Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies [Paperback]

Jan Zimmerman (Author), Doug Sahlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2010

Face Facebook, link up with LinkedIn, and tweet with Twitter using this all-in-one guide!

Marketing your business through social media isn't rocket science. Here's how to apply the marketing savvy you already have to the social media your prospects are using, helping you get and keep more customers, make more sales, and boost your bottom line.

• Find the business side — explore the variety of social media options and research where your target audience hangs out

• Collect your tools — discover ways to simplify posting in multiple locations and how to monitor activity

• Establish your presence — start a blog or podcast to build a following

• Follow and be followed — find the right people to follow on Twitter and get them to follow you

• Fan out — showcase your company with a customized Facebook business page

• Follow up — use analytics to assess the success of your social media campaign

Open the book and find:

• Tips for finding your target market

• Important legal considerations

• Step-by-step guidance for setting up a campaign

• Lots of helpful technology tools

• Blogging and podcasting advice

• How to make Twitter pay off for your business

• Tools for analyzing your success in each medium

• When to move forward and when to pull back

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Face Facebook, link up with LinkedIn, and tweet with Twitter using this all-in-one guide!

Marketing your business through social media isn't rocket science. Here's how to apply the marketing savvy you already have to the social media your prospects are using, helping you get and keep more customers, make more sales, and boost your bottom line.

• Find the business side — explore the variety of social media options and research where your target audience hangs out

• Collect your tools — discover ways to simplify posting in multiple locations and how to monitor activity

• Establish your presence — start a blog or podcast to build a following

• Follow and be followed — find the right people to follow on Twitter and get them to follow you

• Fan out — showcase your company with a customized Facebook business page

• Follow up — use analytics to assess the success of your social media campaign

Open the book and find:

• Tips for finding your target market

• Important legal considerations

• Step-by-step guidance for setting up a campaign

• Lots of helpful technology tools

• Blogging and podcasting advice

• How to make Twitter pay off for your business

• Tools for analyzing your success in each medium

• When to move forward and when to pull back

8 books in 1

• The Social Media Mix

• Cybersocial Tools

• Blogs, Podcasts, and Vlogs

• Twitter

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

• Other Social Media Marketing Sites

• Measuring Results; Building On Your Success

About the Author

Jan Zimmerman provides Web marketing and site management services to customers of Watermelon Mountain Web Marketing. She also wrote Web Marketing For Dummies.

Doug Sahlin has written books on everything from Web site building to digital photography, among them Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 840 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (September 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470584688
• ISBN-13: 978-0470584682
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Management > Social Media for Business

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Dummies Go! Detailed, Useful Survey of Social Media. September 20, 2010

By Jason L. Mcdonald

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Go Dummies Go! I love Dummies! Dummies books rule!

I always look forward to the latest installment of the such-and-such for dummies books, so I eagerly awaited my Amazon.com pre-order of Jan Zimmerman's and Doug Sahlin's Social Media Marketing (all-in-one) for Dummies. Even better it proclaimed it was eight books in one. The book is fantastic, even if it does suffer from the usual forest-vs-trees issue. It is much more a "trees" book with lots of details on each social media venue, but still a great book.

By "trees" I mean it gives you the details of each social media marketing venue: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc. For each, the authors do a nice job of overviewing the venue, and explaining the basic steps of how to create an account, what you can do with it, etc. It's a great survey of the entire Social Media Universe. Importantly, it is a critical, skeptical, ROI point of view vs. many of the simple cheerleading or laundry list books on Social Media out there. I really liked that.

By "forest," however, I mean the big picture / strategy of Social Media. The book DOES have information on building a Social Media Marketing plan and DOES have some useful case studies, but there is often just too much text and too many details. I teach Social Media Marketing (online and in San Francisco), and I have experienced that my students are just overwhelmed with the details. Less is often more, as they say, and this book could have used a re-write on the chapters on making a social media marketing plan. Missing in particular is a clear explanation of which social media venue fits which business need best.

