People who know me well will have heard me banging on about my social media book for ages - well, here it is...

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Product Description

Anyone in business can use social media to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty and sales. This is Social Media shows you how.

You might already be social networking on Facebook, or even microblogging on Twitter. One thing′s for sure though; you′re too busy to muck about on these sites all day, not really knowing how to get any decent play out of them. You′re looking for profitability, not gimmicks.

Many organizations, large and small, are using social media and social networking to build robust communities of followers, stay ahead of the competition and increase profits. Are you missing a trick?
 
This is the definitive guide to using the whole spectrum of social media in an efficient and measurable way in order to market your business. It covers Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ecademy, Flickr, YouTube, Bebo, MySpace, Blogs, Podcasts, Mobile and much, much more. Each site is assessed not as an end in itself but as means of delivering a business result.

With simple, practical steps, real life examples and quick definitions to explain the jargon, you′ll soon understand the world of social media and have access to a range of social networking tactics that will help you reach new customers and clients, as well as get your existing ones to do more business with you.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5331 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From the Author
I wrote this book because it's the one I wanted to read. Let me explain a bit. I've been a journalist using some sort of social network - Compuserve in the 1990s (remember that?) and others before and since - all my working life. I started reading blogs early on, but everyone around me seemed to be saying social networks were invented with Facebook and Twitter.

Of course they've become bigger and more widespread. But the essence of them - somewhere you can participate and add something as well as find customers - remains constant. I wanted to write the book that said so.

I also noticed a lot of people were talking about social media and social networks only as something, well, 'social'. The business customer, who had a feeling he or she could be doing something for customers with this newfangled stuff, didn't have a guide. I'd picked up loads of business using social networks and I wanted to help other people do the same where it's possible.

So this isn't a book that tells you how to get in touch with all your friends. It isn't an in-depth technical guide. It's intended as an introduction to social media and social networking for business managers and owners anywhere. It tells you who's likely to be on which network and it tells you how to get involved and get social media into your marketing mix.

I hope it's a help.

Guy Clapperton

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Customer Reviews

Impressive insights into social networking
I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'This is social media' by Guy clapperton. It's easy to get into, digest and apply, which means that you can start tinkering about with social media as soon as you start using the book - I say 'using' because it really should be read near a PC. It also acts as a sort of directory, so you can look up the bits you want to return to as and when they become applicable.

Guy takes quite a back to basics approach, carefully explaining the background behind social media and then gradually introducing each area. If you're a social media whizz then this book probably isn't for you, but if you're either completely alien to, or still to use the full social media mix, then it could definitely offer value for your business.

One aspect that really impressed me is that Guy doesn't try to convince his readers that all types of social media are relevant to every business. On the contrary, he encourages you to think about your own aims and objectives before starting with any of them - so you're far less likely to waste your time. There's also a good understanding of the cost of social media to your business, in terms of time, which again makes the book extremely practical.

Overall, thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to start seeing some results soon!

Excellent choice
I loved this book - Guy's writing style is easy to read and he breaks down what is quite a techie area into one that everyone can try. His suggestions on how to make your life easier by amalgamating all the various social networking sites will save you mountains of time - and he points you towards which ones you should be focussed on in the first place.

Thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get more out of social networking