A World Gone Social Review

Book by: by Ted Coiné and Mark Babbit

Synopsis:

A World Gone Social discusses how social media is not a fad anymore, but a platform that changes our lives. Social media has grown immensely, to a point where it now shapes our life choices and decisions. With over two billion people active on different platforms, social media offers companies a huge advantage in reaching their customers. Reaching them, however, can be done in a right or wrong way. To correctly utilize the power social media has, this book states that you need to “understand the immense power the consumer holds in the social age”.

There are 8 key ideas in this book, but I wanted to go over the top three I felt the most relevant. The first idea talked about how in the age of social media, the human side of business has become extremely important. I thought it was very interesting how the authors discussed how many believe social media is a fad, and platforms like Facebook and Twitter will slowly die, but this is not the case. Social media, over the years, have helped companies attract top talent to their agencies. Nowadays, jobseekers rely on websites to show potential candidates how great their company is. Also, in todays world if you were unsatisfied with your job, you can share your experiences online, making the next applicant cautious of where they apply.

The next idea was that a single viral video can irreversibly damage a companies image and reputation. Many people say “any press is good press”, but not in this situation. A single viral video or tweet can destroy millions of dollars in marketing efforts. An example of this is a man named Dave Carroll who checked his guitar for his United flight. He saw the bag handlers throw his bag onto the bottom of the plane, and when he was reunited with it, it was destroyed. He recorded a song called “United Breaks Guitars” and uploaded it to YouTube. This video surpassed 14 million views on the site, and United’s policies came into question for millions of people. One destroyed guitar lost them an insane number of customers, which just shows how social media can truly influence if you support a company or not.

Lastly, to preserve your reputation as a social leader, you must routinely conduct social media audits. I thought this was super interesting because we have talked about this here in class. They suggested making sure your company is presented properly and that all your profiles across social networks use the same logo, fonts, schemes and branding messages. To stick with your niche, and do not try to please everyone. Look at challenges as opportunities, such as if a customer is mad do not ignore them, but use it as a chance to interact and publicly resolve the issue. Finally, make sure your company is actively engaging with customers online, and always looking for ways to improve.

Key Takeaways:

• This book lined up with a lot of content we are talking about in class.
• A companies social media can really make or break them.
• Social Media is a bigger part in our life than we ever imagined.
• Gave real world examples of all of the topics they discussed in the book.
• Not a typical book I would read, but very interesting.

Personal Opinion:

As I said before, this is not a typical read for me. I have never really dove deep into the company side of social media. I think it was a good book to read being a junior in college, and having to enter the work force soon. Knowing some of the tips the authors gave, can help with a job search, or even save a company when you are working there. I think it would be a great book to read if you are looking for a different perspective of social media, and want to know how to use it carefully in the business world. Social media offers tremendous opportunities for all businesses, and embracing these technologies is the first step in building a great company.