Book Review: Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

Just finished up Dave Kerpen’s book Likeable Social Media, and really enjoyed it! Kerpen is the co-founder and CEO of Likeable Media, which has made a name for themselves as one of the premier social media marketing firms in the country. In this book, he divulges all the basic principles of successfully using social media as a brand and company. Here’s a couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

“There is no way to successfully use social media as an organization if you simply silo it to marketing or advertising.”

‎”If you can figure out ways to do little things for your customers and your online communities, to surprise and delight them, to provide unexpected value, or to add a smile to an individual consumer’s face, you will always stand out, be remembered, and win the community’s business.”

“It’s important to think of every customer as an online celebrity with followers, friends, & above all, influence.”

These are just a few of the great nuggets of wisdom that can be found in the book, along with many case studies of company’s who have found success through the theme of the book: BE LIKEABLE!

What can small business owners learn?

Most of the social media books I read are great, but they are often geared towards large companies and are at such a high level that there really isn’t any actionable plan that a small business owner can take away from the book. What I enjoyed about Likeable Social Media is that at the end of each chapter, Kerpen provides 3 action items that businesses can work on right now to implement the principles discussed in the chapter. Now some of these are not relevant to small businesses, but enough of them are for this book to provide real value to small businesses who need to start taking their social media marketing seriously.

What isn’t included in this book is the technical knowledge you’ll need to put what you learn into practice. But honestly, since the technology changes daily, any book that has that type of information would be obsolete by the time it hit book shelves. That’s why you need someone (like me!) to guide you in all the latest opportunities provided by social media technology, or stay updated on blogs like Mashable, Social Media Explorer, Socialnomics, Social Media Examiner, and Likeable Social Media’s blog.

I would recommend this book to small business owners, no matter how much you know about social media. Sometimes it’s easy to lose your way or get into a rut, and this book helps bring some perspective – that ultimately social media strategy comes down to the consumer and the things you do to make yourself genuinely Likeable in their eyes.

If you have any more specific questions about the book, ask them below and I’ll be happy to answer!

Book Review: Likeable Social Media links are affiliate links.

Brittany Botti