Book Review: Social Media Engagement for Dummies

I recently received a copy of the new Social Media Engagement for Dummies book written by two women that I admire so much and am so honored to call friends, Aliza Sherman and Danielle Smith.

While I have been working in Social Media for three years now, like any profession, there is always room to improve your skills. And it's great to keep up with the changes and technical aspects of networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. . .the real key though, in my opinion, is the engagement.

Social and Engagement just go together. . .like peanut butter and jelly. It's not social to send out link after link after link with no hint of engagement.

Now I also realize that not everyone is a social butterfly, and it doesn't come naturally or easily to some.  That's where the lessons and ideas in Aliza and Danielle's book come in. These savvy social ladies tell you how to connect with prospects and turn them into customers and how to use social networks to engage your customers.

Did you see the words connect and engage? Those words are about bringing the social to social media, and that's exactly what I strive to do for every client, brand and person that I work with.

I particularly love the way this book is broken up. It starts off with the basics of engagement. The basics always seem like such a good place to start - doesn't it? Then it moves into four elements of social media engagement. There is a lot of solid information in the first 135 pages, before they even discuss any particular social networks.

Have no fear, these ladies cover the current top social engagement tools, as well as providing information on leveraging audio and video. Many in the field believe that video popularity has only begun, as witnessed by the incredible popularity of Vine and Instavideo.

Anyone that's using Social Media will not want to miss Chapter 17, Ten Social Media Engagement Mistakes to Avoid. I am sure YOU are not making any. . .but just in case. =)

This book definitely gets 2-thumbs up from me. It's a must-read for those both new to social media, as well as those seasoned "gurus" and "experts", and a welcome addition to any business library. I already have corners turned down and Post-it flags all over the place.

What's your best Social Media Engagement advice? I'd love you to share it in the comments.

catch you soon -