The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue

Unfortunately, I feel that Kabani rehashed the basics of social media without providing much, if any, new insight. "The Zen of Social Media" seemed like more of a instruction manual for creating profiles on social networks instead of a marketing guide. Many of the ideas throughout the book relied on common sense. For example, it is common sense for a brand to post regular updates on social networking sites. It would have been a better reading experience if Kabani had gone as far as explaining the types of updates people seem to respond to and bring a bit more of a human aspect into it.To me, the highlight of "The Zen of Social Media" was the workbook provided online. It is a nice workbook that gets the user thinking critically about what they want to achieve by using social media. The workbook gives tasks such as, "How will you measure your social media marketing efforts?" and "List three goals you want to accomplish using social media marketing." While the workbook does not provide the sought after analysis and case studies, it does get the user to take a step back and think about their motives for using social media, which is always useful. I feel as if "The Zen of Social Media" would have been more effective as a whole if it was set up more like the workbook.Despite its flaws, "The Zen of Social Media" has only enhanced my interest in working with social media from a marketing standpoint. The constant changing creates an always evolving workplace. Although I have been critical about "The Zen of Social Media," there are some nuggets of helpful information in there.There is one passage that I wish had been focused on more throughout the book: "So much of social media is about building relationships and leveraging word of mouth. Sometimes a consumer has to hear about you ten times before he or she will buy" (p. 141-142). I do not think the goal here is to get people to post the same message ten times on different social networking sites. I am afraid that novice people who are looking to "The Zen of Social Media" for guidance may just take exactly that away from this book. I think Kabani has some really good ideas, they just were not executed very well. Perhaps it would have been more effective in an online only version that could be updated regularly. The three main points Kabani wanted the readers to focus on were: Strategize first, be human, and have patience. Overall, I wish these aspects were weaved more thoroughly throughout the book. If "The Zen of Social Media" had focused on these aspects, like I think the goal was, it could have been great.

A good book in that it explains the most basic functions of social media. It would be a good read for my senior dad. However, if you have any basic knowledge of things like Facebook and LinkedIn, this book may not provide any new information.

For someone who has already mastered the very entry levels basics of social media and is looking for some practical guidance on how to take the next step in adding a social media stratgey dimension to their marketing mix this book is a great buy.Although those who have a more advanced knowledge of the topic may find the Shama Kabani's inclusion of some very basic information an irritation, I'd have to commend her on doing a really excellent job of balancing that basic information with some good practical in-depth `how to' guidance for the more advanced reader.Because it focuses upon FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube it really a great primer for those looking for a business angle on social media. The `Zen' referred to in the title is the distinction the author draws between the traditional marketing mindset and the mindset required for success in social media marketing - this will be familiar territory for those who have read much on the topic, but she treats it well and draws on an impressive record of having successfully `practiced what she preaches' in her own business.The book is described in the blurb as `an easier way to build credibility, generate buzz, and increase revenue'. There is no doubt in my mind that following her step-by-step guidance will indeed build credibility and generate buzz - on revenue generation I'll have to let you know later.This is definitely worth a look - especially if you buy it on Kindle at a very reasonable cost of $8.98.

If you're looking for a guide that will give you insights as to strategies and tips to really have successful social media campaigns, this is not the book for you. This one is all about gathering focus on what you're doing and trying to harness that focus into some sort of mission statement or instructional setting before going forward and actually doing the dirty work of social media marketing. It discusses the whys, whats and wheres without actually delving into the actual how to do it. It's high level overview stuff that isn't exceptionally useful for someone looking to dig into Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media format. Worse is with these sort of books they become dated very quickly as social media fads come and go and I suspect the writer, trying to avoid this, avoids referencing how to work on specific platforms. Again, not excessively helpful as a tool to get you started.

This has to be the best book out there for people wanting to get to grips and/or stay up to speed with all things social media. I highly recommend it to all my students and clients.

This book has a direct approach to the subject matter. Very easy to follow and to put into practice. Definitely recommend.

Great little book, full of useful information and clearly laid out.

One of the "joys" of spending so much time on the road is being able to catch up on reading and I'd been meaning to read "The Zen of Social Media" for a while. When I finally got around to it, I wasn't disappointed.Subtitled "An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz and Increase Revenue", the book opens with a foreword by Chris Brogan and then focuses on social media from a business perspective. The final chapter looks at a number of case studies, which is a useful way of seeing the practical application of the content covered in the main part of the book.The book is clear, straightforward and focuses on the usual suspects - Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Even for someone like me who is a little jaded by the vast amount of social media literature out there, the book contains a lot of useful tips, enough to keep me reading until the end - no mean feat!The book also contains a guest chapter on the increasing importance of video blogging which is one of the best treatments of the subject I have read.I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about using social media to increase their revenue and to consultants as it provides an integrated roadmap.Just the kind of thing to ask your kids or other relatives or friends to buy you for Christmas when you are desperately searching for ideas!

While Social Media is a rabidly changing frontier, the Zen of Social Media remains relevant. I bought a previous version, and not the 2012, and while it was a little out of date, it provided some great concepts, and lots of great advice. Website traffic for my personal web blog has gone up considerably since applying many of the authors concepts. And most importantly, this is an engaging and entertaining read.