"Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies," by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Published 2:17 pm Tuesday, October 19, 2010

“Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” by Charlene Li &Josh Bernoff

“Although it’s a few years old now, which can seem a lifetime in social media, this book is the primer on how social media is changing the face of marketing by changing the way companies talk to their customers,” says Kelley Picasso, chief financial officer of Autosport Labs in Lynnwood.

“This book is not entertaining, but definitely enlightening, as it presents like a textbook and could almost be thought of as ‘Social Media Marketing 101.’

“Inside is a framework for understanding customers and formulating an appropriate social media strategy. The authors utilize a wide variety of real-world case studies from high-profile companies as examples of tailoring a marketing strategy to the six main types of consumers who are online: creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators and iInactives. Li and Bernoff embrace social media’s ability for companies to have meaningful engagement with customers.

“Their research shows how conversation (listening as well as informing), energizing and supporting consumers gets the most bang-for-your-marketing-buck and a specialized and directed marketing plan utilizing social media is a funnel of customers toward a company vs. using a billboard or TV commercial as a megaphone directed at the anonymous passing masses.

“This book has been very influential in the restructuring of our user community in future iterations of Autosportlabs.com. I have found it a definite must-read for anyone who wants to really engage customers in this ‘always available’ information era.”