Social media fans share their techniques in book

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 10, 2015

hmpr_artsocialmediaebook
The Art of Social Media digital book first page

Photo: HispanicMPR

Using four or five words that explain what you are about and posting a simple photo that can blow up to a large size is best; as is picking a name that makes it obvious who you are. Try to create a profile that makes you seem competent, likable and trustworthy, says Guy Kawasaki, a believer in the business value of social media, about how business people should build their social media bio and avatar.

In his latest book The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users (Penguin, $12.99), written with Peg Fitzpatrick, he also says that everyone has a Facebook account, and that people have no choice when it comes to their business but to have a Google+ and a Facebook page. While he discourages paying for followers or likes and asking for shares he says it is fine to pay for Facebook promotions of posts and pages.

In particular, he and his coauthor discuss the ideas and methods they have tried. He recommends a vanity URL, implying that not having one “impugns your intellectual prowess.” Planning in social media is about finding a way to make money, success is measured by reshares of a post, and everyone wants more followers whether they admit it or not, he says in the book. To illustrate tips and suggestions he uses examples from his own businesses like Alltop and Holy Kaw as well as client projects for Motorola, Canva, and Audi he and Fitzpatrick worked on. An example of a project they both were hired for was a Motorola product launch in Latin America. A disclosure accompanies the tips in those cases.

The book is peppered with hyperlinks. The final chapter was dedicated to List of Apps and Service. The book describes social media channels as follows: Twitter for perception, LinkedIn for self promotion, Google+ for passion, Facebook to connect with others, and Pineterest for photos. Kawasaki had 6.4 million followers on Google+ in the summer of 2014, he says in the book. As of this writing he has 1.45 million followers on Twitter and followed 105,000 thousand. Fitzpatrick had 40,300 followers and followed 24,200 people on the same platform.

Kawasaki does work for Canva, an online, graphics design service. He is trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, and executive fellow at the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley. According to Fitzpatrick’s website she is an author, speaker and social media marketing pro.