2009 November, 28th

Mihaela Lica

Not many authors have Tamar Weinberg’s reputation, most notably her contribution to Mashable and Lifehacker made her one of the most popular social media experts in the world. This year she bundled all her knowledge in a volume titled The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web – a book that already gathered a few raving reviews from the specialty media, and why wouldn’t it? Tamar knows virtually everybody in the industry, from the world’s most acclaimed SEOs, to the least known social media wannabes who will always turn to her for help and advice. Tamar will kindly follow up, as she always does, because despite the fame and glory she remained a wonderful human being, ready to help, ready to listen, and ready to engage in a meaningful conversation.

This is a perfect illustration of the “do what you say, say what you do” philosophy that is also one of the most important “community rules” Tamar talks about (in other words) in her book, a “practice what you preach” approach to business online. Tamar is the living proof that her system of “marketing on the social web” works, and that this system is more effective than anything else. The preface of The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web summarizes the most important aspect of marketing online today:

“The big idea behind social media marketing that you are focusing on is communication. [...] Unlike traditional marketing, social media marketers are required to start listening and talking to their constituents.”

So if you expected some “best kept secrets of social media marketing” you are in the wrong. This is not a book that sells wind; it’s a book that documents with proven facts, statistics and expertise, an ethical approach to networking, branding and in the end selling online.

Naturally, it begins with simple facts, relating, in a few paragraphs how this all social media revolution begun, and how marketers can turn it to their advantage. The most important piece of advice follows in the first pages of the first chapter: marketing on the social media is about driving and triggering conversations (communication), yes, and most importantly is about making consumers brand-aware:

“…creating brand-awareness today can also help you in the future. Consumers who become aware of your brand now, even if they aren’t actively seeking your product or service, are likely to remember you in the future and seek you out when they actually do need your product or service. If you leave a positive first impression on your diverse audience, you will likely reap benefits from exposing it to your product early, especially since one of the key ideas of social media marketing is recommendations: the idea behind social media is that friends recommend links, websites, and products to their peers.”

Then, the more you dive into the social media realm things get complicated, especially for those less familiar with the concept. To this day, many relatively skilled online entrepreneurs don’t understand the difference between social media news sites, social media bookmarking sites and social networks. Tamar offers these definitions on a silver platter, without spending too much time dissecting them: her book is not a social media marketing “a,b,c” for beginners. The main audience of the book is formed from social media elites, those people who know the “a,b,c” and need to stretch their knowledge a bit further. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web is a book for the small entrepreneur who takes his business seriously; and it is even a book for the new media journalists and all publishers who make information available online. Everything you need to know about making a social media marketing campaign a success is there, but accessing the information requires a genuine effort, the willingness to go through every single chapter (although some of the information is common sense) and more importantly the willingness to dedicate time and energy to build a proper social media marketing plan and implement the proposed strategies.

It’s our opinion that The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web is the best social media book of the year, a “must have” reference material for every online entrepreneur.

• 2010/06/24 -- BlueGlass Interactive, the Huckleberry of Online Marketing
• 2010/06/01 -- Coca Cola’s New Social Media Model: Going for the Kill
• 2010/04/07 -- Gone Are the Days of Bebo and Digg
• 2010/03/31 -- Facebook Speaking the Language of Brands
• 2010/03/08 -- Deconstructing Silicon Valley Social Media Dogma
• 2009/12/29 -- Facebook, Christmas, and World Domination
• 2009/05/31 -- According to “Experts” – Normal Communication Is Dead?

About the Author

Mihaela Lica is senior partner at Pamil Visions PR and editor at Everything PR. She is a widely cited authority on search engine optimization and public relations issues (BBC News, Force for Good, Reuters and others), with an experience of over 8 years in online PR. Mihaela writes occasionally for SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, and other online publications. Follow Mig on Twitter or send her an email at mig [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.

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