I recently got my hands on a couple review copies of The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts That Will Make Your Company Faster, Smarter, and More Social, written by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund. I also got a chance to see them speak and share their presentation for it at Social Media AZ in Tempe and was quite impressed and proud what they had to say.
This book is a perfect complement to Groundswell written by Charlene Li. See, Groundswell makes the perfect business case on why businesses need to use social media to grow their brand. The opening of The Now Revolution very much picks up where the Groundswell ends. Even without reading other social media themed books, The NOW Revolution stands on its merit as a helpful book.
Hey! Do you know of a business that should read The NOW Revolution? Read how you can help join The NOW Revolution…
Baer and Naslund do a fantastic job of explaining the “How.” And we’re not talking about using Hootsuite or Facebook, either. The book clearly explains the strategy behind the processes to make the business more receptive and responsive throughout social media. They discuss many elements of successful social media strategies and deep insights on what makes them successful. They provide the reader numerous case studies and ‘cheat-sheets’ that inspire you to take your brand to the next level with social media.
I found myself wanting to pause at numerous points in the book and write up some ideas in parallel. Not many books get that reaction out of me, so that’s a huge plus.
When reading the book, I found myself with a sinking feeling that I have many moons of work to do on our own brand at Infusionsoft. Conversely, I found myself excited that I discovered some of the missing links in our social processes. Not necessarily the practices we were doing are wrong per se; it’s the reality that a “successful” social media implementation is one that can scale and support the business.
The book is laid out in seven sections as the title promises:
- Engineer a New Bedrock
- Find Talent You Can Trust – LOVED!
- Organize Your Armies – LOVED!
- Answer the New Telephone
- Emphasize Response-Ability
- Build a Fire Extinguisher – LOVED!
- Make a Calculator – LOVED!
(I was really captivated by the four chapters noted above, but the others are awesome, too.)
The book is well written and definitely should be read by every person in a business’ marketing team, research and development, customer service and in the hands of all the executive leadership in every business.
My only constructive feedback about The NOW Revolution is the use of Microsoft Tags. It just wasn’t my thing. Quick Response (QR) codes would be a more universal approach that I would engage with more frequently. However, I don’t find too much fault in the use of the Tags throughout the book. These tags enable the reader to have quick access to content that would normally require them to list lengthy links as footnotes (that nobody really navigates to).
Who this book is for:
- Marketing Managers
- Communications/PR Professionals
- CEOs and Business Owners
- Decision-makers
- Social Media Strategists/Experts
Who this book is not for:
- If you’re looking to see step-by-step how to use social media.
- Web and Internet novices/newbies
- Justin Bieber fans.
For less than $14, you can’t go wrong. Pick yourself up a copy of The Now Revolution on Amazon. If you click that link, I’ll make about three cents, but if you dislike supporting publishers through affiliate links, here’s the direct link to Jay and Amber’s site with more information on The NOW Revolution.
