Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xv
1 An Introduction to Social Media Marketing 1
Where We Are Now 3
What Is Social Media Marketing? 3
What Makes "Social Media" Marketing Different? 6
A Brief Introduction to Social Media Portals 9
The Web As a Means of Giving Consumers a Voice 11
It's Time to Join the Conversation 15
Content Is Not King (Not by Itself, at Least) 15
Are You Ready for Social Media Marketing? 16
So What's Next? 17
Summary 17
2 Goal Setting in a Social Environment 19
The Hurdle: Overcoming Fear About an Uncontrolled Message 19
Asking the Right Questions: Setting Goals for Your Campaign 25
Making Your Goals Smart 32
Researching Your Social Media Community 33
Formulating Your Strategy 35
When Should I Pursue Social Media Marketing? 37
Summary 38
3 Achieving Social Media Mastery: Networking and Implementing Strategy 39
When Is It Appropriate Not to Respond at All? 39
How Do You Monitor the Conversation? 40
You're Listening-What Now? 47
Planning Your Social Media Strategy 49
Networking Within a Social Medium 51
Understanding and Listening to Your Audience 51
The Importance of Giving 53
Community Managers 54
Power Accounts 56
Summary 60
4 Participation is Marketing: Getting Into the Game 63
The Cluetrain Manifesto: Markets Are Conversations 63
The "Participation Is Marketing" Phenomenon 64
Graco Baby Case Study: "Participation Is Marketing" Translates to Brand Awareness and Exposure 66
Tyson Foods Case Study: We Have a Blog and We'll Use It for Good 68
The Home Depot Case Study: Tapping into the Mindshare of Valued Customers 70
Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse Case Study: TheSteakhouse That Engages Online Everywhere 73
Reputation Management 75
Network Solutions Case Study: Reputation Management by Listening 78
Reputation Management Monitoring: 12 Reputations You Should Monitor Online 79
Considering a Reputation Management Strategy 81
Summary 82
5 Using Blogs to Communicate, Influence, and Learn From Your Constituents 85
A Short History of Blogging 85
The History of Blogs, 1998-2009: Who Is Writing and Who Is Reading? 86
Blogs As Online Influencers 87
How Blogs Are Consumed 90
A Beginner's Guide to Blog Platforms 91
Writing for Blog Audiences 96
How Blogs Are Discovered 110
What to Do If Your Corporate Policy Disallows Blogging 116
Summary 120
6 Microblogging Magic: How Twitter Can Transform Your Business 125
A History of Twitter 125
Twitter for Business Is Born 126
Using Twitter 127
How to Achieve Business Goals Through Twitter 129
Other Business Uses of Twitter 137
Tools of the Twitter Trade 140
Summary 147
7 Getting Social: Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, and Other Social Networks 149
Introduction to Social Networking Sites 149
Facebook: The Digital You 151
MySpace: Personalized Connections 160
Getting Professional with LinkedIn 163
The Big Social Networks Abroad 169
Summary 170
8 Informing Your Public: The Informational Social Networks 173
Human-Edited Social Search 174
Choosing the Best Answers: Using Yahoo! Answers for Social Media Marketing 187
Other Q&A Websites to Be Considered in a Social Media Marketing Strategy 191
Knowledge Is Power 193
Create Your Own Wiki 194
Summary 195
9 Leaving Your Mark: How to Rock the Social Bookmarking Space 197
A Timeline: The Past, Present, and Future 197
Using Social Bookmarking Sites 201
Other Social Bookmarking Sites 219
Summary 222
10 Social News Brings You Page Views 225
The Wisdom of Crowds 225
What Is Social News? 228
What Are Social News Websites? 230
The Big Players in Social News 244
Summary 264
11 New Media Tactics: Photography, Video, and Podcasting 267
Using Your Pictures to Market Yourself 268
Beyond Stationary: The Video Marketing Guide 283
Evangelizing Content Producers Through Photos and Video 295
The Emergence of Podcasting and the Podcast Today 296
Summary 299
12 Sealing the Deal: Putting it All Together 301
Identification: Telling People Who You Are 301
The Social Media Workflow 302
Revisiting Return on Investment 303
Am I Done Yet? 305
Strategizing in Social Media Communities 308
Thinking Outside Social Media Communities: Face-to-Face Interactions 310
Fostering Creativity Online 312
Encourage "Old-School" Tactics, Too 322
The Bottom Line 323
Summary 324
A The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook 327
B Recommended Reading 335
Index 337
