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Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

Scott Stratten (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · Rating details · 3,117 ratings · 145 reviews

From one of the leading experts in viral and social marketing-market your business effectively to today's customers For generations, marketing has been hypocritical. We've been taught to market to others in ways we hate being marketed to (cold-calling, flyers, ads, etc.). So why do we still keep trying the same stale marketing moves?

UnMarketing shows you how to unlearn the ...more

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Hardcover, 256 pages

Published September 7th 2010 by John Wiley & Sons (first published August 6th 2010)

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· 3,117 ratings · 145 reviews

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Sep 24, 2011 Ruth Seeley rated it did not like it

There are a lot of other 'uns' one could apply to this book: unImpressive, unEdited, and unDerwhelming. This is far more a book about Scott Stratten's pet peeves relating to customer service than it is a book about marketing in the 21st Century, and there are some truly egregious errors in it, as, for instance, when he attempts to relate a bad customer experience he's had at Future Shop and introduces it as a bad customer experience he's had at Best Buy. You might be charmed by the mistakes he r There are a lot of other 'uns' one could apply to this book: unImpressive, unEdited, and unDerwhelming. This is far more a book about Scott Stratten's pet peeves relating to customer service than it is a book about marketing in the 21st Century, and there are some truly egregious errors in it, as, for instance, when he attempts to relate a bad customer experience he's had at Future Shop and introduces it as a bad customer experience he's had at Best Buy. You might be charmed by the mistakes he relates in this book (such as not actually having a media kit together, not having investigated the need for hosting video prior to having one go viral, and not having a proper system in place to deal with the success of an email newsletter he produces), but I certainly wasn't. Much of the important information is contained in footnotes, although most of the footnotes are egregious examples of exactly how in love with himself the author actually is. There are really only two case studies from Stratten's supposedly vast marketing experience, and frankly, while good, they're small potatoes - a local framing store (not a national or even a regional chain) and a local private school. Stratten's forte really is video. But if you start following him on Twitter, you'll discover that despite all his injunctions to be genuine and to interact, he doesn't bother to reply to all his @messages, even to say thank you for a compliment on one of his videos.

For this book to be relevant in 2011, it would have had to include some innovative ways to use FourSquare, at least some mention of Facebook (you wouldn't be sure Facebook existed based on reading this), a discussion of pay-per-click ads and whether they're worthwhile or not, acknowledgement that Yelp exists, etc. A speaker and a coach he may be - a marketer he is not except that he has successfully marketed himself as a speaker.

I was anxious to read this because he does make good videos and because here, finally, was a book about marketing written by a Canadian. However, I had to question even his Canadian credentials in his long rambling dissertation on why he's now drinking MacDonald's coffee rather than Tim Horton's (of course if you take three sugars in your coffee no wonder you don't realize how bad both these chains' coffee is). Stratten claims Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Horton's.' Hmmm. I've now lived in four different provinces and on both coasts of this country, as well as several places in the middle. Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Tim's' or 'Timmy's.' I have never heard anyone other than Stratten refer to it as 'Horton's.' Perhaps it's an Oakville thing. Which, by the way, is a rather unCool place. Give this one a miss and read something by Seth Godin, D.M. Scott, or Paul Gillin instead. Or read Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo's Friends with Benefits instead, if you want a Canadian take on social media marketing. ...more

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Jan 25, 2013 William Arsenis rated it it was amazing

UNMARKETING is one of those rare books that simply changes you.

This isn’t just a book about doing business the right way. It’s about how to truly relate to people when doing business. To focus on what others want. It’s about how to engage.

Every chapter is packed with eye-opening information, a lot of which goes against old-school marketing concepts that have been so deeply engrained in our minds.

He demonstrates directly, and not just with past examples, but in the most effective way conceivable: ...more

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Dec 29, 2014 Courtney Dishart rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Most of the book is forgettable and poorly written. While I appreciate Strattan's Twitter evangelism, countless chapters on customer service and swag he got as a result of his brand advocacy grew tiresome.

