Individuals and companies are continuing to allocate their time and resources to social media. Although this form of marketing is relatively inexpensive, many still struggle to comprehend the concept or the ability to effectively incorporate this element into their marketing campaigns. Lon Safko and David K. Brake wrote
The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools & Strategies for Business Success in order to educate people in how to promote their product or service.
The authors organized this book to be “...part reference book, part how-to manual, and part business strategy.” The book is divided into three major sections that inform readers about the history of social media, tools and how to develop a strategy. There are quizzes and exercises that allow readers to test how savvy they are in social media. The authors included numerous interviews with key figures in the social media arena that will encourage readers to embrace this method of marketing.
I believe that many people (especially small business owners) might feel compelled to purchase this book because they feel that it might provide a shortcut in helping them receive the information they need to start their campaigns. However, many may find it difficult to concentrate because the tone of the book is dry which is ironic given the nature of the subject matter. In comparison to many of the other social media books on the market, the authors spend a significant portion of the book discussing the history and how the tools used in social media came into existence. There is even a large portion devoted to discussing how important email is which left me feeling puzzled that the authors felt they needed to discuss this issue. Due to time constraints, I fear that most people will want to get straight to the point. Therefore, I feel that this book could have been condensed by focusing on the issues that will concern most of their readers such as what sites are on the marketplace, who frequents the site and how the reader can use this site to best serve their interest.
Even though the book enables readers to skip to the sections that pertain to the aforementioned needs, I believe readers will be left feeling disappointed. There are a number of networks shared in the book, that I feel will not be of use or of interest to the majority of the people that might consider reading this book. I suspect that many of the folks reading this book will be seeking to gain or further increase their knowledge in the three most commonly used social media tools (I am sure you do not need me to tell you which ones).
Sadly, many will be left feeling dissatisfied by the amount of time spent discussing these networks. I feel that more time might have been dedicated to these networks if the authors reduced the number of interviews. Usually, I love reading interviews, but I felt that some of the stories shared were nothing more than plugs for the websites of those being interviewed rather than sharing how they use social media. The smallest and yet most helpful section of the book was devoted to developing a social media strategy.
This book will leave readers feeling frustrated because it is far from being comprehensive and spends way too much time on issues and interviews that do not leave readers feeling empowered. I do not recommend this book because there are a lot more books on the market that are far more concise and will not inundate their readers with information that does not pertain to their needs.
I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.
This book was published in 2009 and contains 840 pages. The price of this book is $29.95 and can be purchased on Amazon.
Click here to buy this book!
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BOOK REVIEW - The Social Media Bible
I really do appreciate the encouragement! I am glad to be in a position to help VAs sort through all of the "fluff" and get to the books that are really going to help them. 
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