Customer Reviews

Marketing in the Groundswell

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

 

 

I have read the original exceptional Groundswell book, and bought this book thinking that it might offer some additional insights on marketing strategies through social media.

Shame on me - I did not read the description very well for this book. It is simply an abridged version of the original book, with three of the chapters reprinted. There is nothing new other than a very brief introduction by one of the authors. I'm at a loss as to why this book was published at all.

I am giving the content of this book 5 stars because it deserves it. However, don't waste your money on this. Buy the full original book instead. You will get much, much more out of it.

You can find the original book here: Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

I ordered this book along with the first book "Groundswell" only to realize after looking through it that there is now new information in this book. It just is a copy of three chapters from "Groundswell."

This book is simply a reprint of three chapters out of the 2008 book, "Groundswell." Personally, I feel this is a marketing ploy to sell books since there is nothing newly written in it. The original book is a good resource, this one should be avoided unless you like to give away your money. I don't know how a publisher or and editor can release a book like this that is a retitle of existing material. I suppose the recession drives people to do desperate things-much the same impulse that is driving companies into social media. Profit for little investment and no exchange. Sounds like how the recession happened.

This is an excellent marketing resource, though I did think I was purchasing the entire book and not just the selected chapters this one contains.

This had been highly recommended by a friend, but I was disappointed. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. Very basic.

This is a follow up/update book supposedly, but seemed to be the previous book just reprinted. I didn't pay enough attention to the description. It's only 125 pages, and the book is about 6x8" as well.

I would think you could read a couple of wikipedia entries and get the same depth of information.

well, shame on me for not digging into the description - but it LOOKED like the whole book!
Wasn't. Just 3 chapters of 12! So If you are ONLY interested in the marketing side, or just want an idea of what Groundswell could do for your business - fine - but you are missing ALOT of information.
I ended up ordering the eBook, and am reading the whole thing while working out on the Eliptical.

Great book on the basics of social media, absolutely "must read" if you want to know what it is all about in the web 2.0 era.

Unfortunately I found "Marketing In The Groundswell" to be a disappointing experience. Not that the material was unacceptable - it's actually well written and valuable for those interested in doing business on the Internet and how social media factors in. My disappointment stems from the fact that the material is the same as the original "Groundswell" written by the same authors. It's actually a portion of the original book - three chapters 7, 8, 9 with no additional material with exception to a brief introduction.

When I purchased this book I glanced at the back cover which had a couple of endorsements from big names in the marketing industry and whose work I respected. Having been a huge fan of the original book I didn't read the inside flap or even the material inside - I purchased it sight unseen based on past experience and endorsements. My blind faith is a big factor in my disappointment, which will not happen again for a later "Groundswell" book.

The differences between "Marketing In The Groundswell" and "Groundswell" seem difficult to grasp. This book positions itself as a re-working of "Groundswell" targeted specifically to marketers - and this is true enough to some extent. The small size and endorsement from well-respected marketers does lend itself to likely attracting other marketing professionals. However, my impression is that the original "Groundswell" was indeed a marketing book. This is the point of confusion for me - who was the original book meant to target? This felt like a repackaging effort as an easy means to generate more revenue on the Groundswell concept.

To the authors' credit the inside flap did outline that it contains "three core chapters" from the original book, but it to also seemed like an update since the economic downturn. Given the changing economic climate and the rapid ascent of social media - it didn't seem unreasonable to assume that a significantly updated book would appear in just one year. The cover is also the same, but with a new title - which also led me to believe this was an update. The Introduction is new and accounts for about six pages. This book didn't seem to be re-edited either, as there is a reference to "Chapter 10" which does not exist in this book, but in the original "Groundswell."

That being said "Marketing In The Groundswell" is a great read for those who have not read the original "Groundswell." At under 120 pages and with a small format, the book is conversational and provides quite a bit of value with a small investment in terms of time and money. Think of it as a cliff's notes of sorts - this is a good primer for those not wanting to read the larger, original book. For those who have read the original book I recommend passing on this book and spending your time elsewhere unless you would like a quick refresher.

I had to read this book as part of our MBA marketing class and it provided very insightful information on what companies need to do to stay in touch with its customers. The authors inject real case studies and provide comic relief through reference of Blendtec's creative use of YouTube to increase brand awareness to its blenders. [...]

It is very true that companies today need to be in-tuned with their customers and they can only do so if they keep their ears, eyes and conversations engaged in blogs, forums and other social networking mediums. It's a quick read, but very insightful.