Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to DevelopYour Business Online

Introduction: Why in the World Should You Care?

You might be reading this in a bookstore or in an online preview, and you might be wondering why you should bother. Books about social media are as ubiquitous as books about golf, as common as hip-hop songs using Auto-Tune. The world needs another social media book like it needs another new reality TV show.

If I promise that this is a bit different than other social media books, would that be enough to get you to keep reading?

When Julien Smith and I wrote Trust Agents, a lot of people thought we were going to write a book about social media. It's often reviewed as a book about social media, and yet it's not. Not really. It's a book about how people can earn trust using many factors, including the use of online tools.

Because I didn't write the book you expected, I thought I'd present you with this book. This book is about social media.

Social media tools aren't something new anymore. They might not be used by you and your company just yet, but they are everywhere in the marketplace. Your competitors are using them. Your customers are almost definitely using social media tools.

I've written this book in the hope that it's useful to both existing practitioners and people looking for a solid starting point.

More likely than not, this book is something you've bought for the person in the office who needs to "get it." This book will help you solve that one.

Repetition abounds in this book. I frequently talk about the same tools in slightly different ...