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Social Media Explained: Untangling the World's Most Misunderstood Business Trend
Too busy to spend hours trying to learn the fundamentals of social media marketing? This is the book for you! Mark Schaefer, author of the best-selling books "Return On Influence" and "The Tao of Twitter" unravels the most misunderstood and confusing business trend in this fun and easy-to-read book. "Social Media Explained" explores the fundamental strategies and answers the biggest questions every business professional needs to answer before diving into a social media initiative! The is the must-have guide for understanding the sociological and psychological drivers that make social media marketing work.
143 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 17, 2014
28 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 22, 2016
Great little book for business owners looking to embrace social media marketing, including tangible ways to measure its impact. The only annoyance for me is that the subtitles throughout the chapters are printed such a light gray that I would frequently miss them completely and then hunt for why the subject had changed. I would recommend to any entrepreneur that you read this book first while creating your marketing strategy instead of waiting until you have to figure out what mistake you made.
October 16, 2015
The author has ego problems. He spends too much of the book bragging about himself. He does not explain the social media. Instead he tries to sell it. There are so many illustrations, it could be classified as a graphic novel. The author clearly didn’t have enough to say about the topic and needed filler.
June 17, 2015
The rapid pace of innovation in social media continues to evolve and reshape how we communicate both socially and commercially. This innovation brings new opportunities, but it also challenges businesses to evolve with these changes. This evolution requires awareness, reflection, and response. Because time and money are involved, it is helpful to get advice from time to time from industry pros. Mark Schaefer’s Social Media Explained (SME) provides such advice.
Schaefer states his purpose: “This book explains how social media marketing works in plain English” (5). In this case, plain English includes graphical illustrations by Joey Strawn (135) which provide the text with themes and pictures that mirror the points being made. The text clearly targets busy business leaders who don’t necessarily want to know all the details, but need to be able to ask informed questions (5). More than once, Schaefer chides the reader to turn off distractions, sit up, and listen—an interesting commentary on cultural trends. Between the cartoons and the commentary (and the all black outfit in the photo), once gets the impression that he is writing to a millennial, not boomer, audience. OMG!
Schaefer describes himself as an (best selling, globally recognized) author, marketing consultant, and faculty member at Rutgers University. Other books that he has written include: Return on Influence, Born to Blog, and The Tao of Twitter . Schaefer divides SME into 3 sections:
1. The 5 Most Important Things You Need to Know about Social Media Marketing.
2. The 5 Most Difficult Questions You’ll Face
3. A Social Media Primer (2).
These 3 sections are followed by biographies of the author and illustrator and an index.
Section 1. As alluded to above, Schaefer’s introduction is actually aptly named—may I have your attention please? —because while his is not verbose, he does choose his words carefully and know what he is talking about. In chapter 1 (Humans Buy From Humans), for example, he uses a rather shocking analogy—social media is a lot like an ancient bazaar. The point is that people buy from other people—personal contact and feedback remain important. People want to connect with other people (8-12) .
Schaefer’s point mirrors my own business experience. Although my book, A Christian Guide to Spirituality, is available worldwide through Amazon.com, I generally sell about 10 books through personal appearances for every 1 book that I sell online. Even when I make online sales, I generally have a good idea of who the buyers were because of recent interactions with people.
For those of you new to Schaefer’s writing, chapter 3, The Social Media Mindset, provides an important interpretation of how to understand social media. Schaefer makes 4 points:
1. Target your connections,
2. Provide meaningful content,
3. Be authentically helpful, and
4. Reap business benefits (23).
Point 1 is less than obvious—in the entire world of possible contacts, you want to reach people who are most likely to be receptive to your service. Point 2 defines the task at hand—provide content useful to your connections. Point 3 speaks to motivation—being truly helpful is something rare, remembered, and, ultimately, rewarded. Point 4 answers the why question—being available and helpful to your connections makes it more likely that your connections will stay in touch and consider your service in their purchases. Taken together, these 4 points speak about the need to develop relationships—social media is social in the sense of providing unique networking opportunities.
Section 2. Among the questions that Schaefer fields, chapter 6 was the most eye-opening for me. What is the value of social media and how do we measure it? Schaefer starts with a brilliant statement of the obvious, for those of us in the real world—we have to measure our progress (51). He give 4 reasons:
1. Everything has an implied value.
2. We have to justify what we do—if we want to continue being employed.
3. Measurement helps us determine when we are making progress.
4. With so much data floating around, there is no reason not to measure (51-52).
Having said this, Schaefer sees the benefits of social media as primarily nonfinancial, intangibles—much like networking. Listing his own benefits in a recent year, he cites these items: increased customer loyalty, free advice, a job offer, greater awareness, and a book contract (55). The big question is how do you learn in a fast-paced, changing environment? Learning is a nonfinancial, intangible, yet it is often needed for firm survival. No one wants to become, so to speak, like a high-quality, buggy whip manufacturer.
