A Guide to Social Marketing: A Book Review
Brian Carter. The Like Economy: How Businesses Make Money with Facebook. Indianapolis Indiana: Que, 2012. 263 pages with index.
Facebook is perhaps the most known social media website with hundreds of millions of people participating on a regular basis. But perhaps your opinion of Facebook is as conflicted as the remarks made by Betty White. When she hosted Saturday Night Live, Betty White acknowledged the power of Facebook by stating that a Facebook poll got her on the show. But she also stated that she thought Facebook was a big waste of time. Perhaps this sounds like you. If so, then The Like Economy will help you decide whether you should start or continue your work in Facebook.
Brian Carter is a marketing consultant who is help businesses tap into the power of social media like Facebook. Carter provides a step by step marketing plan. Carter explains that Facebook is essential to your business because life is a lot more like high school than college. People are moved more by popularity and the actions of peers than the cold hard facts. Facebook is so important to businesses because it taps into what people like and how they are more likely to trust their peers than experts.
Carters explains how to use Facebook for creating sales and for positioning the company’s brand. Using the AIDA plan which stands for Attention- Interest- Desire- Action as the four steps of the sales program, Carter shows how Facebook provides the attention in the interest elements of sales and in for some businesses that desire and action depending on what you’re selling.
What I appreciated about Carter’s approach was that he did not over hype the benefits of Facebook for company. He repeatedly exhorts readers that working in Facebook may not provide immediate eye-popping profits. But notes that this fact is likely due to the tracking programs bias toward the last click. Carter argues that businesses must be concerned about the total sales process rather than focusing on the last click.
Other elements of the book include:
- 1. How Facebook is different from Google and Twitter,
- 2. How Facebook works and why it doesn’t,
- 3. How to track and interpret sales and tracking data,
- 4. How to build a marketing plan.
Carter writes with clarity in a systematic fashion that aids learning. He provides useful summaries both within the chapter and through sections. The book also contains an index to assist in its usefulness as a resource to consult time and time again. I found the book highly informative for non-marketing professional like myself. I appreciated the step-by-step plan that he provided to help newcomers act rather than being overwhelmed by the size of the project. I highly recommend the book for those who are interested in branding and selling their products through social marketing.
About the Reviewer
Stephen M. Vantassel is an expert in wildlife damage management. He writes a blog on wildlife control@wildlifecontrolconsultant.com. His latest book is The National Wildlife Control Training Program (2012) published by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Cornell University. He reviews books, videos, and products on subjects related to wildlife control or the wildlife control industry.
