Facebook Marketing by Justin R. Levy (Book Review of the Week-ish)

Most of the books I look at these days focus more on strategy than tactics, more on the “why’s” than the “how’s.” So it was interesting for me to look at Facebook Marketing: Designing Your Next Marketing Campaign (2nd Edition) (Que Biz-Tech), which is much more of a how-to than a why-you-should. And, in this case, that’s a Good Thing. Levy walks you through the variety of tactics available to you that will make Facebook work better for your marketing. Each chapter of Facebook Marketing progresses from basics – such as setting up your Page or establishing your brand identity on Facebook – to more complex topics like Apps, Facebook Connect and Facebook’s proprietary advertising platform.

The book doesn’t ignore strategy, by the way. Levy offers a chapter that looks at how to develop a strategy around your Facebook marketing and advertising activities. While I would have liked to have seen more about how to incorporate Facebook into a broader marketing strategy, I can understand how that could easily exceed Levy’s intended scope.

And I loved the case studies. As Levy acknowledged, most focus on politicians, celebrities or other well-known brands, which might lead some to question their relevance. But, as Levy also rightly points out, nothing the case studies reveal requires the resources of a politician, celebrity or well-known brand to execute. Levy explains everything the case studies highlight in his preceding chapters. Like how VW uses its Events section? See Chapter 3. Think Ellen DeGeneres’ contests and sweepstakes are cool? See page 62. And so on.

In all, Facebook Marketing: Designing Your Next Marketing Campaign is a welcome addition to my bookshelf (or, if you prefer, to your Kindle). Grab a copy today.

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