I had the opportunity to read the book, The Facebook Era, written by Clara Shih about the business value in Facebook with a variety of case studies and supporting examples. I admit, I am usually the first to question anything that attempts to be the end-all authority on social media, but this book struck me in a better way. In a nutshell, this book is a must-read for any social media practitioner who delivers key business results for companies in social media. It’s also a must-give book to any company that is in the midst of planning their social media strategy. I’ve had quite a few thoughts on this book since the publisher sent it to me for review.
The Facebook Era begins with the overview of social media and the trends in the way of consumer interactions and commerce on the Web have evolved over the past 20 years. It’s a remarkable bridge that sets the pace and tone for the rest of the book. That is, the book is not about how to exploit consumers, rather; empowering them and repositioning customers into the decisions of the company.
Throughout the book, Clara shares examples and practical advice on starting and improving a brand’s presence on Facebook. She also mixes in her expertise that she derived (and subtly promotes) from the popular Salesforce Web application, Faceforce. To read more on Faceforce, InsideFacebook interviewed Clara on it. Trust me, even if you’re not a Salesforce user, it’s valuable to see how enterprises are building relationships with customers through the multitude of APIs and technologies available today.
I want to point out that The Facebook Era is a must-have for any social media proponents so they can augment their theories, trends and positions on social media so they can win over the interests of a business to engage in social media. This book has very little fluff and a lot of actionable, usable and substantial points that you can refer throughout one’s career.
One misnomer about the book — it’s not isolated to Facebook. It’s about the new age of customer service, support, marketing and business practices in the time of Facebook. So, this book could easily be titled The Twitter Era. Despite the strong focus on Facebook, the principles can applicable to most universal social media strategies.
I want to share my gratitude to the publisher, Prentice Hall/Pearson, for providing this book free for me to review. For the interest of disclosure, no additional concessions were afforded in my thoughts on this. I really believe this book is a good read for those who work in the field of social media, marketing and Web business.
What are your thoughts on The Facebook Era or the new flood of brands now present on Facebook? Share it in the comments!
