Are you a corporate brand manager with an extra $250,000 to spend this year? Have you been wondering if the new Social Media world of Web 2.0 is right for your brand? Well, this book is for you! “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff is a fascinating read. It certainly was for me. And we don’t have an extra $250K that we want to put toward experimenting with a new media. This book is full of fabulous insight and statistics to get you thinking about the process of using Social Technologies. Even on a budget.
As I’ve said often in this blog, you have to start a marketing campaign off by knowing who your audience is and then what you are going to tell them. Forrester Research is the company that these two writers work for and it shows all the way through the book. It is packed with research and statistics.
But, it is also very sensible in explaining the importance of actually having a plan and sticking to it. If you’re willing to be thoughtful as well as creative, then this book is for you, even if your budget is $25,000 and not $250,000. By just buying the book, you get all of the research that Forrester has done on why people use Facebook or LinkedIn.
And there are a few different reasons why. Some people are creators. Some are critics. Others are collectors or joiners or spectators. Groundswell explains, with examples, how and why each one of these groups uses social media in a different way. If you know who you’re trying to reach in these groups, you can then start making plans on which pieces of Social Technology you will use.
Because Social Media is a group of tools. They don’t all do the same thing and you don’t need to use them all. So, this is an excellent book if you are a researcher. The sheer amount of data will keep you glued all the way through. And then of course, you will eventually have to do something with all this information. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Now get out there and make it happen!
Tags: Charlene Li
