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A Social Strategy: How We Profit from Social Media
Almost no one had heard of social media a decade ago, but today websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have more than 1 billion users and account for almost 25 percent of Internet use. Practically overnight, social media seems indispensable to our lives--from friendship and dating to news and business.
What makes social media so different from traditional media? Answering that question is the key to making social media work for any business, argues Mikołaj Jan Piskorski, one of the world's leading experts on the business of social media. In A Social Strategy , he provides the most convincing answer yet, one backed by original research, data, and case studies from companies such as Nike and American Express.
Drawing on his analysis of proprietary data from social media sites, Piskorski argues that the secret of successful ones is that they allow people to fulfill social needs that either can't be met offline or can be met only at much greater cost. This insight provides the key to how companies can leverage social platforms to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Companies need to help people interact with each other before they will promote products to their friends or help companies in other ways. Done right, a company's social media should benefit customers and the firm. Piskorski calls this "a social strategy," and he describes how companies such as Yelp and Zynga have done it.
Groundbreaking and important, A Social Strategy provides not only a story- and data-driven explanation for the explosion of social media but also an invaluable, concrete road map for any company that wants to tap the marketing potential of this remarkable phenomenon.
What makes social media so different from traditional media? Answering that question is the key to making social media work for any business, argues Mikołaj Jan Piskorski, one of the world's leading experts on the business of social media. In A Social Strategy , he provides the most convincing answer yet, one backed by original research, data, and case studies from companies such as Nike and American Express.
Drawing on his analysis of proprietary data from social media sites, Piskorski argues that the secret of successful ones is that they allow people to fulfill social needs that either can't be met offline or can be met only at much greater cost. This insight provides the key to how companies can leverage social platforms to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Companies need to help people interact with each other before they will promote products to their friends or help companies in other ways. Done right, a company's social media should benefit customers and the firm. Piskorski calls this "a social strategy," and he describes how companies such as Yelp and Zynga have done it.
Groundbreaking and important, A Social Strategy provides not only a story- and data-driven explanation for the explosion of social media but also an invaluable, concrete road map for any company that wants to tap the marketing potential of this remarkable phenomenon.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 23, 2014
Although the book does have one or two good ideas, it felt that those could have easily be fitted in a single article on Harvard Business Review without being stretched out into a book.
Want to read
December 27, 2017Recommended by my MBA Digital Marketing Professor, Lil Mohan
April 18, 2014
Starting from the dilemma that Linked-In faced in 2005, the year of its foundation, going through all the more or less famous social networks like twitter, facebook and eHarmony, the author illustrates how the choice of the founders of these sites is based, eventually, in the only strategy that included the offer to provide users with lower costs and higher benefits, all using an equation that included meeting with different people for different reasons (depending on the site) and using appropriate strategies.
Interesting and clear.
Partendo dal dilemma che ha dovuto affrontare LInked-in dal 2005, anno della sua fondazione, passando attraverso tutti i piú o meno famosi social network, come twitter, facebook ed eHarmony, l'autore illustra come la scelta dei fondatori di questi siti si sia basata, in finale, solo sulla strategia che prevedeva di fornire agli utenti l'offerta con i minori costi ed i maggiori benefici, il tutto utilizzando un equazione che prevedeva l'incontro con differenti persone per ragioni diverse a seconda del sito e utilizzando strategie adeguate.
Interessante e chiaro.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!
Interesting and clear.
Partendo dal dilemma che ha dovuto affrontare LInked-in dal 2005, anno della sua fondazione, passando attraverso tutti i piú o meno famosi social network, come twitter, facebook ed eHarmony, l'autore illustra come la scelta dei fondatori di questi siti si sia basata, in finale, solo sulla strategia che prevedeva di fornire agli utenti l'offerta con i minori costi ed i maggiori benefici, il tutto utilizzando un equazione che prevedeva l'incontro con differenti persone per ragioni diverse a seconda del sito e utilizzando strategie adeguate.
Interessante e chiaro.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!
January 16, 2015
the three key ideas - social failures, social solutions, and social strategy.
Social Strategy on a digital platform vs. digital strategy on a social platform
Social Potential:
-"Meet" vs "Friend" Solutions
-Interaction
-Cover (LinkedIn)
Task Attributes:
Breadth
Display
Search ( & search interaction costs)
Communication
Alignment Importance: Social and Business benefits.
LinkedIn
Dating Sites
Gaming Sites
Yelp
Wikipedia
TripAdvisor
American Express: small business Saturday; foursquare integration
Nike
People, Roles, and Processes
Social Strategy on a digital platform vs. digital strategy on a social platform
Social Potential:
-"Meet" vs "Friend" Solutions
-Interaction
-Cover (LinkedIn)
Task Attributes:
Breadth
Display
Search ( & search interaction costs)
Communication
Alignment Importance: Social and Business benefits.
Dating Sites
Gaming Sites
Yelp
Wikipedia
TripAdvisor
American Express: small business Saturday; foursquare integration
Nike
People, Roles, and Processes
Want to read
May 14, 2014I just got the book at the World Bank today and I'm eager to read it. However, why is Goodreads misspelling the author's last name? The letter "l" is missing! And there is really no excuse since his name is prominently displayed on the cover of the book- which even displays right on this page!
September 14, 2014
3.5 stars
This review will be in the January-February issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence.
This review will be in the January-February issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence.
January 5, 2015
Good book! Liked the case studies on Amex and NikePlus in particular. Coincidentally, I got invited to a similar card program at Amex the day after I read the book!
October 12, 2015
seems a little stretched out. could have been a newspaper article.
October 25, 2015
I would strongly recommend this book, if you are interested in understanding social platforms. The book is full with useful frameworks and recent examples. Well researched and well written.
January 20, 2016
Great analysis of how and why social platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, etc., succeed and fail. Don't start one, go to work for one, or market your company on one without reading it
January 30, 2017
Some good insights if you don't mind repeated points and heavy data.
(Random note, this guy uses the word "salient" a LOT. Good drinking game idea if you're reading this.)
(Random note, this guy uses the word "salient" a LOT. Good drinking game idea if you're reading this.)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews