Brilliant Social Media: How to Start, Refine & Improve Your Social Media Business Strategy (Brilliant Business)

283 Pages·2013·6.913 MB·English

by  Adam Gray

Adam Gray
‘A must read for anyone
who wants to find out
b
what social media can r
i
l
l
do for their business’ i
a
n
Nikki King OBE, MD of Isuzu Truck (UK) and star of ‘Undercover Boss’ t
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, businesses are now expected to have a S Social
social media presence. But if you haven’t made a start, or you’re dabbling without o
a proper strategy, then it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How does it work? How much c
of my time will it take? When will I see the benefit? What do I do to get heard? i
a
l
Brilliant Social Media will help you get started straight away, then refine and improve
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your strategy to get real business results. Social media is easy when you know how.
e
BRILLIANT OUTCOMES d
i
a Media
• Understand how social media works, and why
it’s good for business
• Find out which platforms will best suit your
business goals
• Make social media part of your wider marketing plan
• Discover how to adapt and improve by learning
from what works
£14.99
Business
G
r How to start, refine and
a
y

improve your social
Visit our website at
www.brilliantseries.com
media business strategy
CVR_GRAY1135_01_SE_CVR.indd 1 30/08/2013 09:31
the the
brilliant series brilliant series
Brilliant books are outcome-focused and 4 7 7 2
7 4 4 4
5 7 1 7
straight to the point. We have over 100 topics 76 61 34 40
7 7 7 7
3 3 3 3
to give you the essential information you need 7 7 7 7
2 2 2 2
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– whether it’s to develop your business skills, 78 78 78 78
9 9 9 9
pursue the career you love, or live the life you
really want to live.
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See what else is available at www.brilliantseries.com 80 80 81 80
7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9
Whatever your level, we’ll get you to the next one.
Whatever your level, we’ll get you
Available to buy now online and from all good bookshops
to the next one.
www.brilliantseries.com
CVR_GRAY1135_01_SE_CVR.indd 3 30/08/2013 09:31
the the
brilliant series brilliant series
Brilliant books are outcome-focused and 4 7 7 2
7 4 4 4
5 7 1 7
straight to the point. We have over 100 topics 76 61 34 40
7 7 7 7
3 3 3 3
to give you the essential information you need 7 7 7 7
2 2 2 2
0 0 0 0
– whether it’s to develop your business skills, 78 78 78 78
9 9 9 9
pursue the career you love, or live the life you
really want to live.
3 5 6 0
4 1 9 8
5 8 0 5
0 5 5 4
5 4 7 4
7 7 7 7
3 3 3 3
7 7 7 7
2 2 2 2
0 0 0 0
8 8 8 8
7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9
7 6 7 4
1 1 9 3
2 0 8 9
3 4 3 3
4 4 4 4
7 7 7 7
3 3 3 3
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2 2 2 2
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9780273737452 9780273756293 9780273746584 18 20 03 46
8 1 3 9
6 7 0 7
7 7 0 7
3 3 2 3
7 7 9 7
2 2 2 2
See what else is available at www.brilliantseries.com 80 80 81 80
7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9
Whatever your level, we’ll get you to the next one.
Whatever your level, we’ll get you
Available to buy now online and from all good bookshops
to the next one.
www.brilliantseries.com
CVR_GRAY1135_01_SE_CVR.indd 3 30/08/2013 09:31
brilliant
social media

A01_GRAY1135_SE_01_PRE.indd 1 14/08/2013 12:19
A01_GRAY1135_SE_01_PRE.indd 2 14/08/2013 12:19
brilliant
social media

How to start, refine and improve your social
media business strategy
Adam Gray
A01_GRAY1135_SE_01_PRE.indd 3 14/08/2013 12:19
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.pearson.com/uk

First published 2013 (print and electronic)
© Pearson Education Limited 2013 (print and electronic)
The right of Adam Gray to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-1-292-00113-5 (print)
978-1-292-00114-2 (PDF)
978-1-292-00115-9 (ePub)
978-1-292-00603-1 (eText)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for the print edition is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gray, Adam (Business writer)
Brilliant social media : how to start, refine and improve your social media business
strategy / Adam Gray.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-292-00113-5 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-292-00114-2 (PDF) -- ISBN 978-1-
292-00115-9 (ePub) -- ISBN 978-1-292-00603-1 (eText)
1. Internet marketing. 2. Social media--Economic aspects. 3. Online social networks. I.
Title.
HF5415.1265.G738 2013
658.8’72--dc23
2013027160
The print publication is protected by copyright. Prior to any prohibited reproduction,
storage in a retrieval system, distribution or transmission in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, permission should be obtained from the
publisher or, where applicable, a licence permitting restricted copying in the United
Kingdom should be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House,
6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
The ePublication is protected by copyright and must not be copied, reproduced,
transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except
as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and
conditions under which it was purchased, or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright
law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the
author’s and the publishers’ rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
17 16 15 14 13
Print edition typeset in Plantin 10/14pt by 30
Print edition printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport,
Hampshire
NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS-REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION
A01_GRAY1135_SE_01_PRE.indd 4 14/08/2013 12:19
Contents
Publisher’s acknowledgements vii
About the author viii
About the book (go on, read me) ix
Introduction: embracing change xiii
1 Setting the scene – how marketing used to work 1
part 1 Why social media works for business 9
2 The problem with traditional marketing 13
3 Why social media is the marketing of the future 17
4 Overarching principles that you must remember 21
5 Getting started 29
part 2 Choosing and using platforms 47
6 Selecting the right social media platforms 51
7 LinkedIn 57
8 Facebook 89
9 Twitter 111
10 Google+ 129
11 YouTube 137
12 The best of the rest: Flickr/Picassa/Pinterest 153
part 3 Making social media work harder 171
13 Tools to better manage your social media accounts 175
14 How to measure your success in social media 183
15 Refining your presence 197
16 Social media monitoring 205
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vi Contents
17 Other things you need to know 223
18 Understanding and managing risks 235
19 How to build social media into the rest of
your marketing 245
Conclusion 253
Glossary 257
Index 262
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Publisher’s acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce
copyright material:
Figures
Figure 6.1 adapted from The Conversation Prism, www.the-
conversationprism.com, © Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com and
JESS3; Figure 7.1 from LinkedIn; Figure 14.1 from bitly with
permission from bitly.com; Figures 14.2, 14.3, 14.4 from http://
sproutsocial.com, Sprout Social; Figure 19.1 from Fab.com,
owner of the website content (excluding photo) is Fab.com,
Inc., photo with permission from Design House Stockholm.
In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of
copyright material, and we would appreciate any information
that would enable us to do so.
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