Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Vaynerchuk, Gary (2011): The Thank You Economy

What is it about?

The book is about leveraging social media in bulding, growing and sustaining business.

The main message of the author is that social media allows people - and businesses - to engage in discussion without physical proximity, under which circumstances companies must be a part of that discussion (otherwise especially critical discussion about them proceeds without their knowledge and possibility to do something about it). Moreover, the tools of social media allow companies to conduct personal (or somewhat personal) discussions on a scale never before possible.

Was it good?

While I'm somewhat of a sceptic of social media especially when harnessed to brand-building (whether for persons or organizations), the book is actually quite credible, because the author time and again underscores the importance of being genuine and frank. Indeed, according to the author, using social media in order to push one's message is an entirely wrong way to utilize social media platforms.

In any event, if one would like to read a very, very, encouraging book about the possibilities of social media in a business context, look no further.

What makes the book credible in terms of its message is the number of real-world examples included, essentially including also those featuring the author and his business.

The main take-away for me?

For me, the main take-away was the (purported) importance of the way in which social media tools must be used, instead of just that they should be used. In fact, my deficient appreciation of this crucial distinction probably is the main reason why I have been quite skeptical about the real worth of social media: I have overlooked the myriad ways - better and worse - of utilizing these tools and platforms.

In a nutshell, social media tools are about discussion, interaction and engagement, not about marketing in a traditional way.

Who should read the book?

I think that the book is particularly suitable for social media skeptics like me; the book most probably is most effective when not preaching to the converted, but those thus far reluctant to being converted.

The book on Amazon.com: The thank you economy

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