Mark Schaefer Explains Social Media for Business

Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend, Revised and Expanded Second Edition

Author: Mark W. Schaefer

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Date of Publication: February 7, 2018

Length: 143 Pages


About the Author
Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs at {grow} - one of the top marketing blogs of the world.

Social Media - An Unstoppable Force
Mark Schaefer believes the potential for marketing through social media platforms is a significant and unstoppable force.

The author explains that behind every social media marketing success story, you will find the following three elements:

1. Targeted connections +
2. Meaningful content +
3. Authentic Helpfulness = BUSINESS BENEFITS

This updated book offers business leaders solid strategies and case studies for implementing, managing and measuring a social media marketing program.


My Thoughts

Social media marketing requires more expertise in marketing than social media. Do not assign Tammy from the mail room to run your new social media effort because she's good at Facebook.

I had to smile when I read the above quote, but the author makes a very valid point. Social media offers platforms to promote and market your business. You are always marketing. 

How do you handle complaints and criticism on social media? 
"Deal with it. Adjust. Adapt. Get your house in order because the social web will make you miserable if you don't."
This book spells out exactly what you need to do to establish a successful social media marketing program for your business. I found the social media marketing case study in Chapter 11 extremely interesting and inspiring.

"Social Media explained" is recommended for social media newbies as well as experienced professionals. Mark Schaefer is a natural teacher and he EXPLAINS some advanced strategies and techniques in an understandable manner. I am confident you will find value in this book. Read the book and then go back and really study it. 

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 

FYI ~ I borrowed a digital copy of this book with my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Thank you for reading this book review. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: Keynote Mastery by Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Title: Keynote Mastery: The Personal Journey of a Professional Speaker

Author: Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Publication Date: January 6, 2016

Length: 284 Pages



About The Author
Patrick Schwerdtfeger (@schwerdtfeger on Twitter) is a leading authority on global business trends including demographics, big data and the social media revolution. He is a keynote speaker who has headlined events for conferences all over the world.

The Show Must Go On!
Mr. Schwerdtfeger writes about his life journey as a professional speaker. He is brutally honest about the challenges of self-employment and his personal struggles to survive.

However, he has a dream and his determination, perseverance and tenacity lead to a degree of success that many speakers never achieve.

This is a memoir that offers inspiration and motivation to all who aspire to be a professional speaker. The author shares many "insider secrets" that he has learned from being a speaker for the past seven years. 


My Thoughts
When I listen to a keynote speaker, I expect to be informed, inspired and entertained. I have never had the opportunity to hear the author speak, however, I listened to Mr. Schwerdtfeger's Tedx speech on YouTube and was very impressed.

These are the things I especially liked about this book:

1. The transparent look at the author's life. Mr. Schwerdtfeger posted his credit card balances all along his seven year journey to become a successful keynote speaker. He did not candy-coat his life or make it appear to be something that it is not.

2. The easy-to-read flow of the narrative. The author wrote in a very engaging manner and I felt like I was traveling right along with him on the many journeys that he wrote about.

3. The sensitive manner the author dealt with his mother's mental illness and his father's chronic illness. I am sure this was very difficult to describe, but it was part of the journey and described in an admirable way.

4. Information the author shared about professional speaking. He goes into detail about the structure of a keynote speech. The author was especially open about the financial challenges that he faced and how he handled them.

5. The author's marketing strategies. Mr. Schwerdtfeger's business success depends on how well he markets himself. He has come up with some very creative marketing techniques that should benefit other self-employed entrepreneurs.

What I didn't like about this book:

1. Chapter 61 - "Book marketing sucks." There is a discussion on the trials and tribulations of book marketing in this chapter. The author discusses "pay to play" programs and other ways to get your book noticed for a price. It seems like book marketing would be a piece of cake after all the experience the author has in promoting his speaking career. The chapter is just too negative for my tastes.

