If you create any kind of viral, social content or if you are trying to get more bang for the buck out of your Twitter or email marketing, you should definitely read:
Zarella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness by Dan Zarella.
Be forewarned though…
This is not another “How to use Twitter or Facebook” kind of book, but instead goes much deeper into the new science of using metrics for a more predictable, results-based social media marketing strategy.
The book confirms some feelings that I have had for a while, which are basically that the social media honeymoon is over.
It is no longer a matter of just showing up and being there anymore. If you want results, you need data, strategy and technique for reaching predictable, manageable marketing goals.
I knew I would like this book from the very beginning, when Dan dispelled all of the normal social media cliche’s of “be yourself”, “make friends” and “build it and they will come” mentality, what he calls “unicorns-and-rainbows advice” and instead takes a deep dive into real analysis of what it takes to create successful, infectious social content.
He even goes so far as to create and analyze a massive databases of Retweets, and then applies the R0 factor (reproduction rate of contagious diseases) to determine social viralablity. That’s real stuff, not social media woo woo.
Dan’s simple strategy is this:
- Increase the amount of people who are exposed to your message.
- Create more attention-grabbing content.
- Include powerful calls to action with specific copy.
Some highlights and key points:
- How to identify yourself authoritatively (example: He explains why using the word “guru” in your Twitter profile can a good thing…) I’m experimenting with it now and will let you know how it goes.
- How to make more impact by avoiding the use of negative remarks and instead focus on using only positive statements
- The importance of using time based words such as now, today, soon, hurry, limited time only, etc
- What are peak twitter times and when are the best times to get specific results with your tweeting.
- How to understand the behavior of your followers in order to get them to respond and share predictably.
Read This Book!
These are just a few of the many mind blowing ideas you can get from this book. I don’t want to give away all of the good stuff, so i’ll let you check it out for yourself.
I thought it was refreshingly awesome. It confirmed a lot of suspicions I have had and it really made me reconsider a lot of other things about how I’ll approach my social strategy moving forward.
If you read it, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
