Social Media Marketing For Dummies [Paperback]

Shiv Singh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2009

Learn how easy it is for your market to get your message

Nowadays, if you’re not tweeting, Facebooking, or blogging, what are you doing? Everyone has a Twitter account, a Facebook page, or a blog—even celebrities! With the popularity of social networking comes the need to learn about social media marketing. Social media marketing is a cheaper and highly effective way to spread up-to-the-minute news; an easy, inexpensive way to enlarge your audience, customers, and business.

Social Media Marketing For Dummies provides an indispensable resource for small businesses and start-ups looking for low-cost online marketing strategies, as well as for marketers in larger companies who want to be more involved with social media. Learn which social media site best fits you and your business and how to:

• Use Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and other social media outlets to full advantage
• Create your own online spokesperson for your brand
• Identify social media sites that appeal to your target audience
• Tell which social platform works for which objectives
• Develop a unique, Google-able voice in social media
• Optimize your page to attract clicks and customers
• Set up a program to assess your success and measure your results

Social Media Marketing helps you learn the art of social media marketing to build your business to its full potential. Includes contributions by Michael Becker, Jeannette Kocsis and Ryan Williams

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Your customers are already buzzing on social media sites; make the buzz work for you!

Social media marketing is an up-to-the-minute way to spread the word about your business. This book will help, whether you're a small or startup operation or a big corporation looking to get closer to your customers. Identify social media sites that appeal to your target audience, evaluate niche communities, develop your voice, and measure your results.

• What it is — see how Twitter®, blogs, Facebook® fan pages, and YouTube® videos can enlist your customers to promote your brand

• Why it works — understand how consumers influence one another in social networks

• Funneling the media — learn how to make social media marketing a part of the marketing funnel

• Find your voice — identify recognizable people in your organization who can represent your brand in the social Web, yet be individual and authentic

• What's in it for them — explore incentives for your customers

• Measure the effect — discover how to apply metrics to Facebook fan pages, viral video views, widget downloads, and tweets

• You can't fake it — get familiar with social media and be sure your spokespeople are credible

• Link up — find out how to link your Web site to the social Web

Open the book and find:

• Why social influence drives successful marketing

• How to develop the right voice for social media

• The big and small sites ideal for marketing

• Where the influencers hang out and how to get their help

• Strategies for getting employees involved

• Steps for getting your message to mobile users

• Ways to blend traditional marketing with social media

• Best practices of the social media experts

About the Author

Shiv Singh is a hands-on marketing professional working with some of the globe's largest corporations. Advertising Age magazine recognized him as one of the leading voices in social marketing and named him a "Media Maven" in 2009.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (October 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470289341
• ISBN-13: 978-0470289341
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shiv advises senior marketers on all things digital as the VP & Global Social Media Lead for Razorfish, one of the largest interactive agencies in the world. Shiv helps the agency introduce its clients such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Microsoft, Citibank, Ford Motor Company, Panasonic, Mercedes Benz and Starwood to social influence marketing- or, how to incorporate social media and social technologies to support marketing and business objectives.

Shiv was recognized by Advertising Age as a "Media Maven" in September 2009. He has been published widely, and he has spoken at conferences such as South by Southwest Interactive, the Direct Marketing Association's Leader's Forum, OMMA Global, O'Reilly Graphing Social Patterns, the ARF Annual Summit and the Social Ad Summit. He has also been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, Adweek, Ad Age and several other noted publications discussing digital strategy and social influence marketing.

He holds a BS in Information Systems from Babson College, and an MSc (Research) from the London School of Economics & Political Science where he focused on social network theory. You can find him on twitter: @shivsingh

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must read. Insightful and practical November 16, 2009

By Kristen

Format:Paperback

I really enjoyed this book and found it both extremely thought provoking and practical. It has some smart insights, introduces a clear framework for understanding and approaching social media marketing and then explains the specifics of how to market on each of the social media platforms while recognizing that this is part of the marketing puzzle and not the whole one. It really seems like a one stop shop in terms of covering the basics, the more strategic concepts (including mobile social media) and the practicalities of what you can "buy" and "earn" across the social web. I definitely recommend this book to read. Its thoughtful, specific and actionable and not hype driven. The author obviously has a lot of experience in this space and it shows.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read even if you're not a dummy November 16, 2009

By Andrea Harrison

Format:Paperback

Great resource for marketers looking to incorporate social strategies and tactics but not sure where to begin. Covers a wide variety of topics which makes it helpful for anyone needing best practices and tips regardless of industry or market size. Well done Shiv!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes social safe for marketers November 17, 2009

By David Deal

Format:Paperback

"Social Media Marketing for Dummies" is the perfect antidote for any marketer who fears that "going social" is something that only consumers do. After reading this book you'll see why businesses large and small have every reason to embrace the social world, too, so long as they are willing to develop a more authentic social voice and become more responsive to consumers. In the tradition of the "For Dummies" series, Shiv Singh's book gives the marketer a gentle nudge into the social world with some practical tips on topics ranging from how to launch a social campaign to applying metrics. By the way, the "For Dummies" title is something of a misnomer. Shiv's insights are quite applicable for experts, too, an example being his chapter on building a Social Influence Marketing mobile campaign. I work closely with Shiv at Razorfish and am lucky to enjoy the benefit of his insights all the time.