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Oct 25, 2010 Dave Fleet rated it really liked it

If you’re a regular Twitter user, Scott Stratten can be hard to miss at times (ok, always). The self-proclaimed “Jedi for social media,” with a big online mouth and an even bigger following, Scott provokes strong reactions from people. I’ve known him for a while and, while I always enjoy sparring with him, I consider him a friend so readily agreed to take a look at his new book – UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging – when he offered to send me an advance version.

Right from the first word If you’re a regular Twitter user, Scott Stratten can be hard to miss at times (ok, always). The self-proclaimed “Jedi for social media,” with a big online mouth and an even bigger following, Scott provokes strong reactions from people. I’ve known him for a while and, while I always enjoy sparring with him, I consider him a friend so readily agreed to take a look at his new book – UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging – when he offered to send me an advance version.

Right from the first word, UnMarketing is an easy read, written in simple, plain language that is easy to digest and has made Scott so many friends online. The blunt approach might put a few people off, but frankly it’s refreshing to see someone finally put in print the responses that people *should* hear to bone-headed push-driven marketing ideas.
UnMarketing veers sharply back and forth between different marketing-focused topics, which is both a good thing and a challenge as you work your way through it.

On one hand the varied content makes for an interesting read that never gets dull. From the evils of the approaches taken to telemarketing and how many marketers have adopted similar approaches in other forms of communications, to what Scott calls the “experience gap” (similar in some ways to Gap Theory but simplified), there’s plenty to think about.

On the flip side, there are times where it sometimes feels like a series of blog posts strung together. Still, it’s also well-formatted for the gnat-sized attention spans of many people nowadays, and it’s easy to digest a chapter or two on the way to work.

The book is also replete with examples of companies who have “done it right” – from Cirque du Soleil’s Jessica Berlin, to the Freshbooks RV tour, to the culture of customer delight created at Zappos, there are plenty of anecdotes of companies adopting tactics which just “feel” right. They’re also held up against examples of companies doing it wrong which, while it may not make Scott friends at those companies, is refreshing.

If there’s one weakness here, it’s that there are relatively few examples of results to back up these examples (my issue with many social media-focused books) – you’re left to rely on the warm feeling generated by the empirical examples rather than the broader business results of these techniques over the longer term. The language is very much “within the bubble” – it’s written for people who know understand basic social media terms, rather than those who are completely new to things. While there’s nothing massively complex within, if you’re completely new then you may want to check out Shiv Singh’s Social Media Marketing for Dummies or something similar before diving into this book.

Scott’s sense of humour shines through throughout the book, which does a huge amount for the book as it could run the risk as coming across as arrogant and condescending were it not for that. Instead, Scott’s humour humanizes the book and he comes across as an everyday guy who has made mistakes, learned from them and – which is all to rare nowadays – is willing to share them with the rest of us. The footnotes throughout the book are simply hilarious, too. Believe it or not, they’re a highlight of the whole book, and had me laughing out loud in the middle of packed subway cars numerous times (thanks for that, Scott).

UnMarketing is aimed squarely at people who are new to social media, rather than people who’ve been around the block, and primarily at small businesses rather than larger corporations. For people in that bracket, UnMarketing is an easy and enjoyable read. Those people should pick up a copy today. ...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Jen Angel rated it liked it

Really, it was OK. This book comes across as a mix between "how to use Twitter (and why Scott loves it)" and "how good customer service is better than traditional marketing." Neither of these things is new or exciting for me. A lot of it is a personal narrative of how Scott has built his career over the years. There *are* some great case studies of how businesses have used Twitter successfully. Maybe it's better for someone who is new to the field or just getting interested in how to use social ...more

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Jul 03, 2015 Jennifer Love rated it it was amazing

