, one which I personally feel is ignored in most discussions of social media.One of the most interesting suggestions Kerpen makes is with regards to identifying micro audiences. He creatively uses targeted facebook ads to reach specific audiences by narrowing the criteria so sharply that the result may be only a handful of people, or even one person. He also provides useful examples for connecting with target audiences over LinkedIn and Twitter.Overall, I highly recommend the book for the way it presents clear, interesting examples of what works and what doesn't work that easily relate to my own projects. I appreciate the thoughtful questions and activities suggested at the end of each chapter, and find that they make his lessons immediately actionable. Likeable social media feels to me like the only book I need on my social media shelf--likeable indeed!