Section 3. Keeping up with social media innovations is the source of a lot of my anxiety about social media—which platforms do I need to pay attention to and what tools are a priority to learn? Schaefer’s comment gave me great comfort: “Blogs are among the most important sources of ‘rich’ content—the real fuel for your social media engine” (124). My comfort arises because, contrary to other advice, my social media strategy focuses on blogging on a regular basis. Schaefer goes on to mention podcasting, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and SlideShare (125-132). Personally, I probably need to spend more time developing my presence in Facebook; SlideShare is one media that I had not considered but probably should.
Mark Schaefer’s Social Media Explained provides a helpful overview of the current status of social media and why firms need to be aware and involved. SME is also very readable.
Schaefer states his purpose: “This book explains how social media marketing works in plain English” (5). In this case, plain English includes graphical illustrations by Joey Strawn (135) which provide the text with themes and pictures that mirror the points being made. The text clearly targets busy business leaders who don’t necessarily want to know all the details, but need to be able to ask informed questions (5). More than once, Schaefer chides the reader to turn off distractions, sit up, and listen—an interesting commentary on cultural trends. Between the cartoons and the commentary (and the all black outfit in the photo), once gets the impression that he is writing to a millennial, not boomer, audience. OMG!
Schaefer describes himself as an (best selling, globally recognized) author, marketing consultant, and faculty member at Rutgers University. Other books that he has written include: Return on Influence, Born to Blog, and The Tao of Twitter . Schaefer divides SME into 3 sections:
1. The 5 Most Important Things You Need to Know about Social Media Marketing.
2. The 5 Most Difficult Questions You’ll Face
3. A Social Media Primer (2).
These 3 sections are followed by biographies of the author and illustrator and an index.
Section 1. As alluded to above, Schaefer’s introduction is actually aptly named—may I have your attention please? —because while his is not verbose, he does choose his words carefully and know what he is talking about. In chapter 1 (Humans Buy From Humans), for example, he uses a rather shocking analogy—social media is a lot like an ancient bazaar. The point is that people buy from other people—personal contact and feedback remain important. People want to connect with other people (8-12) .
Schaefer’s point mirrors my own business experience. Although my book, A Christian Guide to Spirituality, is available worldwide through Amazon.com, I generally sell about 10 books through personal appearances for every 1 book that I sell online. Even when I make online sales, I generally have a good idea of who the buyers were because of recent interactions with people.
For those of you new to Schaefer’s writing, chapter 3, The Social Media Mindset, provides an important interpretation of how to understand social media. Schaefer makes 4 points:
1. Target your connections,
2. Provide meaningful content,
3. Be authentically helpful, and
4. Reap business benefits (23).
Point 1 is less than obvious—in the entire world of possible contacts, you want to reach people who are most likely to be receptive to your service. Point 2 defines the task at hand—provide content useful to your connections. Point 3 speaks to motivation—being truly helpful is something rare, remembered, and, ultimately, rewarded. Point 4 answers the why question—being available and helpful to your connections makes it more likely that your connections will stay in touch and consider your service in their purchases. Taken together, these 4 points speak about the need to develop relationships—social media is social in the sense of providing unique networking opportunities.
Section 2. Among the questions that Schaefer fields, chapter 6 was the most eye-opening for me. What is the value of social media and how do we measure it? Schaefer starts with a brilliant statement of the obvious, for those of us in the real world—we have to measure our progress (51). He give 4 reasons:
1. Everything has an implied value.
2. We have to justify what we do—if we want to continue being employed.
3. Measurement helps us determine when we are making progress.
4. With so much data floating around, there is no reason not to measure (51-52).
Having said this, Schaefer sees the benefits of social media as primarily nonfinancial, intangibles—much like networking. Listing his own benefits in a recent year, he cites these items: increased customer loyalty, free advice, a job offer, greater awareness, and a book contract (55). The big question is how do you learn in a fast-paced, changing environment? Learning is a nonfinancial, intangible, yet it is often needed for firm survival. No one wants to become, so to speak, like a high-quality, buggy whip manufacturer.
Section 3. Keeping up with social media innovations is the source of a lot of my anxiety about social media—which platforms do I need to pay attention to and what tools are a priority to learn? Schaefer’s comment gave me great comfort: “Blogs are among the most important sources of ‘rich’ content—the real fuel for your social media engine” (124). My comfort arises because, contrary to other advice, my social media strategy focuses on blogging on a regular basis. Schaefer goes on to mention podcasting, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and SlideShare (125-132). Personally, I probably need to spend more time developing my presence in Facebook; SlideShare is one media that I had not considered but probably should.
