Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message (Hardcover)

~ Ben McConnell (Author), Jackie Huba (Author)
Key Phrases: citizen marketers, citizen content creators, amateur culture, New York, United States, Diet Coke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

""A solid... insightful explanation of how the Internet has armed the consumer—which is to say, everyone—against the mindless blather of corporate messaging attempts. Drop everything and read this book.""—The Wall Street Journal

 

The woman next to you in the coffee shop, typing madly on her laptop, just might be determining the ending to next year's block-buster film or how quickly the hottest new PDAT hits store shelves.  In homes, dorm rooms, waiting rooms, planes and trains around the world, millions of people are exercising enormous influence on what we buy, even though they have no official connection to those products and services. 

 

Who are they?  What motivates them?  Marketing experts Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba explore the ramifications of social media in Citizen Marketers.  As everyday people increasingly create content on behalf of companies, brands or products, they are collaborating with others just like themselves and forming ever-growing communities of enhusiasts and evangelists.  From the rough to the sophisticated, the ""user-generated media"" of blogs, online bulletin boards, podcasts, photos, songs, and animations are influencing companies' customer relationships, product design, and marketing campaigns, whether they participate willingly or not. 

 

Citizen Marketers is the first book to document this phenomenon, examining some of the early winners and losers in this new genre, as well as some of its most noted constituents.  With their exceptional knowledge of brands, products, companies and industries, the citizen marketers are democratizing traditional notions of communication and marketing, even entire business models.

 

Features:

• Research on social media
• Case studies of people and organizations fueling the growth of citizen marketing
• Clarifies the context and importance of technological and societal shifts that are changing the nature of customer expectations and relationships

 

 

 

From the Inside Flap

The woman sitting next to you at Starbucks focused intently on her laptop may just be determining the next big thing.

 

In coffee houses, offices, homes, dorm rooms, and airport lounges around the world, millions of people use laptops and cell phones to become today's new publishers and broadcasters. Armed with only a broadband connection, these regular citizens are exercising enormous influence on culture and what we buy.

 

Who are they? What motivates them? In their provocative new book, Citizen Marketers, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba explore the ramifications of today's burgeoning social media. As everyday people increasingly create content on behalf of companies, brands, or products—to which they have no official connection—they are turning traditional notions of media upside down. Collaborating with others just like themselves, they are forming ever-growing communities of enthusiasts and evangelists using videos, photos, songs, and animations, as well as the "user-generated media" of blogs, online bulletin boards, and podcasts. From the rough to the sophisticated, their creations are influencing companies' customer relationships, product design, and marketing campaigns—whether the companies participate willingly or not.

 

Whether freeing Fiona Apple, building buzz for Snakes on a Plane, or denouncing Dell Hell, citizen marketers are democratizing traditional notions of communication and marketing, even entire business models. Citizen Marketers examines some of the early winners and losers in this new culture of business, as well as some of its most noted constituents.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Business (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419596063
• ISBN-13: 978-1419596063
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,409 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of how customers use social media to express themselves, January 17, 2007

By	Mack Collier "The Viral Garden" (Alabama) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the first things that struck me when I began reading Citizen Marketers, was the ability that Ben and Jackie (calling them McConnell and Huba just doesn't fit) have to take a concept as misunderstood as Social Media, and scale it down to where it is accessible to all, and to do so without talking down to the reader. In fact, the book does such a good job of giving background on the various forms of social media, that it can double as a general primer on the subject.

But where CM shines is in explaining what exactly Citizen Marketing is, who these people are, and what motivates them. I'll be honest, going into reading this book, I was a bit worried that this would simply be a collection of case studies providing examples of citizen marketing, bookended with an introduction and conclusion chapter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, Ben and Jackie have done exhaustive research into the subject of citizen marketing, and instead of simply rehashing examples such as the CGM buzz behind Snakes on a Plane, Jarvis' Dell Hell, or the liberation of Fiona Apple (quite possibly my favorite story in the book, which I'd never heard of previously), Ben and Jackie talked to all the parties involved, and discovered what they did, why they did it, and who they did it for.

