Book Review: Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

likeable social media

Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen is a book that I didn't expect to find myself reading recently.  I found Likeable Social Media at my local library when I was browsing through the aisles.  Why would a 20-something be at a library though?  I mean libraries have books with this thing called paper (no, not e-books).  Well, it is a bit of a story.

The internet at my house was out since a BG&E (Baltimore Gas and Electric) crew drilled through a phone and internet line on our street.  Apparently this caused a few blocks around my house to not have internet access for about 2 weeks.  However, we were not affected by the prolonged outage.  (Sorry to any of my neighbors reading!)  Verizon had to come switch out about 1,200 feet of lines under our street though.  Therefore was a -2 day period were they had to cut the internet at our house.  What is a person going to do when they don't have internet? Go to the library to use the Wi-Fi.

So, that is how I ended up at the library.  While there using the Wi-Fi I figured I would at least browse through the aisles and to discover this old thing called a book.  That is when I noticed “Likeable Social Media”  I took it off the bookshelf to examine it and saw the author's name “Dave Kerpen? Never heard of that guy!”  One quote and name on the back bookjacket did catch my eye though “Scott Monty” who manages Ford's social media channels.  I started thumbing through the book and thought it was at least worth a checkout.  Hey, it's the library.

Having talked and interacted with ‘social media gurus' before my hopes were not high.  I have found they offer a lot of empty promises and BS advice.  Usually it turns out they know as much about social media as I do.  Would Dave Kerpen be one of these people?

The answer is No,  Likeable Social Media turned out to have some useful nuggets of information which I think should help me in the future.

For instance, Kerpen mentions nanotargeting, which is targeting a single person or very small group of people.  He demonstrates this ability sending his wife, Carrie, personalized Facebook ads.   I had heard about people running Facebook ads to target very specific groups but not 1 individual person.

Other parts of the book mention good ways to communicate and engage with Facebook audiences.  Each chapter has Action Items to encourage you to act on what you have just read.

Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen is worth a read for someone struggling with wrapping their head around social media, but the big questions… will it help you gain followers?  Probably not!

While the book provides useful advice I people just trying to build audiences will not find Likeable Social Media has quite as much information to suite them.  The book is mainly written for small-medium sized business owners that have little knowledge or familiarity with social media.  Most of the Action Items are really for businesses.  The Appendix is primer on how to use social networks, which is fine for someone who doesn't know but I don't think that it the majority of people that follow Kerpen.

I am still struggling with gaining followers for my Singing Dogs implementing Kerpen's methods.  Checkout the Singing Dog Facebook page and @DogsSing Twitter feed.

I will say I got more value out of the book than reading a blog about social media.  Most of these sites tend to regurgitate the same information which is not helpful.  (This includes Kerpen's own social media blog.)

However, 60-70% of the book was repeated fluff and ideas as well.  The ghostwriter probably needed to meet a certain word minimum so the book wouldn't be too thin on a bookshelf.  The next book could be just a short e-book around 40-50 pages in my opinion.

There was this passage in the book which I found interesting;

Soon after we started our company back in 2007, we wanted to write a blog to share expertise and our product point of view and to create and share valuable content about social media and online marketing. Much to the dismay of our small staff, I insisted that the blog was titled “Buzz Markeitng Daily.”  People argued internally, “If you write ‘daily in the the title of the blog, you're suggesting we'll have new content daily. What if we can't keep up?”

We're not a newspaper, we're a marketing firm,” one person argued. Three years later, the title has changed to “Likeable Content Daily,” but we've been able to keep to the promise of a new article each weekday.  More important, the blog has become one of the thousand most widely read and shared blogs on social media marketing in the world and is consistent source of new business prospects.

Later in the book he argues that some companies probably don't even need a website with Facebook.  Mmm… well I don't really agree with that and I guess Kerpen, well the ghostwriter, fails to realize that blog is a website.  Why would claim someone doesn't need a website when you generate your own content daily and have a popular blog?  Maybe the editor was sleeping or did Kerpen just not read what the ghostwrite wrote?  I imagine the Likeable Content Daily blog brings in more clients via SEO (search engine optimization) than it does via it's social media following.

Another argument he makes is that a “Like” is more powerful than a “Link.”  While I think there is validity to that statement he fails to mention that a Facebook Like actually gives you a Link.  Everytime someone “Likes” a page a link is created on a personal Facebook page showing all the pages that person likes.  Believe me the “Link” is still important.

To be honest I got more from a Yoel Cohen video course I bought off the Warrior Forum.  I used the techniques from the video course and implemented them immediately for my new auto site, CarNewsCafe.  (Yoel even gave me a 1-hour coaching session too.)  We now have 144 followers on the CarNewsCafe Facebook page and have only been up for less than 2 months.  Checkout the screenshot;

facebook analyticsI hope we could get a lot more followers… so if you love cars please join the CarNewsCafe community! 🙂

At least Kerpen admits in his book, “I wish I could tell you that after you read this book you'll have all of the tools to instantly turn on the social media revenue engine and watch the money pour in. I can't, of course.”  This might not be what I or other wants to hear but that statement is true, which I respect.

At least I learned a few things from reading Likeable Social Media.  What are they?

  • I still need to find someone to give me legit social media advice.
  • Don't trust social media gurus!
  • I don't like Facebook and probably never will.
  • The library is pretty cool place.

Did you read Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen?  If you did leave your thoughts below, whether they are good or bad.  I'd love to hear other's opinions on this social media book.

Catch me on Twitter @AdamYamada … if you can!

Note: I have included affiliate links in this review.  Nobody can buy or alter my opinion on this blog as this is an honest and fair review.