The Huffington Post ran an article last year on "11 Things We Fake in Our Social Media Lives" and I love it. As part of my business (and my inherently nosy personality) I love the peeking in on other people's lives aspect of social media. I love the stories they tell. I love connecting with people over similar interests. But what I don't love is the fakery and insincerity of some accounts on behalf of businesses. I just want to shake them and say, "Really? Are you sure about that?". I thought it was just me. Then I read Unmarketing by Scott Stratten and felt a huge sense of relief. I was not alone in my frustration on the fake factor.
I've had Unmarketing on my shelf for a bit. I'm not sure why I held out but am so glad I got over whatever was holding me back. This book confirmed that the fake route, autotweeting, push marketing and all the other things that drive me crazy were in fact dumb. And bad for your business. And annoying.
Thanks to reading this book I now have a deeper confidence in the slow but steady growth of my social media audience and the recommendation to my clients that they too embrace the WYSIWYG way.
One of the many things I love about this book is how each section is a manageable length for marketing newbies and filled with enough insight and actionable items for those more long in the marketing tooth. The fact that it made me laugh out loud several times and managed to teach me so many great things? Well, that's a bonus worth passing on to others.
If you're more of a video learner, then do yourself a favor and check out one of many of Scott's keynotes, the unmarketing podcast and other videos of amazeballs via: https://www.youtube.com/user/stratola/featured.
Careful if you have a drink in your hand while you watch it. It's either coming out your nose or ending up in your lap at some point. Laughing or a forehead palm for the aha moments you'll have - keep it cold. You're welcome ;)
