Customer Reviews

The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed reading "The Digital Handshake" and learned quite a bit about how to use Social Media to grow my business. I've read other books about Social Media before but they were geared toward corporations and very large businesses.

I found there to be much more information that was relevant to my small business. This book not only gave me specific ideas about how to use social media for marketing my small business, but also taught me more about the nuts and bolts of each medium so that I can better understand how to create content.

Paul Chaney, president of the International Blogging and New Media Association, has done a fine job with The Digital Handshake, Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media.

While I find his book to be much more practical and tactical than strategic, anyone who is relatively new to SM and the tools required will find The Digital Handshake and extremely approachable read, with wonderful references, case studies and guidance. For those with a little more experience, the book is full of reminders, tips and tricks that you will find helpful.

One of the things I liked most about Paul's book is the way he pulls from the theoretical, such as the concepts in The Cluetrain Manifesto, and brings them to life, with real-world how-to. I would still suggest everyone read Cluetrain, but for business owners and marketing executives who are the run, The Digital Handshake becomes a solid "Cliff's Notes" with the added benefit of telling you how to use the theories now.

His summary of the five consumer trends that are shaping the marketing world we live in now is spot on, as is his well-researched and survey-filled section on media and audience fragmentation.

His seven "strategies" with detailed practical application for each include:
Business blogging
Social networks
Online communities
Microblogging
Online video
Podcasting
Social media new releases

Being from South Louisiana, Paul even tosses in a lagniappe for his readers with a catch-all "Other Social Media Marketing Tools" with practical applications to keep you acting now and thinking ahead.

His plans of action for each strategy are invaluable, if for nothing else than to see how others in your business are using the tools available. That's priceless.

The Digital Handshake is available at most big-box bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, and at Amazon. And, yes, you can also get it as a digital book for your Kindle!

Enjoy it, and if you have any of your own thoughts on the book or suggestions of another, please let me know! You can also follow discussions about the book at Twitter, using the following hashtag #digishake.

I have read most, if not all, Social Media books on the market today. I play in that space so to speak so I feel that it's in my best interest to read as much as possible. I came across Paul quite by accident and started following his blog and consequently his writing and thoughts on new media marketing. I was instantly drawn to his knowledge, gained first hand, and his no nonsense approach. When I learned that this book was about to be published, I got excited. If it was anything like his blog posts, people were going to be in for a real treat. Well, it turned out to be even better than that. Paul has a real gift for writing in a very conversational tone. Instead of talking down to us as an expert about topics, "Consumers are increasingly skeptical...", Paul is one of us, "We consumers are increasingly skeptical..." That's a real gift and he continues it throughout the book. If you are new to Social Media strategy and tactics, Paul will guide you through the maze of tools and techniques and if you are a practitioner, you can learn a thing or two from his writing style that will help you when talking with your clients. There's an almost overwhelming number of books beginning to appear in the Social Media Marketing space. This is one that definitely deserves a spot on your bookshelves. After you have thoroughly dogeared it from reading of course.

I met Paul at the SocialSouth conference the summer of 2009, and when I learned he had a book coming out, I purchased it to be supportive to my fellow social media strategists. WOW, was that one of the better decisions I've made recently! As a social media consultant myself, I find that a lot of literature on social media today is either too elementary, or too "high-brow" academic. And most folks who need this information fall somewhere between those two extremes! Paul does an extraordinary job at speaking to the "everyman" in this book. The thing I liked the most about this book is the point that Paul makes that social media is not just a toolset, but a mindset; meaning, a paradigm shift in how all of your employees in every division of your business spend time engaging with your clients. I also really like the emphasis Paul continues to place on the importance of blogging as the cornerstone of your communication strategy.

Again, WOW. This book is going to become a recommended "must read" to my customers, my prospects, my vendors, and my friends.

Phyllis Neill, President & CEO
WeMentor Social Media Marketing
[...]

Mr. Chanley is enthusiastic about his area of expertise, and the book is well suited for someone who (like me) has a superficial knowledge and wants to add depth and make connections.

