They are talking about you

books:

	• Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff Harvard Business School Press, 2008 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 100 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Groundswell -

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies -

I have been playing in the Groundswell for a little over a year or so. I have come across many folks that told me, this book was a must read. I have to admit they were correct. Something that I wish I would have read early on - in my engagement in the Groundswell. Looking back when this was written to today - still spot on.

Consumers in Control is Swell

Based on real and relevant consumer data and enlivened with ample case studies, this book is highly compelling. New communication forms and technologies are here to stay and evolving rapidly. This has made it difficult for many marketers to turn them to their advantage. The authors define groundswell as, "A spontaneous movement of people using online tools to connect, take charge of their own experience, and get what they need - information, ideas, products and bargaining power with each other". The challenge is now people source what they need from each other, not companies. This threat to businesses and brands has impacted their ability to react appropriately and with the speed demanded by groundswells.

The book reads very logically, yet in a highly engaging way. The authors educate the reader on methods of examining groups to influence groundswell behavior. They provide a four step process explaining why leading with technology is a mistake, how to engage the groundswell proactively and how to drive peer-to-peer movements. All this is explained through case studies involving Ernst & Young, Lego, Loblaws, Best Buy, Dell and Unilever. The book argues that "social networks will connect people with the groups they care about. Transactions will be constantly rated and reviewed. Tags supplied by ordinary people will reorganize the way we find things. Feeds will alert us to any changed content, and feed readers will be as much of the online experience as email and browsers are now". Some things that Amazon and a few other were onto at the outset of this 'groundswell'.

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They are talking about you - You must act !

As an online marketing manager in my organization, I came across various challenges in order to fit my company in social media. We did some research with the help of our vendor and across some strange findings. We were already being talked about on various social media channels. We did not know what to do next. Did some analysis and also some measurements like Traffic, Tonality etc. Though we were planning a lot of things but we needed some direction. I am not embarrassed to disclose that our first approach was to match or beat the competition.

The project went on hold for few months and I started understanding social media more. In the process I went through blogs and books etc. Some materials like Cluetrain Manifesto, Wikinomics helped me understand the concept a lot, however, I needed to organize my understanding or not even the understanding but the approach that I should be taking for the Social Media project.

Groundswell helped me do just that,

What approach to take?
What tools to use?
What to discard and what not to?

The books gives you actionable understanding rather than a generic information. It is specific to the point that you can even select a particular tool or even some of the companies that you can use for your project. We signed up with Constant Contact for email marketing and fixed our goal on a particular approach.

You can even take and approach by filtering tools and your audience, the Social Technograhpic Profile is one of the best and most simplified classification I have come across in years. It helps measure your efforts.

Three most important takeaways from the book are:

1) Classify your Community

» Creators
» Critics
» Collectors
» Joiners
» Spectators
» Inactives

2) Approach that you should take:

» Listen
» Talk
» Entergize
» Help
» Embrace

3) Tools that you should use:

» Facebook
» Email marketing (With social media capabalities)
» Twitter
» Forums
» Communities
» Others

Read the book for better understanding the case studies are also very helpful.

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Clear, concise, and useful

Nearly two years after its publication, this introduction to social media for the business community is still helpful and relevant. That says a lot right there, since many such books and articles seem to have a half-life of six months.

Li and Bernoff wrote before Twitter became as widely used as it is today, but their insights about embracing the groundswell and opening dialogue with one's customers are equally applicable to that sometimes infuriating but always provocative platform.

The best part of the book is the dozens of examples that the authors provide of campaigns that worked, or didn't work, and the reasons for their success or failure.

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A Very Smart Read

I am so impressed with this book. It was required reading for one of my graduate classes... after having read it, I realize I would have read it whether it was required or not. The chapters are short and to the point. The authors make their case while informing the reader and not making the reader feel stupid. It is a very intelligent and quick read containing a world of knowledge and lasting benefits to the reader.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. This groundswell is global, it s unstoppable, it affects every industry and it s utterly foreign to the powerful companies running things now.

When consumers you ve never met are rating your company s products in public forums with which you have no experience or influence, your company is vulnerable. In Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester, Inc. explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.

Using tools and data straight from Forrester, you ll learn how to:

-Evaluate new social technologies as they emerge

-Determine how different groups of consumers are participating in social technology arenas

-Apply a four-step process for formulating your future strategy

-Build social technologies into your business including monitoring your brand value, talking with the groundswell through marketing and PR campaigns, and energizing your best customers to recruit their peers

Timely and insightful, this book is required reading for executives seeking to protect and strengthen their company s public image.

"Groundswell is jammed with big ideas, useful stories, and quotable stats. This is the new industrial revolution. Are you on board?"

-Seth Godin, author, Meatball Sundae

"This book will rock your world, if social technology hasn't rocked it already. It's a tsunami of unstoppable force. Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, Google, and Dell are profiting from the crest of the wave. Are you? Li and Bernoff are the apostles of the tsunami. This book will be your bible."

-Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit

Groundswell provides practical advice on how to stay nimble and flexible in an ever-morphing digital world. Enabling your company to respond to change quickly especially when talking to and supporting your consumers is essential for business success.

-Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines

"The first phase of the Internet was about getting everyone connected. In this next phase, which changes the way we work, live, play, and learn, we re starting to realize the value of those connections as well as the new communications and experiences those interactions lead to the human network. Groundswell effectively documents this shift and underscores the opportunities available to all from this major market transition."

-John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco

"Heed the Groundswell! It's critical reading and helped us master the new dynamics of social media."

-Christina Norman, President, MTV

"Groundswell is a comprehensive look at the tidal wave of change engulfing marketers. Nobody should attempt to engage the newly empowered and emboldened consumer without first hearing what Li and Bernoff have to say on the subject."

-Clark Kokich, CEO, Avenue A | Razorfish

"Social technologies and the groundswell impact every business and organization worldwide. Li and Bernoff have written an insightful book that takes a refreshing research-driven approach to helping businesses transform themselves and successfully navigate this new dynamic landscape."

-Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Edelman Digital, and columnist for Advertising Age

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