So rare that I give a book 5 stars on Goodreads anymore, but this book blew me away! Most people think of marketing as a dry subject but this author makes it anything but! He is witty and laugh out loud funny (no really, I did it constantly), and you find yourself so engaged in the subjects and scenarios that you just keep wanting more. He is an author who puts himself on each page and his authenticity shines through in every word, each joke, and will have you recommending it to everyone you kno ...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Jodi rated it really liked it

really, really liked this book. Both because I bought in to what Scott was saying, but also because I just really dig short chapters. They make me feel like I’m reading faster or something. Anyhoo, the book really just focuses on his ideas about how and why marketing is different these days, which can be summed up in the phrase (borrowed from Field of Dreams) “build relationships and sales will come”. He also offers up some thoughts on how you, too, can get out there, talk to people and find you ...more

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Aug 22, 2015 W. Whalin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is loaded with great advice on how to engage customers and connect with them. Each chapter is a mini-case study and easy to grasp and understand--but more importantly apply to your own marketing and business. I loved the chapter on Lush (52) and engagement in the retail stores.

I highly recommend this book as a valuable read.

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Nov 09, 2017 Teena in Toronto rated it liked it

Shelves: canadian

Regardless of your role when you work for a company, we are all sales and marketing people, not only promoting whatever the product or service is but also the customer experience. According to Scott, "marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present and potential customers."

This book is about "unmarketing" ... the ability to engage with your market. It's what comes naturally, not being forced to do things that make you uncomfortable. It's the authentic, it's personal and ...more

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Aug 01, 2017 Samson Sunny rated it liked it

This book gives some suggestion on how to market your business by not spending money for that.

Here author says how customers engagement will be a great marketing strategy for your business. Consider every moment spending with customer as a marketing. Author suggests to make social media accounts for your business in twitter, facebook, youtube and other sites. This will help your customers to engage with your support team. Use this tool as a marketing tool. Respond to the customers questions and ...more

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Jun 09, 2017 Siobhan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: social-media-and-pr

This book isn't a straightforward this is how you do twitter, facebook etc. It doesn't try to sell you a line that I've seen enough times about how to succeed on-line, getting more followers. It made me think and want to go back to it to think more so as I read through it I folded pages into dog ears that had information that made me think and get curious about the potentials for what I could do. If you allow it to get you to think you might get a little overwhelmed thinking of different things ...more

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Jun 18, 2017 Holly rated it liked it

Shelves: author-male, media-paperback, tag-soft-skills, topic-business, topic-career, type-non-fiction

Picked this up from the library to brush up on my marketing skills and to get some fresh ideas for building an author platform. As one of those oft-despised Millennials (albeit an old one born in '85), I pretty much instinctually knew all of this — but I expected that. I wanted to read it because sometimes you know something so intuitively that you can't explain it to other people, and therefore, you struggle to implement it. That's how I am with social media. It's easy for me, but not effortles ...more

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Oct 22, 2017 Chris rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017, business, highly-recommend, nonfiction

I gave UnMarketing a 5-star rating because it connected with me on thoughts I've had as a consumer for many years. Scott and Alison have articulated clearly the role of social media as a means to an end...not the end. Social Media offers a penetrating tool for engagement...and that's what selling is about; building trust. In addition to beating the drumbeat of that core premise, UnMarketing offers great content on how to leverage SM to get MORE of the magic sauce that engagement represents. I've ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Lisa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I admit - I am a Scott Stratten fan. His advice to business folks is not rocket science. However he writes it in a way that is funny and engaging. The chapters for the most part are short which makes it easy and read when you are busy and your only time to read is on the john.

My only issue with the book is that some of the information is dated. Some of the suggestions may not be available anymore and if you are new to social media, you may not know about other alternatives.

I work in government, ...more

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Sep 11, 2018 Brian Kivuti rated it it was ok

Shelves: did-not-finish, expand-work-refine

I didn't finish this book, getting about a third of the way through.
There was far too much focus on Twitter, which I don't use... as a result, finding large sections of the book to be irrelevant to my needs.

But, I valued the lessons on dropping the marketing and focusing instead on connecting. This gem, I am rather glad to receive and have strengthened as a value.

Oh well! So many lovely books to read, and so little time! I don't see a reason to continue.