The author wastes a lot of time 'selling' social media; if you have purchased the book, you presumably believe already that the subject is worth your time, so you can speedread the first 70 pages or so. After that the ratio of fact to enthusiasm improves in the reader's favor. I felt that this book would be far more valuable if edited more tightly. The author has a habit of tossing in sentences that don't benefit the reader or enhance the subject.

I believe I must speak for other business marketers in saying that Mr. Chaney's suggestions would benefit greatly from better demonstration of how to integrate the various media. Chapter 16, that should really be the payload, in which the author discusses how to use the various media to engage the marketplace, i felt was very thin. The book really needs a few sample marketing plans, showing how mixing social media with conventional marketing channels can boost sales. Possibly one for Retail, one for software/web business, one for professional service organizations and another for B2C.

The information there warrants 4 stars, there are a lot of tools, links and companies you will want to investigate if you are planning to use social media for your business. I gave it 3 stars for reasons above.

Please, Mr. Chaney, consider a volume 2 packed with detailed marketing plans laid out showing integration of Social Media for optimum effect!

There's a lot around right now about social networking and marketing. Check out job postings and you'll see that companies that barely recognised the web a few years ago, are now asking that applicants show some savvy on social networks. Unfortunately much of the literature has not kept up. Again and again I hear small business owners ask "What is the point of Twitter?" Just about everyone knows Linkedin, but how many people know how to use it beyond the obvious? Facebook can be even more daunting for the uninitated. While many people can see that its a nice place to post pictures for your extended family, its uses as a marketing tool are less clear--especially if you have received more than one annoying ad--and don't intend to send any yourself.

The Digital Handshake explains some of the networks but, far more important, sets forth ideas on their strategic uses. The author's advice on netiquite and ways to add value to a community, as a way of getting to know people, is excellent. There's a lot in this book including the uses of blogging, social networks, microblogging, email, search engines and newsletters.

Most important of all, this book explains that social networks are excellent places for businesses to listen to their customers and clients. I enjoyed reading the author's ideas and found myself listing questions and suggestions to myself on communities and websites to check out. The book is relatively jargon free, which should be refreshing for the new user.

This is a superb and easy to follow book written by social media, Web veteran Paul Chaney. Excellent insight and very actionable easy tips to follow.

This book is suitable for newbies to social media, and it gives a great view of this topic from 30,000 feet, so to speak, while also providing some very solid tips for those of us in the trenches as well. Considering that social media is still in its relative infancy, I suppose I'm somewhere between rookie and grizzled veteran at this stage, and "Digital Handshake" definitely spoke to me.

The book is served up in three sections, which are essentially as follows:

*history of media and advertising, along with trends that led to social media marketing
*current tools at your disposal
*a pragmatic blueprint for moving forward in this arena

Included in the seven (or more) strategies are business blogging, social networks (like Facebook, LinkedIn etc.), niche communities, microblogging (Twitter), online video, podcasting, and an interesting new concept: the social media news release.

I was happy to realize that I am already using most of these tools, although I would love to expand my use of video in 2010 and beyond. Paul gives some excellent and specific pointers on this. I also have some ideas about building some local communities online, and this is addressed as well.

In essence, this book serves as a great reference guide for anyone who is still on the social media sidelines, while also giving a playbook for those of us who are already in the game. Much like "Trust Agents" by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, I have found myself referring back to "Digital Handshake" for particular websites that are mentioned therein.

This book is not only a great overview of the subject of Social Media for your business but truly does give proven strategies on how to grow your business. I think seven is a pretty low number. There are seven topics but the tools Paul gives you enable you to do so much more in terms of engaging your customer/client base via the Web 2.0. This is a necessity for any business owner (more beneficial for smaller/nichier businesses) to read to ensure they are informed when bringing their business to the internet.

The Digital Handshake by Paul Chaney has practical strategies that any business should study and adopt. The way he describes the birth of Social Media and its relevance to today's world and demands is right on. It is an insightful book into the Social Media world; the most valuable marketing tool of this century, and Paul Chaney is indeed the Social Media Handyman