Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day [Paperback]

I loved this book. Over the past year or so I have read quite a number of tomes regarding social media and social media marketing, but none until this one have been written in a planner or workbook format. This one is well written, well organized, and full of content. It has 14 chapters split into the following four parts or sections:

I. The Foundation of Social Media
II. Month 1: Prepare for Social Marketing
III. Month 2: Social Media Channels
IV. Month 3: Complete Your Plan

Two books similar to this one on how to put together a business plan are: "16 Weeks to Your Dream Business" (ISBN: 9780071588362, and "Self Employment: From Dream to Reality" (ISBN: 1563709228). And a book similar to this one on how to put together a fundraising plan is: "The Fundraising Planner" (ISBN: 0787944351). The instant book being reviewed touches on the marketing issues of social media, and then devises a systematic approach to putting together a social media marketing plan customized to your small business.

Each of the 14 chapters ended with a summary section. I found it very easy to cruise through this book by first reading the summary sections and then tackling the rest of the book after having a pretty good idea of what was being covered.

After reading this book you will have devised a social media marketing plan that addresses (1) platform, (2) content, and (3) interaction. You will have decided whether to use Technorati, MySpace, Socialvibe, Flickr, Facebook, Friendster, Linkedin, and/or YouTube. Technorati is the tunnel through which to learn more about the blog or blogs you will create.

So if you want to tap into the power of the Social Web through connected networks and consumer-oriented media, then I recommend this book as one of the tomes you seek out and read in order to build your company's social media marketing plan. 5 stars!

PS. Take a look at the Search Inside feature at Amazon for this book. There you can access the book's Table of Contents and see exactly what is covered.

Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day

Dave Evans specializes in social media, word-of-mouth marketing, operations and marketing consulting. He has a passion for solving difficult problems that are worth solving. He is experienced in the marketing world with experience including the launch of [...] in 2005, and he confounded Digitial Voodoo in 1994, a marketing technology consultancy. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and mathematics from the State University of New York/College at Brockport. His Book, "Social Media Marketing: An Hour A Day," tries to ultimately answer the questions, "If I couldn't interrupt you, how would I reach you?" He gives a step by step guide:

Part I: The Foundation of Social Media
1. Backlash
2. The Marketer's Dilemma
3. What Is Social Media

Part II: Month 1: Prepare for Social Marketing
4. Week 1: Web: 2.0: The Social Web
5. Week 2: The Social Feedback cycle
6. Week 3: Touchpoint Analysis
7. Week 4: Influence and Measurement

Part III: Month 2: Social Media Channels
8. Week 1: Build a Social Media Campaign
9. Week 2: Social Platforms
10. Week 3: Social Content: Multimedia
11. Week 4: Social Content: Reviews, Ratings, and Recommendations
12. Week 5: Social Interactions

Part IV: Month 3: Complete Your Plan
13. Week 1: Objectives, Metrics, and ROI
14. Week 2: Present Your Social Media Plan

These sections and chapters build off of each other in an interactive approach to eventually build a social media plan.

The book teaches marketers the new world of the social media marketing and steers them away from traditional marketing habits and tendencies. It provides the important trends of the Social Web through building participation and influence and encourages marketers to consider their options and formulate a plan.

There are many ways to use this book, Dave even says so himself. This book can be helpful for people that are new to marketing, it can be for a seasoned marketer that is transitioning into the Social Web, or it can be for a marketer that needs to reevaluate their social media plan. Readers can start from the beginning and read cover to cover and understand the basics of social media. Some may skip over the exercises, and not come up with a final plan. It is encourage that people should use this book in whatever way it will bring the greatest benefit.

This book is a helpful guide to developing a social media plan because of its day-to-day exercises that are available at the end of each chapter. Evans clearly is passionate in reaching out to other marketers by encouraging them to transition to the new style of marketing.

I would give this book a 3/5 stars labeling it as "It's Ok." I did not hold my attention very long because of its repetitiveness. Social media was defined and explained countless times. It was effective in that it had helpful hints throughout and each chapter summarized main the main points. This book would be most useful for someone that is completely new to the marketing and Social Web world.

I had been on the waiting list of Amazon.com for over 3 months waiting for this book to be released and it is exactly what I hoped for. I'm actually only 108 pages through it now as I "peeked" at all the self help guides that the author has in the appendix. I want to jump right in and get it going but Dave's advice to take your time and learn the hows and whys is so important.

I was not looking for a social commentary on social media but wanted to know the ins and out, nuts and bolts, on how to implement a successful marketable strategy and this book does it.

Only this morning I actually went to the blog and sent an email to the author, Dave, and was surprised that within a few minutes he had responded . Talk about getting more than a book!!

What is so engaging is the author is energetic, evangelistic in his zeal to help others, and willing to share to make this journey easier for others to follow. It's a step by step guide for an emerging dynamic field which is affecting us now and will do so far into the future.

I'm glad this book exists and is so affordable and even happier the author is willing and able to help us along.

Bob Johnson

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 49 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars