Maximize your social: one-stop guide to building a social media strategy for marketing and business success

226 Pages·2013·3.108 MB·English

by  Schaffer, Neal

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PRAISE FOR MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL
“Neal Schaffer is one of the few true expert strategists in this vast new social media
reality we live in.”
—Pepe Aguilar
Eight-time Grammy-winning artist;
President of Green Dream Social
“Neal Schaffer is one smart cookie. So take a bite out of his new book, Maximize
Your Social. And while you’re chewing, rework your social media strategy!”
—Brian Carter
Author of the international best-seller The Like Economy:
How Businesses Make Money with Facebook
“Neal Schaffer understands that social media and marketing were not invented in a
vacuum, and that if we bring to our understanding of the communications revolution
many of our former skills and ideas about business, we can actually succeed at this new
game with a minimum of trauma.”
—Robin Carey
CEO, Social Media Today
“As a fellow Forbes Infl uencer, I’ve had the opportunity to watch Neal’s acumen in
action. In this new book he brings the social media message to large organizations, and
gives today’s busy executives the tools they need to embrace social media. After you
read his book, you’ll understand where the ROI is, and how to sell it.”
—Marsha Collier
Author of The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide:
How to Connect with Your Customers to Sell More
“Neal is one of the smartest social media marketers on the planet. His ability to
combine technical expertise with a holistic approach to social is what really makes
him a standout. Every time I get the chance to speak with him I learn something new.
Oh, and he’s a hell of a nice guy.”
—Jason Miller
Senior Social Media Strategist, Marketo
“Building on his unique background in international business development and
marketing, Neal provides a strong strategic perspective combined with a practical
step-by-step approach to social media.”
—Kathy Simmons
CEO, NETSHARE, Inc./Experts Connection
“Neal Schaffer is an outstanding speaker, consultant, and educator in the social
media marketing arena. He brings years of practical business experience to a subject
that is often misperceived as child’s play. He approaches the topic and use of social
media with a creative and solutions-driven approach that cuts through the hype with
a focus rarely seen in this space. Neal has taught hundreds of executives at Rutgers
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Center for Management Development how to develop strategic and tactical social
media marketing initiatives to achieve business challenges. He leverages principles
that avoid shiny object syndrome and maintains fl exibility in a dynamic space.”
—Peter Methot
Director of Marketing and Program Development,
Rutgers Center for Management Development
“Social media is revolutionizing the way brands interact with customers, and
practitioners such as Neal Schaffer are at the forefront of communicating what
that change means for business—where to get started and how to capitalize on the
opportunity. In this book, Schaffer provides no-nonsense advice on determining
your social media objectives, developing a strategy, making the most of your
content, engaging your customer base, and managing the risks. More important,
he also outlines where to identify the ROI on your social efforts and how to
communicate success to the rest of the business. Schaffer writes like he presents—
in a practical, anecdote-fi lled way that is easy to relate to your own experiences. If
you want to understand how social is moving from being a pure marketing tool to
being a medium that can and should be used throughout your entire organization,
then read this book.”
—Richard Owen
CEO, MeetTheBoss TV
“Social media is vexing for a lot of marketers because it is different from traditional
and web channels. If you’re looking for a framework for framing how social media
should be integrated into your overall marketing strategy, this is the resource you
need.”
—Chris Treadaway
CEO, Polygraph Media
“An indispensable guide for navigating the rapidly changing world of content marketing
and social media. By making optimal use of the big four—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
and Google+ —and being prepared for new platforms that may be just around the
corner, Neal Schaffer’s insights are invaluable for nonprofi t organizations.”
—Anthony Flint
Fellow and Director of Public Affairs, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
“Neal Schaffer’s new book Maximize Your Social is must-read for any business
executive or owner to better understand why they need to embrace social media
as an integrated part of the company’s marketing mix. Neal’s delivery style is
approachable, engaging, and (most important) actionable. Neal demonstrates how
an effective social media strategy is a must-have for any company to win in today’s
marketplace.”
—Glenn Gaudet
President and Founder, GaggleAMP
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“Now that everyone can have a voice if they choose to, Schaffer explains the ins
and outs of social media and the steps to be taken in order to create a social media
strategy. This book provides a practical guide on how to leverage your voice to its
full advantage. It’s a must for anyone who is responsible for developing a social
media plan.”
—Arnie Kuenn
President, Vertical Measures
“If you’re ready to get past the basics, then Neal Schaffer’s Maximize Your Social is
