Social Media is a Cocktail Party

A review of Social Media is a Cocktail Party

Introduction

The evolution of the business environment has led to the emergence of new strategies such as increased marketing in the social media. Marketing in the social media is a new concept of great interest to almost all marketers and businesses. In the recent past, marketers have been becoming increasingly interested in promoting their products in the social media through networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Badoo as well as blogs. As a consequence, new literature has been written to help marketers and businesses understand the underlying factors and strategies for marketing in the social media. A variety of books, journals and institutional publications have been produced to serve this purpose. An example of such books is Social Media is a Cocktail: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing written by Jim Tobin and Lisa Braziel. In this book, the authors begin by introducing what social media is before explaining why marketers and businesses need to pay great attention to the phenomenon. The book also provides an elaborate explanation of the key rules guiding and governing marketing in the social media. For instance, Tobin and Braziel (2008) do a tremendous job of breaking down and highlighting what to do and what not to do in social media marketing. The authors also discuss how businesses can use the social media to achieve success in the highly competitive marketplace. The authors also use appropriate real-life examples to enable the reader better understand the ideas, analogies and concepts presented in the book.

In the book, Tobin and Braziel use their professional backgrounds and experiences in marketing to guide marketers and businesses on how to promote in the social media. Tobin and Braziel (2008) use the cocktail party analogy to describe the ideas in plain words and provide a deeper understanding of how organizations can participate successfully in social media marketing. Tobin and Braziel (2008) compare marketing in the social media to a cocktail party with numerous laughs and amazing experiences. According to Tobin and Braziel (2008), marketing in the social media, just like other forms of marketing such as direct selling and promotion, requires active listening to what customers say or want. The authors also claim that there is more to marketing than just persuading and informing the potential customers, and more to business than just competing at the marketplace. In addition, the book provides information about a wide range of Web 2.0 tools such as webinars, podcasts, blogs, Twitter and other social networks. It also shows how these Web 2.0 tools can be blended and commixed together for successful social media marketing. Moreover, the authors recommend that successful marketing in the social media requires hiring the right team and the professional people to work in the social media on behalf of the business. Tobin and Braziel (2008) also propose the creation of a marketing plan for successful promotion in the social media before jumping into it.

Main Ideas Learned From the Book

From this book I have gained a deeper understanding of how blogs, podcasts, social networks and other Web 2.0 tools can be used by marketers and companies in promoting their products. I have learned the usefulness of Web 2.0 tools in the creating of strong customer relations. Moreover, I have learned how effective and strategic use of the social media can help achieve good customer relations that facilitate the attainment of organizations marketing goals. I also discovered how to define an effective social media strategy that would enable an organization increase its sales via the social media. In addition, I have understood a variety of social media tools such as publishing tools, presence apps, photo and video sharing tools, social commerce cites etc, which I did not know before. Lastly, the book has helped me not only understand social media marketing but also how to use Web 2.0 tools for successful social media promotion.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the Social Media Is a Cocktail Party is a useful marketing guide and a must-read for any marketer or company that is interest in social media marketing. Both start-up businesses and large multinational corporations would find the book very helpful when targeting customers through the social media, because it provides a great social media promotion insight. I would also assert that the book provides an elaborate exploration of the social media. It makes exploring social media fun for marketers and businesses. In addition, the book is useful for understanding business to business (B2B) marketing strategies. The Social Media is a Cocktail Party is very interesting and informative writing.