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Sep 16, 2018 Dennis Cuffel rated it it was amazing

Excellent book for contemporary Marketing. It is about Engagement, Engagement and Engagement. I have already started to re-read. Many great lessons and stories. Today, the Marketing tools are dramatically different; however, people still want to be connected with their favorite brands and know that the brands are listening.

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May 21, 2017 Marc Lalonde rated it it was amazing

Excellent, great book on reminding us to be authentic.

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Oct 14, 2017 Amanda rated it really liked it

http://amandaquint.com/book-review-un...

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Aug 24, 2017 Ted Gurley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: office-library

Great book of practical, action based marketing activities. Pick just three and change your business. Pick three more and take it to the next level.

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Dec 24, 2017 Tor rated it it was amazing

Brilliant advice for business owners

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Jul 09, 2017 Amy M rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

3.5/5

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Oct 27, 2010 Erica rated it liked it

Shelves: social-media, leadership, non-fiction, self-help

Though I'm not a fan of this type of book, I will admit I enjoyed this one, probably because Mr. Stratten has a fun, conversational way of writing and is mostly humorous. I didn't start rolling my eyes at his ego and general ridiculousness until page 66 - a huge accomplishment considering I'm usually over the author by the end of the introduction.
I would argue that the topic is not actually "unmarketing". There is no lack of marketing or branding in this book. It's all about creating one's busin Though I'm not a fan of this type of book, I will admit I enjoyed this one, probably because Mr. Stratten has a fun, conversational way of writing and is mostly humorous. I didn't start rolling my eyes at his ego and general ridiculousness until page 66 - a huge accomplishment considering I'm usually over the author by the end of the introduction.
I would argue that the topic is not actually "unmarketing". There is no lack of marketing or branding in this book. It's all about creating one's business image through social media - his favorite it Twitter. Oh how he loves the Twitter.
There are no ground-breaking, amazing ideas being shared; there's really nothing new at all. However, there are plenty of good reminders throughout the book and I think a lot of them come down to simple manners. Many of the manners our mothers taught us are applicable in a business setting, such as "When someone talks to you, you should respond" or "Smile and pay attention to people around you".
I think this book is less about not-marketing and more about not heeding the advice given in the past thirty years in books of the same genre. Being cut-throat, having your cheese and your parachute, going from good to great, or anything else in popular business books, could get you ahead in your company, but it's not going to win you a loyal following of customers.
Customer service often boils down to simply paying attention to the customer and this book is full of little reminders on how you can do just that using simple tools from the internet.

I liked:
much of the humor ; the reminders to have good manners ; reading about how social networking can enhance a business

I disliked:
the constant stream of "this happened to me once" stories (they seemed awfully contrived after the forty-seventh one) ; the general arrogance (a MUST for this genre. I guess successful people with small egos probably don't publish) ; the over-use of repetition (I know it helps people memorize stuff, but it's not actually useful to start and end paragraphs with the exact same sentence over and over again).

Ok, I do also have to point out that the viral marketing chapter, the one Mr. Stratten touted as being so incredibly important, seemed to have been written as the book was going to production, never edited and perhaps composed during an inebriated conference call. That one chapter should probably be removed from every copy of every book so that it can be revised to make sense. It was pretty awful. ...more

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Feb 21, 2017 Malik rated it really liked it

I enjoyed the content quite a bit. The writing style wasn't really my jam (I don't respond well to what feels like forced humor) and it felt a bit choppy (like it was maybe more of a string of blog posts). Good stuff to ponder, though, and I think I'll be able to put a good amount of their ideas into practice. I will also give their podcast a listen because I think their style may translate better for me in that medium.

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Jul 06, 2014 Amanda Skinner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Scott Stratten has written an incredibly approachable and user-friendly book on a subject that can be a bit daunting.

Social media has become such an integral part of so many of our lives. It is a fantastic place to shape or individual brands, and it would only make sense that commercial brands try to communicate with us through the same channels.

"Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging" is a fantastic guide for anyone who has ever wondered why no one "likes" them online. Through real world Scott Stratten has written an incredibly approachable and user-friendly book on a subject that can be a bit daunting.

