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July 25, 2011
Two Great Guides to Master Social Media at Any Age
By: Jeanette Friedman
 
The Financial Times, a much-respected publishing house (whose news editors predicted today’s global economic mess years ago), has released two dead-tree editions on how to use social media to increase the bottom line and get rich and famous. One is Social Boom: How to Master Business Social Media by Jeffrey Gitomer and the other is How To Make Money with Social Media: An Insider’s Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D.

Social Boom!, Gitomer’s slim volume, booms with exuberance to convince business people to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to sell themselves in the brave new world of Internet marketing. What he writes — along with contributions from media-savvy writers — makes it clear is that if you want to get out there and reach new markets, you need a web presence on the major social sites. You also need to use them properly to respond to consumer/reader comments. Social Boom is a primer about offering added value with your web presence to create that certain something that sets you apart. According to Gitomer, it takes an hour or so every day to maintain that quality presence, and he shoots down one excuse he’s heard after another. The book also warns that you have just nine seconds to get and keep your potential consumer’s attention — but the book doesn’t tell you how to do that. Gitomer instead offers the categories of your business that you need to address to attract potential clients/customers in a pithy, short, and sweet message on the net.

With wild typography, vibrant verbiage, and an outline that lets you pull out the most important information you need, Gitomer — who pushes his own web presence with panache — entertains and teaches at the same time. While some may think his tone is bullying, what he’s really trying to do is snap you out of economic lethargy and pull you away from NCIS marathons. This book is one you will keep near your keyboard to remind you to get cracking on those promotional tweets.

How To Make Money with Social Media by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D. is a bit more serious but written in a user-friendly way that explains in depth what the challenges of marketing on the web are and why it is important to engage. It offers key concepts and exercises at the end of each chapter, almost like a textbook. It explains terms like “widgets” and “crowdsourcing” and “wikis.” It takes you through the process one step at a time and prepares you to cope with the challenges as they arise. It is a more nuanced and exacting book pitched at the more sophisticated reader, who may be more conservative and need more information before creating his or her company’s web presence. In any case, the smart reader will keep both books handy for reference and inspiration.

Social Boom! How to Master Business Social Media
by Jeffrey Gitomer
190 pp. Hardback. FT Press/Financial Times, Upper Saddle River, NJ
ISBN-13  978-0-13-268605-1
ISBN-10  0-13-268605-8
US $22.99 Can $27.99
 
How To Make Money with Social Media: An Insider’s Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business
by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D. (Indexed.)
289, pp. Hardback. FT Press/Financial Times, Upper Saddle River, NJ
ISBN-13  978-0-13-210056-4
ISBN-10  0-13-210056-8
US $24.99 Can $29.99

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About the Author
Jeanette Friedman

Jeanette Friedman is a freelance author, writer, and editor who lives and works in Bergen County, NJ. She blogs at www.jeanettefriendman.com, or you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
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