Mark Schaefer’s Social Media Explained provides a helpful overview of the current status of social media and why firms need to be aware and involved. SME is also very readable.
July 13, 2017
Not bad,though the author brags himself all the time.
April 27, 2018
.
Insightful and straight to the point. I recommend this book to anyone who is a beginner in the field and wants to get an overview of social media tools and options. .
Insightful and straight to the point. I recommend this book to anyone who is a beginner in the field and wants to get an overview of social media tools and options. .
March 21, 2018
Mark Schaefer believes the potential for marketing through social media platforms is a significant and unstoppable force.
The author explains that behind every social media marketing success story, you will find the following three elements:
Targeted connections +
Meaningful content +
Authentic Helpfulness = BUSINESS BENEFITS
This updated book offers business leaders solid strategies and case studies for implementing, managing and measuring a social media marketing program. "Social Media explained" is recommended for social media newbies as well as experienced professionals. Mark Schaefer is a natural teacher and he EXPLAINS some advanced strategies and techniques in an understandable manner. I am confident you will find value in this book. Read the book and then go back and really study it.
The author explains that behind every social media marketing success story, you will find the following three elements:
Targeted connections +
Meaningful content +
Authentic Helpfulness = BUSINESS BENEFITS
This updated book offers business leaders solid strategies and case studies for implementing, managing and measuring a social media marketing program. "Social Media explained" is recommended for social media newbies as well as experienced professionals. Mark Schaefer is a natural teacher and he EXPLAINS some advanced strategies and techniques in an understandable manner. I am confident you will find value in this book. Read the book and then go back and really study it.
January 7, 2015
Still suspicious about using social media? Maybe you "get it," but just don't know where to start. This book will help you. Social media users of all levels will find sage advice delivered in Schaefer's hallmark plain language style. This book helps you understand the value of being social and provides you with a checklist of questions that you need to ask when considering your social strategy. This book is for those of you working within large organizations or those of you who make it your business to be social. This is a great read!
December 29, 2015
For people starting out in digital marketing, this is a good book to understand the value of social media for B2B marketing. It also helps you understand how to achieve results from social channels for your business. On the other hand, I wish the book had used more research reports and figures and the case studies were more detailed. Overall, you will learn to adopt the social media mindset and what an information eco-system is. It will answer most of the questions you have about social media's utility for business in the 21st century. I recommend it.
January 3, 2016
Interesting introduction
The best thing about this book is that it takes the time to explain how social media fits into the grand scheme of things, describes the general aspects of the approach, points out the questions you need to ask yourself,helps to provide some answers, and only then does it briefly give some tips on the platforms themselves. If you're after a manual on how to use the different sites, look elsewhere.
The best thing about this book is that it takes the time to explain how social media fits into the grand scheme of things, describes the general aspects of the approach, points out the questions you need to ask yourself,helps to provide some answers, and only then does it briefly give some tips on the platforms themselves. If you're after a manual on how to use the different sites, look elsewhere.
January 2, 2018
I felt like there was something missing
I really enjoyed the book, there were some really useful tips in it and the social media mindset is an eye opener. For some reason, though, I feel like the book's missing something...and I'm not sure what it is. Still looking forward to reading Tao of Twitter and Born to Blog!
I really enjoyed the book, there were some really useful tips in it and the social media mindset is an eye opener. For some reason, though, I feel like the book's missing something...and I'm not sure what it is. Still looking forward to reading Tao of Twitter and Born to Blog!
December 1, 2016
This book has solid information on the theory of social media marketing. It's fairly recently published (January 2014), so the theories are mostly relevant, even though the platforms Schaefer discusses have undergone changes and updates. He doesn't talk about Instagram specifically, but the ideas discussed are general enough that they can be applied to whatever projects you're working on.
July 1, 2016
OK I get it. Every business needs to understand and properly use Social Media … but I was looking for more. Easy stuff – the different applicability of Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.? Which should business tackle first? Why? Etc. (The overview in the last chapter was a little helpful.)
August 31, 2018
Good but pretty basic. A lot of it is aimed at convincing you, the reader, to get into using social media for your business.
That said, he's an intelligent guy with a well rounded, clear way of thinking.
That said, he's an intelligent guy with a well rounded, clear way of thinking.
April 17, 2014
Very good read for the business owners still contemplating social. Also valuable for anyone that missed out and wants to catch up on a couple years of social media progression.
March 9, 2015
I found this book very helpful. I'll be using it often and suggesting it whenever I can.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews