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Big Announcement: I’m Writing a Text Book on Social Media Marketing!

Submitted by on Wednesday, 15 September 20105 Comments

That’s right!  I wanted you to be among the first to know that I have recently confirmed a contract to work on a text book on social media marketing.  This will likely be one of the first (if not the first) text books released on Social Media Marketing, and I am thrilled to be writing it.

This is a really exciting project for me to work on and I was honored to be asked to participate.  I will be co-authoring the book with 3 other individuals who have expertise in social media, text book writing and business.  For those of you who don’t know, over the last 2 years I have focused my business on social media training, and Boot Camp Digital has provided custom corporate social media training solutions to thousands of people in ad agencies, marketing departments and small businesses.

Through all of this training I’ve been able to develop methods of teaching social media that businesses really respond to.  In addition to Boot Camp Digital training I am also working with Cincinnati State on a Social Media Program (not announced yet, but I will be the managing director of the program) and I have my own book coming out this month.  So, the text book is a natural build on the work that I have already been doing.

Educating College Students on Social Media

I’ve been working in the social media marketing space for many years now, and as the industry evolves I am excited to see colleges and universities adding social media courses to their curriculum.  I have been brought in to speak at colleges about social media since their students are increasingly being asked to “do social media marketing” upon graduation.  A text book on social media marketing will help provide the framework for more educational institutions to add social media to their curriculum.

Developing Standards in Our Industry

I am also excited about this project because I think that this is what the social media community needs.  I know that organizations like The Social Media club are working on social media education.  Raising the level of knowledge of social media marketing and sharing best practices and case studies can only help our industry.

Since social media changes so quickly creating a text book that will remain relevant is one of our biggest challenges.  Fortunately, the book will be supplemented by online learning components which can be updated more frequently.  That being said the basic strategy and framework for social media marketing are fairly consistent – it is the functionality of the toolbox that changes.  We’re working to design a learning program that accounts for both of these.

The text book process is extremely rigorous and includes many different levels of review by multiple professors (if you are a college professor and would like to be a reviewer please let me know).  The book will be published by South Western Publishing and will probably take at least a year to hit the shelves – so be patient!

Got Ideas? Companies for Case Studies? Let me know!

So, if you have any ideas for the book, case studies, approaches, etc. please let me know.  The more great ideas that we can include in this book the better.

What sections do you think can’t be missed?

– Krista

5 Comments »

  • Ryan Miller said:

    Congrats, Krista!

    If you’re looking for suggestions, I know a section on using social for SMALL Businesses would be a welcome inclusion as many students will first start working with smaller businesses, smaller agencies, or as entrepreneurs.

    That being said, if you’re taking submissions for any case studies, let me know. May have one or two that would be relevant.

    In any case, wishing you the best of luck on the project and please keep us all updated.

    Cheers!

    -RM

  • R Fields said:

    Nice one — you’ll bring real value from your hands-on experience.

  • Jon Simon said:

    Two questions that perhaps you can pursue: Do teens/college students want to be marketed to via social media? Are teens/college students reading email any more?

    Working at a university, we hear anecdotally that students don’t want us friending them on Facebook or texting them. It’s their turf and we’re not always welcome.

    Also, news stories keep appearing saying that email is too slow for millennials. I’d like to see data on this because it seems that our email campaigns work pretty effectively.

    By the way, great class at Cincinnati State! Thanks!

  • Krista Neher (author) said:

    Ryan – I will definitely hit you up for case studies. Also, I think that small business is a good idea. People like the big business names, but most of the graduates will probably work for small/medium sized businesses. Great ideas, and I will hit you up!

  • Krista Neher (author) said:

    Hi Jon

    Thanks for your comments. I can see how students view a college as an authority figure, and may not want to share their personal lives. That being said, being present and available where they are can at least provide the communication channel.

    Per your questions, here is some data on teens and email http://www.pewinternet.org/Commentary/2010/November/Pew-Internet-Data-Provides-Context-for-the-Facebook-Messages-Announcement.aspx

    Pew also has a lot of data about how teens interact with social media – hopefully this helps you out.

    – K