everything you’re looking for. Neal is one of the nation’s leading experts, and he’s
put together a step-by-step guide that shows you how to get past the fundamentals
and create a goal-oriented, metrics-based social media program.”
—Jamie Turner
CEO, 60SecondMarketer.com
“Neal is the most connected guy I know. He’s literally friends with everyone I’ve
met in the social media marketing world—but not ‘friends’ in a passive sense, like so
many of us on social media are. No, Neal is an active friend. He listens, he advises,
he coaches, he helps spread the word, and he gives feedback. And that’s exactly the
kind of guy from whom you want to receive advice on social media strategy. Neal
doesn’t just know social media strategy—he lives it. So if you want to jump right
into what it feels like to have Neal Schaffer as an active friend, then read this book.
And when your social media accounts start fl ourishing as a result of Neal’s advice,
go friend him on Facebook and say thanks.”
—Joshua Parkinson
Founder, PostPlanner
“To succeed in today’s world, you must learn to navigate and leverage social
media and its enormous potential to bring you closer to your fans and customers.
In his latest book, Neal Schaffer will show you how. Whether you’re just getting
started in social media or you want to take your social media efforts to the next
level, Maximize Your Social orients you to the new environment and guides you
to maximize your social. A must-read for everyone, from the new social media
manager to CEOs.”
—Eric Kim
Founder and CEO, Twylah
“Neal Schaffer became an invaluable source of strategic guidance for 1World Online
advising on how to extract true value from social media and convert them into tools
for our service growth. Maximize Your Social will now allow every company to tap
into his truly unique expertise in understanding this new business reality of—and
how to best leverage—social media.”
—Alex Fedosseev
CEO, 1WorldOnline
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“Maximize Your Social is a must-read for any business looking to reach out, engage,
and get measurable results from marketing on social media.”
—Tammy Kahn Fennell
CEO, MarketMeSuite
“We’ve reached a point in the social media revolution in which organizations need to
mature beyond an ad hoc approach. In Maximizing Your Social, Neal Schaffer has
written a welcome and comprehensive strategic approach that includes a drill-down
to tactics for the major social media platforms. This is a must-read for entrepreneurs
and social media professionals alike.”
—Ric Dragon
Author of Social Marketology
“Maximize Your Social draws on Neal’s breadth of client experience to give insights
into actionable strategy and tactical tips to fl ourish and avoid social media failure.
Having worked with Neal on B2B social media strategy, I know this book brings real-
world insights—not only into client acquisition and retention through social media,
but also into the mechanics and operational challenges you and your organization
will face.”
—Nick Allen
Digital Strategist
“Stop waiting for an outside expert to come in with a cookie-cutter plan; you know
your company and its business objectives best. This book gives you the confi dence to
understand the landscape of social media marketing and quickly turn your insights
into a playbook that you can begin using right away.”
—Liz Philips
Social Media Manager, TaylorMade Golf
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M A X I M I Z E
Y O U R
S O C I A L
A ONE-STOP GUIDE TO BUILDING
A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR
MARKETING AND BUSINESS SUCCESS
N E A L S C H A F F E R
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Cover image: © Howard Grossman
Cover design: Howard Grossman
C opyright © 2013 by Windmills Marketing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Schaffer, Neal.
Maximize Your Social: A One-Stop Guide to Building a Social Media Strategy for
Marketing and Business Success/Neal Schaffer.
pages cm.
Includes index.
ISBN: 978-1-118-65118-6 (cloth); ISBN: 978-1-118-75663-8 (ebk);
ISBN: 978-1-118-75668-3 (ebk)
1. Branding (Marketing) 2. Customer relations. 3. Social media. 4. Information
technology—Management. I. Title.
HF5415.1255.S393 2013
658.8'72—dc23
2013019100
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Reality Check: The Permeating Trends of Social
Media and Social Business 5
Chapter 2 A Social Media Strategy: The Framework for the
Ever-Changing World of Social Media 13
Chapter 3 Determining Objectives and Background for
Your Social Media Program 19
Chapter 4 Auditing Your Social Media Program 27
Chapter 5 Core Elements and Concepts in Your Social
Media Strategy 35
Chapter 6 Blogging as an Essential Part of Every Social
Media Strategy 53
vii
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viii Contents
Chapter 7 Maximizing Your Facebook Presence 59
Chapter 8 Maximizing Your Twitter Presence 71
Chapter 9 Maximizing Your LinkedIn Presence 83
Chapter 10 Maximizing Your Google+ Presence 91
Chapter 11 Maximizing Visual Social Networks 103
Chapter 12 Determining Staffi ng Roles and
Responsibilities 119
Chapter 13 Onboarding Your Social Media Strategy 131
Chapter 14 Managing the Risks 145
Chapter 15 Creating Your PDCA Workfl ow 157
Chapter 16 Integrating Your Social Media Strategy 167
Chapter 17 The ROI of Your Social Media Strategy 177
Chapter 18 Conclusion: The Future Evolution of Social
Media and Your Social Media Strategy 185
Notes 191
Acknowledgments 203
About the Author 207
Index 209
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