The Art of Small Business Social Media: A Blueprint for Marketing Success

In this ho-hum manual, marketing professional Fitzpatrick (coauthor of The Art of Social Media) provides guidance for small companies to promote themselves on social media. She recommends that those unfamiliar with socials focus on mastering one platform before adding others to the mix. Content should “solve problems, entertain, inform, or be helpful to your community,” she contends, suggesting that a surf shop might provide “tips on how to select the best surfboard for different types of waves.” Providing ideas for creating videos to share, Fitzpatrick notes that readers could, for instance, take viewers behind the scenes of the company’s day-to-day operations or answer frequently asked questions about a topic related to their business. Elsewhere, Fitzpatrick encourages using attention-grabbing headlines, incorporating humor, and engaging with one’s audience by responding “promptly and authentically to comments and direct messages.” Such advice is sensible if a bit obvious, and because the case studies that conclude the volume are fictional, it’s unclear if the suggested strategies would have the supposed effects. (For instance, Fitzpatrick’s contention that a dry cleaner’s call for customers to “share photos of themselves in their favorite sweaters” would create a 40% increase in engagement feels like an overestimate of the likelihood that customers would participate.) The result is a mixed bag. (Nov.)