Clutter Buster

The Essential Social Media Marketing Handbook – Gail Z. Martin (Career Press)

I chuckled when I first saw the cover of Gail Z. Martin’s new book The Essential Social Media Marketing Handbook, which features a graphic depiction of some of the social media outlets/tools that are available to marketers. Some…just some. I have seen attempts at infographic depictions of the multitudes of the social channels available to marketers.

Compound the issue with a fire hose of information that is being flooded out for consumption by customers across the spectrum and the problem becomes quite clear; how do you stand out from this overwhelming hoard and have your message cut through and have an impact?

That is where Martin’s book comes in. A bestselling author (30 Days to Social Media Success) international speaker, marketing expert and owner of DreamSpinner Communications, Martin gives you a detailed road map for building your social media presence from the ground up; starting with a solid foundation and then taking things to the next level.

Any business owner who has been hit with lines like “you need to be on Facebook” or “you should be blogging” and jumped in with both feet and were left wondering why things didn’t work or had little to no impact, will want to focus on Martin’s thoughts on not only building your platform, but also how to properly develop your social media plan, but also how to identify the channels that will have the most impact when it comes to reaching your customers. Rather than running from one end of the room to the other in search of impact, Martin will have you fishing where the fish are.

I really liked her advice on how to try some of the more advanced channels, while still keeping the tried and true basics like websites and newsletters as a part of your marketing mix; both remain very viable and proven ways to deliver your message directly to existing customers and potential prospects alike.