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Brian Solis book Engage is lifting social media to an academic level

Published by on januari 13, 2011 at 6:49 e m

I read Engage by humble Brian Solis. This book is in an excellent way lifting social media to an academic level. I think it is important to show that social media is not an hype. Brian compares the content in his comprehensive book with University studies – and he does it without becoming “academic dull.”
In this book Brian explains step by step how companies need to change to become an engaging company internally and externally. He also explains how social media can be used as a tool for managing change management. One of his strengths is that he not only involves the marketing department but takes a holistic approach and focus on the whole company to change (or update itself with the change and success that the new web offers for those who embrace-IT).

Some of the best points in Brian Solis book Engage:
• Brands will evolve, customers will gain in prominence, and brands will humanize–with ore without you.
• People don’t participate in conversations with brands; they converse with the people who are the ambassadors of the brands.
• … social media universe is in danger of spinning off course and into a black hole of obscurity.
• Earn their attention.
• It’s people that make something viral, not the video itself.
• It is our job to serve as a bridge between the interesting content we crete and those who are seeking it.
• The Web has both simplified and complicated the process of decision-making.
• Focus attention, trigger activity, and measure ROI.
• Transformation begins with observation.

Some of the best expressions in the book:
• We are one…
• Remember that thing called a TV?
• Social ecosystem.
• Listen, learning, and participating.
• SRM (social relationship management).
• Soft-selling.
• Drivers for engagement.
• Your costumers are among the most influential stakeholders presented today.
• The Internet, for better or for worse, has a long memory.
• Humanizing company and product messaging.
• We earn the relationships we deserve.

Brian digs deep into the technology opportunities that The Web offers to Engage with consumers. If you follow Brian’s ideas the world will probably spin faster around your brand. But that will happen only if brandowners are willing to learn and adopt from the dialogue opportunities that consumers offers by The Web.

One of the last pages in Brian’s book is pointing out “inspire rapid evolution,” which is exactly what I think his book does excellent.

An interesting thing happened while I was reading Brian’s book. As I came to the part where Brian writes about “galvanizes community” I got a request to hold a speech for the galvanizes industry organization Nordic Galvanizers (and during that lecture I quoted Brian to point out how they can galvanize also their costumer relations with social media).

Also I think this book is a good study of the american corporate culture.