This week, any free moment I can steal will find me reading Bob Fine’s The Big Book of Social Media Case Studies.
I didn’t always know Bob – we met in a roundabout way, which is just about always the case for me. I don’t know about you, but indirect routes to new friends are always so much more interesting. And fun. My route to Bob – I saw a conference that looked interesting and wanted to explore an opportunity for one of my clients to be involved as a presenter. I saw that one of my other friends was also speaking, so I pinged him and asked for an introduction. Bob and I talked and it turned out the conference was a perfect fit for my client. Then we talked some more and Bob told me his story (I do so love this part of getting acquainted) … which included the fact that he’d just written a book about social media case studies.
If I wasn’t already his BFF, you can best believe that hooked me. Case studies are the typically the gold standard for any marketer – at least the ones I know. Case studies. Proof of Concept. What worked. What didn’t. What surprised us. And what didn’t. That kind of information is like my crack cocaine. But then, I’m a geek that way.
And social media case studies are especially important, since it’s still all so new. Oh, I know, social media is all about communication, which isn’t new at all … yadda yadda yadda. Yeah, you’re right. Communicating isn’t new at all. But, using social networks as a marketing and communications channel is new and I want to hear about case studies that go beyond Dell and Starbucks and Ford. Those stories are old news and involve really big companies with really big marketing budgets.
I want to know about things beyond what we make happen for our clients at V3 and beyond what I read about in my friends’ blogs and the stories I know from my immediate circle of friends and colleagues. I want to know about government use of social media, about B2B case studies. About big guys and the little guys. And the not for profit organizations and everything in between.
In The Big Book of Social Media Case Studies, Bob’s given us just that. Even better – Bob’s book is an IDEA book. It’ll show you some great ideas that other folks had, and probably inspire some ideas of your own. So if you want to know what I’m doing to get a leg up in the coming year, it’s diving into case studies and finding new ways to maximize the impact of social media and other strategies for our clients.
If you want the book, I bought a bunch of extra copies. And Bob has graciously given them to me at a discount, allowing me to offer them to you at $17.50 (a discount from the publisher’s price of $24.99), which includes shipping. Disclosure: I’ve got no skin in this game. I like the book and Bob is a friend. Friends help friends, especially when they write good stuff. And writing a book is hard, but marketing it is even harder. That’s when it really pays to have friends.
If you want a copy, ping me by sending me an email – shelly at v3im dot com that includes your shipping address. I’ll respond and let you know how to pony up the dinero and Bob will, undoubtedly, send you cupcakes as a thank you. I’ve not yet run this by him, but why on Earth wouldn’t he? And, if you read it – whether you nab it here or not, I’d love to know what you think.
Shelly Kramer is the founder and CEO of V3 Broadsuite (V3B), Senior Analyst and one of the founding partners at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked with some of the world’s largest brands to lead them into the digital space, embrace disruption and the reality of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of Digital Transformation. As a brand strategist, she has decades of experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, and driving strategy and growth for B2B brands across multiple verticals.
