Likeable: Social Media - Book Review

Over the past few weeks I've been reading Likeable by Dave Kerpen.

The book begins by Kerpen telling the story of waiting a long time to check-in at a hotel in Las Vegas. Out of frustration, he tweeted about the issue and received a response from a competitor of that hotel. While this example was attention-grabbing it gave me the impression that this was going to be like every other textbook on social media, outdated and useless. To my surprise however, this book is far from useless. 

Kerpen explains how important social media is a tool for marketers through multiple chapters of simplified information, case study examples that included some of the newest channels like Instagram stories, explaining barriers such as Facebook's new ad algorithm and, my favorite, every chapter ended with actionable steps which were rather useful to me while I'm completing my internship. 

Some of my key takeaways included;

·     Making it a priority with social media to listen first and never stop listening to consumers because it allows you to understands them and actively stay engaged without always pushing an ad.

·     That honesty and authenticity on social media do not exsist without understanding how to positively respond to bad comments and criticism as well as knowing how to create true dialiogue and engagement with your consumers. I cannot express how much I resent bot chats and automated responses. 

·     How important it is to understand how to leverage social media because on social media, you’re not just competing with other companies, instead you’re competing with companies and all of your customers’ friends and their baby pictures.

·     Social media should be a part of every customer's experience with your company, and you can't have that without training your entire compnay on how to listen, engage and be transpartent on social media. 

·     Realizing that so much more goes into marketing a brand on social media than just promotion, and perhaps most important is the story you tell. As long as it is authentic, you can use that story to provide added value for consumers, inspire customers and turn them into influcers who tell their own story and stay ahead of your competition. 

·     That marketers must know how to think and act like your consumers, Kerpens ask us to switch between marketer and consumer throughout the chapters and wearing both hats really helps me see the full picture. 

Overall, the book I think is succesful because of it's highly-engaging and motivating nature. I eargerly took notes and wanted to apply what I was learning as fast I could. I didn't feel like I was reading the same thing over and over as well as the variety of examples makes it easier to understand how to apply each tactic. 

Who do I think should read this book? Everyone with social business acounts and any marketing, social media or communications student espically those already working in the field through internships. It's truly useful for just about anyone looking to change their social media effectively.