That said, if you combine this detailed book, with some "higher level" marketing strategy...... And, for example, you pre-think WHY you want to Twitter (Facebook, Youtube, MySpace, LinkedIn), and WHY your potential customers might care to listen / converse with you... You will have a dynamite combination. Don't be afraid to realize that perhaps you don't NEED Twitter - that Youtube is a BETTER fit for your company.

This book has earned its place on my reference shelf, for myself and my students in Social Media Marketing. For more on me, just click on my profile or Google Jason McDonald plus Social Media. I love comments and feedback, and I try to read as many new SEO, Social Media, AdWords books as I can.

Enjoy! Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book but not for dummies or beginners April 5, 2011

By Briochegal

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is not for dummies! It presupposes that the reader has working knowledge of the Internet and social media. It is not an introduction to social media. If you don't have an understanding of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, this is not the book to start with. The book really covers all aspects of social media marketing very cearly and in detail, almost too much detail. I found it almost overwhelming at times; because it is so dense with information it is a slow read, not a book you can read in one sitting. It is divided into very logical sections so if you aren't interested in Twitter you can skip the section on Twitter and focus on Facebook, or LinkedIn. The book is extremely well and clearly written with none of the goofiness sometimes found in the "Dummies" series. All in all I think it is an excellent resource and reference to which I will refer again and again.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical NOT Practical June 24, 2011

By Deborah C. Russell

Format:Paperback

This book is all theory and meant for someone with an IT degree or a philosophy degree or someone who works is the IT department for a company that employs more than 100 people. I was shocked that it was a for "dummies" book. The book is long on theory, NONE on "how to." The FEW bits of useful information are scattered about and you have to read and read boring computer philosophy to find them. I was expecting: do this, then do this then do this. Or this is how you start face book, then you add twitter, this is how you make them and other sites work together as a marketing plan. It is not a practical guide to setting up a marketing plan, it is the philosophy in a larger corporate environment on social media marketing. If you are a "mom and pop" company, or a realtor or other service provider looking to use social media tools this is not the book for you. The only think I can say for the other reviewers, whom I relied on when I purchased this book, is that they must work for IBM or HP as I am fairly tech savvy and I thought the book was a complete waste of money. I didn't even give it to goodwill for fear of someone paying 1.00 for it and getting ripped off. I put it into the recycle bin where maybe it will get recycled into something practical and useful in its next life.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars review of Social Media Marketing for Dummies March 30, 2012

By Sadie Dianne Smith

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I used this book once for Facebook and found it to be outdated. I can't say about the other content.

4.0 out of 5 stars Marketing a business October 24, 2012

By csprow

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bought this book to mainly learn how to market mainly on linkedin.com, and also connet with facebook and twitter for business marketing. Really got me start with very little trouble in all fields.

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Media Marketing for Dummies December 21, 2011

By steshe865

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

What can I say except that this book is worth every penny of its cost. In my opinion, it is extremely well written, easy to follow, and loaded to the hilt and above with useful information. From the totally socially inept person to the social butterfly type of person, this book will be a valuable reference in navigating the arena of social media marketing. Social media marketing can be a very tricky cat to deal with, even for the experienced person who is always on top of the sometimes rapidly changing dos and don'ts involved. This book can be a big asset to those who take the time to really read and digest the information in this book. Kudos to the author on a well written and very useful book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Social Medial Marketning for Dummies October 6, 2011

By M. Beavans

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book is quite comprehensive. I am glad I purchased it instead of the eight books individually. I recommend it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Viral!! August 10, 2011

By B. Thornton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Do you know your way around Facebook? Or at least `think' you do? How about Twitter? This book has proven an excellent tool for all things viral marketing.

Today's tech-savvy market demands constant contact from their PCs to the cell-phones. Social Media marketing is the new (necessary) marketing tool. Especially if you're a small business, website looking for traffic, or just have a neat dog walking service and want to make sure your neighbors know.

This book covers the A-Z from setting up simple facebook accounts to Search Engine Optimization (Making sure your site pops up first on Google). It has all the tips and tricks any startup needs, all told in the easy-to-follow "dummies" format.

Follow this book and with a little time and a little luck, your sites new traffic will pay for itself!