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It looks like this social media thing for business could be a solid accompaniment to your company's marketing and advertising initiatives — assuming that you still allocate resources to those things.
But the temptation to devote time to Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other so-called "social media" is strong. After all, they're free! Everybody is either doing it or saying that you should. And doesn't Dell sell a zillion computers through Twitter?
Before devoting precious time and money to efforts that may not immediately impact the bottom line, it's important to understand what the tools are and how they can be used for branding, marketing, customer service, engagement and — oh yeah — sales.
Here's a look at a selection of current books offering wisdom and advice on the process of leveraging social media for business.
"The Social Media Marketing Book" by Dan Zarrella (O'Reilly Media, 232 pages, $19.99)
I reviewed Mitch Joel's terrific "Six Pixels of Separation" a few months back. For those who have little to no understanding of the whys and wherefores of these tools, you can do no better than grab that book. Joel's deep understanding of old school marketing and how it can be transformed by canny deployment of the right tools is worth the price of admission. His engaging writing makes the experience pleasant, too. You'd do quite well with that book as a guide to your online marketing journey.
Of the latest crop of books, I'd recommend Zarrella's taut little catalog of ways and means. It's surprisingly broad, given its size, but the author knows his stuff well enough to realize that each business requires a unique combination of resources. Zarrella lays 'em all out, so you can pick and choose what you think will work best for you.
" Friends With Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook" by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo (No Starch Press, 312 pages, $24.95)
Barefoot and Szabo, a married couple, present a smart survey of current online connection tools and how they're being used by a variety of people in business and out. The two provide plenty of examples and suggest ways to initiate the deployment of social media tools by integrating them with legacy marketing methods, along with embarking upon different ways to engage new markets and constituencies. I'm not sure that they offer anything radically new or unique to the discussion other than their own experiences and perspectives, but that may well suffice.
"Get Connected: The Social Networking Toolkit for Business" by Starr Hall and Chadd Rosenberg (Entrepreneur Press, 288 pages, $21.95)
Hall and sidekick Rosenberg get into the nuts and bolts here with a fine primer. Their no-nonsense approach serves to make the confusing array of choices a bit more comprehensible and actionable for clueless newbies. They review the sites, provide case studies and offer opinions. It's a very good approach, and their book might be the perfect one for small businesses and practices that have limited resources and limitless ambitions.
"The Social Factor: Innovate, Ignite and Win Through Mass Collaboration and Social Networking" by Maria Azua (IBM Press. 247 pages, $29.99)
This one isn't for beginners, though many could certainly benefit from Azua's scholarly and formal survey of current practices, tactics and strategies. The author, an IBM vice president in the company's cloud computing business with solid academic credentials, specializes in collaboration and innovation. The discussion may be well beyond the basics but can also provide insights into potential directions beyond any initial steps.
