You have a message to bring to the world. No one else has the same message, and if you don’t find a way to get it out there, no one will ever know. Your message might be on behalf of a remarkable organization you’re responsible for building, or your message might be YOU: the blog you write, the art you create, the service you offer. Whatever you have to share with the world, you need to find a way to get it to the world.
Using social media to promote yourself or your company is more and more of a necessity these days, but making sense of the online world can be a long and confusing road for many people.
There are a loads of guides for how to get started blogging or how to find more followers on Twitter, for example, but most of them are useless. But Chris Guillebeau and Gwen Bell have come together to give you something that’s about as different from a typical social media guide as you can get: The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web.
The guide’s written content, video and audio recordings, and even email updates will have you Using Social Media as a Force for Good in no time!
Who is it for? And what do you get?
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is ready to start their first online business (even small side businesses in your off time from a full-time job), or anyone that’s interested to know more about how to start setting up their web presence (with things like your own company blog) and interact on social media networks like Facebook & Twitter.
The guide includes thirty pages of social media success stories that include a multitude of business successes, but also several fundraising and non-profit success stories for anyone with a social mission.
The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web is written with the assumption that readers have some business or other (although it doesn’t have to be a web-based), however, much of what Gwen discusses can work just as well for individuals more interested in building their “personal brand” online to help them find a job or excel in the job they already have.
You’ll get a 35-page manual, filled with detailed insights and directions for what works in social media promotions, and endless actionable micro-actions that you can take to get there. Along with the book you’ll also get more goodies (depending on what package level you purchase):
- A 21-minute audio session on Social Media for Introverts – or “Why Being Shy Is OK Online” from Chris Guillebeau, who travels the world and talks with tens of thousands of people despite being too shy to answer the phone
- A series of audio interviews with White Hot Truth’s Danielle LaPorte, WebGrrls’s Nelly Yusupova, and a special “Mr. X” who discusses advanced social networking and blogging.
- A detailed FAQ file, 30-page collection of success stories, other reports, interviews, and bonuses
- A 30-minute, personal jumpstart session to help you set or review your World Domination strategy for the Social Web
- Continuing Email Updates for 6 months
Some of what you’ll learn to do with The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web:
- Connect with people who are already interested in what you have to say
- Demystify the “no-rules” culture of new media, especially Twitter and Facebook
- Make your message more personal, meaningful, and impactful
- Recruit a “small army” of friends and followers committed to your cause
- Make the leap from Good to Great through a sustained commitment to new media
My overall thoughts on the guide:
Just like all of the Unconventional Guides series, this guide to establishing yourself or your business’ presence on the web is extremely professionally put together, and it’s jam-packed with valuable ideas. Even for someone like me, after doing this for more than four years, I always get incredible insights and new strategies from Chris.
The book delivers on the promises it makes, giving both the broad mindset you need and some specific techniques to lead you to success. And the included interviews and case studies from dozens of successful people will provide endless insights for you, no matter what business you’re in.
All in all, The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web is a solid resource for anyone looking to promote their business through social media, although for anyone very experienced online already, it’s somewhat basic. I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s just getting started online and not sure where to begin, or to anyone who’s already running their own small business but wants to really leverage the social web for marketing. People looking to go even deeper may want to look into Chris’ Empire Building Kit instead.
Are you ready to get your web presence set up properly? Ready to start using social media to promote your business? Ready to crush it everyday and connect with new customers online?
