The Business of Being Social by Michelle Carvill and David Taylor

I use a lot of different social media sites regularly and would consider myself to be particularly au fait with their use. However, this book has taught me a lot of important information that I didn't know. I sat down with the idea of flicking through it and getting a general idea of what it was all about. I then found several hours later that I had read it cover to cover. There is so much advice, and so many tips, in this book I am finding it difficult to know where to start with reviewing it.

It starts with a general overview of social media and social media marketing. I found the section on the demographics of the use of different sites particularly enlightening. This includes the age groups of the people who use these sites which surprised me ins most cases. It then goes on to an in depth exploration of four of these sites - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and You Tube.

The book takes you through the basics of these and then proceeds to more in depth use of the sites and how they can be used effectively in business marketing. The authors use a number of case studies to illustrate the points which they are making. They also point you towards businesses which have used these sites in innovative ways. I particularly liked the section on how to set up an effective Facebook Page and how to manage it to drive traffic and provide interesting content to your fans. The section on YouTube marketing was also enlightening.

Sections of the book include:

• The use of social media 
• Effective blogging
• The importance of interesting content 
• Twitter 
• Facebook 
• YouTube 
• LinkedIn 
• Listening and analysis 

There is a real focus on listening and analysis and engaging with your customers in meaningful ways. A number of case sties demonstrate ways in which this has been done well by companies. This serves to maintain a real human feel to the book. The whole emphasis is on reaching the cutover as a person rather than merely selling.

The book also discusses a number of other social networking sites albeit briefly. These are Google+, Tumblr, MySpace, Twitter, Foursquare and Flickr.

All in all this has to be one of the best social media books I have ever read, if not the best. As a writer I am also a small business and this has certainly given me numerous ideas and ways in which I can use social media to not only my, but also my readers, advantage. If you buy only one book on Social Media for Business then this should be the one.

Other blog posts which cover social media are:
Social Media Just for Writers

The Tao of Twitter by Mark W. Schaefer

Are we Influential

Links to the paperback versions of the book are on the right hand side of this blog. This is a departure from my usual ebook links but I feel this is a book which should be kept by your side and used over and over. It lends itself to print rather than ebook. However, the links will take you to the amazon page and you can click on ebook if you would prefer it in this medium. Bookaholics will be back soon with another great review. Until then, as always, keep on reading.