Their conclusion was that they were dealing with, concerned citizens. Citizens whose love of their favorite brand compelled them to take action on its behalf. And thanks to the rise of the internet, and more specifically social media, those concerned citizens not only have the tools necessary to produce their own brand marketing, they have the ability to reach others, and mobilize them to share their cause. One person's blog post lamenting the cancellation of a favorite TV show can blossom into a full-fledged petition drive that saves the series. A bad customer service experience at a fast food restaurant can be recorded and uploaded to YouTube within minutes. Jarvis' post about his dissatisfaction over his Dell erupted into Dell Hell, which eventually forced the Austin-based computer maker to totally re-examine their customer-service, and revamp their policy on reading and responding to bloggers(IOW, creating a policy for reading and responding to bloggers).

But in my opinion, the heart of the book lies in Ben and Jackie's breakdown of Citizen Marketers into four distinct categories, which they have dubbed 'The Four Fs', all with their own motivations for their actions:

1. Filters

The Filters collect all manner of stories, blog posts, podcasts, etc. related to a specific topic, and present them in one place. These filters serve mainly as an aggregator for content in all forms related to a particular topic, but also add their own analysis and commentary on occasion.

2. Fanatics

The Fanatics are very similar to evangelists. They love(obsess?) over their favorite brand/product/person/company, and are committed to informing others about this topic. They are in the truest sense of the term 'Customer Evangelist'. But they also have great love for the brand/company/person, and aren't afraid to criticize any action that they feel is detrimental to its progress.

3. Facilitators

Facilitators are community creators/builders. They bring like-minded individuals together around a central framework, usually an only forum or blog. Ben and Jackie liken them to 'online mayors'.

4. Firecrackers

Firecrackers are the one-hit wonders of citizen marketers. They may create a hit sensation viral video, or a blogging meme, and then never be heard from again. As with their namesake, they burn very brightly and quickly, and burn out just as rapidly.

In conclusion, buy this book. It isn't a marketing book, it's a book about your community of customers. What motivates them, and what inspires them to take action, both on behalf of, and against your brand. A customer is shaken from their apathy toward a brand, and spurned to action either in response to a brand's indifference towards them, or as a result of the brand's reaching out and offering the hand of empowerment to them. Right now your brand likely sits on one side of this fence, and gaining a better understanding of your customers and what gives them the incentive to act, will help you understand how they view you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A changing of the guard amongst key influencers, February 27, 2009

By	Rebecca Clement "Publisher, Soundview Executi... (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

In the not-so-distant past, if someone wants to have an impact on the culture at large; launch a new product or win an election their best (and virtually only) bet was engaging traditional print and broadcast media outlets. And whether you were trying to secure an advertising buy or editorial space you also had to deal with "gatekeepers" - those are the editors, producers and sales managers within the media. However, with the continuing rise of the Internet and its democratization of the communication chain - that old-media model is shrinking and eroding daily. Technology and business expert Ben McConnell looks at the juggernaut-like influence and power that has shifted from the old "gatekeepers" to a new class. This new breed of influence peddlers is what McConnell calls Citizen Marketers and it's the title of his book. He defines these individuals as a small group of young, computer savvy hipsters that align their Internet gravitas with any idea, product or brand that happens to fit their particular worldview that day. McConnell stresses that these individuals are influencers in the truest sense since that can quickly mobilize and lead others to action. Soundview highly recommends this book because the powerful phenomenon of citizen marketers will only grow and it can't be ignored.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Media Advertising Sales Manager, January 17, 2007

By	M. Chassman "Media Sales Executive" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ben McConnell does a phenomenal job of providing an overview of the social media landscape (Chapter 4) as it exists today in it embryonic state. What he brings to life is the truth about the democratization of the media, now that the tools to be publisher, broadcaster, and creative director are in the hands of the citizens at large. This new reality requires anyone responsible for building and marketing brands to take note and read this book.