Social media has become such an integral part of so many of our lives. It is a fantastic place to shape or individual brands, and it would only make sense that commercial brands try to communicate with us through the same channels.

"Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging" is a fantastic guide for anyone who has ever wondered why no one "likes" them online. Through real world examples and lots of personal experience Mr. Stratten shares his thoughts on the best way to connect with an online audience. The book is a road map that gives you a great route to reach your focus/target market with the best chances for high conversion.

This book really drove home to me that at the end of the day the internet is about people. It is created by people, for people. It effects how we interact with each other, how we spend our free time, how we shop, how we think. It really made me think, "What content am I putting out there? Does it help people? Does it reflect who I am and who I would like to be?" It also made me think about a company as an individual. If my company was a person, how would people describe him? I think this is a huge question for companies to figure out. Do you want to be that weird or annoying "person" that nobody wants to talk to or be around? Or do you want to be the "person" people turn to because you always brighten their day, or teach them something new. I personally think it would be in every company's best interest to pick the latter of the two personalities!

"Unmarketing" is a bit out of date, as technology and social media zooms forward at the speed of light, but the principles are sound and can easily be applied to new platforms. I found Scott Stratten's writing style to be engaging and engrossing.

All in all, a very good book.

To check out my digital book report on Pinterest for "Unmarketing" Copy and paste this address: http://www.pinterest.com/apricitycraf... ...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Derek McPhee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Imagine my surprise when a friend of mine, living far and away overseas, recommended that I read this book. He said, though I can't remember verbatim, something along the lines of: "If you don't read this book, and ever plan on going into business for yourself, you are a moron."

Again, I cannot remember his exact words - the impression was strong and I, being the slave to recommendations that I am, requested the book and it arrived in due time. I sat down, read the book, and due to its bite-sized ...more

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Apr 11, 2014 Erika rated it really liked it

When your boss asks, "Why do we need social media?" just hand them this book.

I liked how personable this book was. About halfway through the book, Stratten mentions that he was using voice-to-text software to write it, which makes all the more sense. If you've heard him speak before, you know exactly what this read will be like.

From someone who is incredibly new to the industry, who never really understood marketing from a traditional standpoint, a lot of the examples and tips seemed very funda ...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Ivan Ralchev rated it really liked it

Shelves: marketing

Книгите, посветени на бизнеса, обикновено са скучни.
Не и тази. Скот успя да ме грабне още с първите страници - със разумните забележки, свежите идеи и добре подредените и смислени аргументи. Представя маркетинга така, както винаги съм мислел за него - като нещо повече от "бутай, а те да хващат, ако могат". Повечето му идеи са съвсем ясни и не е трудно да осъзнаеш силата им. Други ми се струват не на място, но пък и тяхното време ще дойде.

На моменти се съсредоточава твърде много върху детайлите, ...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Erin rated it really liked it

I'm a recent graduate in marketing and management. I didn't want my education to stop with college, though, so I immediately went to the book store to start picking up some books to continue learning. I'm not going to lie, my biggest draw to this book was the style of the cover and the title. I was very keen on the idea of relationship building vs old-school selling techniques.

While I admit that there was an over abundance of twitter talk in here (I get that it is simply the authors favorite so ...more

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May 10, 2013 Steven Aitchison rated it really liked it

I've been reading the blog since last year and decided to buy this after a recommendation from a friend. What comes across immediately is that Scott knows what he is talking about, he has been there, he has made the same mistakes with facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and blogging as all of us have. However, what differentiates him is he was willing to keep going and learn about all the social media sites and use them as a conversational tool, which is what it was made for, not as an advertising tool. ...more

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Nov 14, 2013 Chris rated it liked it

Unmarketing, despite being term that I still don't get, does a great job at nailing home a few points over and over. Business is about personal connections. People don't just do business with others because it sounds nice. Would you let someone you don't know just watch your kids because they charge a fair price? Probably not, since you don't trust them. It's like that with all business and that's how personal connections are formed.

Don't take actions just for return on investment (ROI) but inst ...more

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