2. Chapter 62 and 63 - "The Keynote Mastery Program" and "The Speaker Syndicate".  These chapters promote two programs that the author is selling to professional speakers. I think these chapters could have been cut down to a one page "teaser" that encouraged speakers to contact the author for more information.

MY RATING: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Book Review: Crowdfunding - Put the Fun Into Funding and Get the Money You Need by Zynnia Jezek

One Word Book Review: ENTHUSIASM

 Crowdfunding: Put the Fun Into Funding And Get The Money You Need: How A Little Girl Raised Over $7k In Four Days On IndieGoGo (Distinct Press Young Entrepreneurs Series)

Author: Zynnia Jezek

Publisher: Distinct Press

Publication Date: December 27, 2014

Print Length: 130 Pages

An 11-Year-Old Girl With A Big Dream
Zynnia Jezek, at the age of 11-years-old, designed a successful crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo to provide funds for a trip from Florida to the Awesomeness Fest in Hawaii. This event is billed as the ultimate transformational experience for entrepreneurs. Zynnia believed this could be a life-changing event for she and her familly.

The problem was, they did not have the money needed to make the trip.

Zynnia and her sister created an IndieGoGo campaingn called "4 Day Awesomeness Fest Test" and made $6, 475.

This book tells exactly what Zynnia did to make her dream come true.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the enthusiasm and excitement depicted in this ebook. The young author/entrepreneur describes a real-life behind the scenes look at a successful  IndieGoGo campaign.  

This is not a primer or resource guide for designing a crowd funding campaign. It is a memoir of one girl's experience and how it changed her life.

The author provides screen shots of a series of PowerPoint slides that were used to promote and publicize this campaign. These slides were designed by Zynnia's sister and are quite creative. I think viewing these promotional slides make this book a relevant selection for anyone thinking about running a crowd funding campaign.

The editing and formatting are rough in places, but the content is informative and impressive. Kudos to Zynnia for a great effort. She proves that most anything is possible with determination and a little help from family and friends.

I predict this young lady has a very bright future!

My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I purchased this digital book with my Kindle Unlimited membership on Amazon.Com.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

The Hunger Games Accessories GIVEAWAY (Freebie Alert!)

Are there any Hunger Games fans in the house?

In August, Cindy Phelps Thomas wrote a book review of "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins on this blog.
If you have not read this awesome review, please click HERE.

I am giving away the following "Hunger Games" accessories to ONE lucky blog reader. The picture shows exactly what you will be receiving.

• A package of six Hunger Games pencils.
• A vinyl Hunger Games pencil case.
• A Hunger Games journal.

All you have to do to enter this contest is:
(1.) FOLLOW this blog with Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. I {{{heart}}} my blog followers.
(2.) Leave a brief comment on THIS post.

I will use Random.Org to choose ONE winner at 12:00 Noon (Central Time) on Tuesday, February 5. The winner will be chosen from you comments at the bottom of this post. That is just ONE WEEK from today.

Please include an email address in your comment. I will send the winner an email on February 5 and they will have 48 hours to respond with their shipping address. If I do not receive a reply, I will pick another name. I will announce the winner on this blog after I have received an email confirmation.

I will ship these items via USPS Priority Mail (Flat-Rate Envelope) at my expense. I am willing to ship this package ANYWHERE in the world.

I want to encourage my readers from Canada, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan....ANYWHERE in the world to enter this contest. I truly appreciate my international readers!

Good Luck!

Video Marketing with Animoto

Would you like to spread the word about your book, business or blog? 
Is video marketing right for you?
You don't need an expensive video camera to make a video for YouTube, Facebook or Twitter.
Camera shy? You don't have to talk in front of the camera.
Today I will share a video slideshow that I made to promote/advertise this blog.



I designed the following slideshow with Animoto. I think a picture/video is worth a thousand words so I am offering this video as an example of how you can use a slideshow to tell the world about your business or product.

Do you use video marketing? Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.