Praise for Maximize Your Social

"Looking for a smart social media strategy? If so, look no further. Schaffer's Maximize Your Social provides a clear and effective road map that'll help your business thrive in an ever changing social world."

Michael Stelzner, founder, Social Media Examiner and host, Social Media Marketing podcast; author of Launch

"Maximize Your Social provides an awesome framework for creating a powerful presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and really ALL social media sites. You will love the pragmatic, step-by-step tactics as well as the comprehensive and creative strategies. Get this book today, not tomorrow!"

John Haydon, author of Facebook Marketing For Dummies

"Neal Schaffer is the real deal. He's proven that social media can work for real business, and in Maximize Your Social, he provides the playbook. It's a logical, realistic, clear-eyed recipe for doing social right."

Jay Baer, bestselling author of Youtility and The NOW Revolution

"Maximize Your Social is straightforward, simple, and superb. Two 'Likeable' thumbs up!"

Dave Kerpen, New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media and Likeable Business

"I've been working in social media for seven years, and there's just about nobody in the business that I'd feel comfortable leaving alone with a client but Neal Schaffer. He gets the business case, the strategy, and the tacticsenjoy this primer of straight-up social media advice."

Adam Metz, The Social Concept and Firespotter Labs

"Neal has been a social media leader for years. With this book, he takes all of us again to the bleeding edge of how to survive in today's world with a social strategy that actually works. This should sit on every CMO's bookshelf."

Leo Widrich, CMO/cofounder at Buffer

Today, there are still a large number of companies who, while engaging in social media, dont have a strategic approach nor have ever created an actual social media strategy document that can be shared internally. Furthermore, many companies dont even calculate how effective they are at their social media, one of the critical components of implementing any social media strategy. While companies spend more time, and money, in their social media efforts, the need to create an internal plan (= strategy) that everyone internally can understand gets greater by the day.

Maximizing Social will be the practical book that will allow any business, big or small, to create and maintain their own social media strategy. Period. No more paying agencies or hiring expensive consultants. One read of this book and any business will have a clear vision of what they need to do to create and execute upon their social media for business roadmap. As such, the organization of the content will be very similar to the actual social media consulting strategies I have written for clients. The overall organization of the book will look as follows:

• How Far Social Media has Evolved and the Absolute Necessity for Creating a Social Media Strategy
• Preparing for the Creation of Your Social Media Strategy
• Elements of a Profitable Social Media Strategy
• Mechanics of a Profitable Social Media Strategy
• Maintaining Your Social Media Strategy

Create and maintain a successful social media strategy for your business

Today, a large number of companies still don't have a strategic approach to social media. Others fail to calculate how effective they are at social media, one of the critical components of implementing any social media strategy. When companies start spending time and money on their social media efforts, they need to create an internal plan that everyone can understand. Maximize Your Social offers a clear vision of what businesses need to do to createand execute upontheir social media for business road map.

• Explains the evolution of social media and the absolute necessity for creating a social media strategy
• Outlines preparation for, mechanics of, and maintenance of a successful social media strategy
• Author Neal Schaffer was named a Forbes Top 30 Social Media Power Influencer, is the creator of the AdAge Top 100 Global Marketing Blog, Windmill Networking, and a global social media speaker

Maximize Your Social will guide you to mastery of social media marketing strategies, saving you from spending a chunk of your budget on a social media consultant. Follow Neal Schaffer's advice, and you'll be able to do it yourselfand do it right.

Today, a large number of companies still don't have a strategic approach to social media. Others fail to calculate how effective they are at social media, one of the critical components of implementing any social media strategy. When companies start spending time and money on their social media efforts, they need to create an internal plan that everyone can understand. Maximize Your Social offers a clear vision of what businesses need to do to createand executea social media game plan.

Maximize Your Social details the evolution of social media and explains the absolute necessity for creating a social media strategy. It outlines the preparation for, mechanics of, and maintenance of a successful social media strategy. This practical guide allows any business, big or small, to create and maintain its own social media strategyno more paying agencies or hiring expensive consultants. You can master social media marketing strategies and save a chunk of your business's budget while achieving more effective results.

Learn how to leverage the strategic opportunities that each social media channel offers and implement a data-driven approach for monitoring the success, or failure, of your social media program. With expert guidance on all things social, you'll learn how to:

• Focus your efforts in order to maximize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and blogging
• Staff your social media efforts with the right people in the right roles
• Understand the importance of creating and maintaining legal social media policies as well as social media guidelines for employees
• Catalog all of the social media tactics that will be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
• Determine the ROI of your social media strategy

You know you need to do social better. Maximize Your Social will help you prepare and maintain a profitable social media strategy. Follow author Neal Schaffer's advice, and you'll be able to do it yourselfand do it right.

NEAL SCHAFFER, named a Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer two years in a row, is the creator of Advertising Age's Top 100 Global Marketing Blog, Windmill Networking (recently rebranded as Maximize Social Business), and a global speaker on social media who also teaches as part of Rutgers University's Mini-MBA in Social Media Marketing Program. As a leading social media strategist, Neal has created social media strategies, coached implementation, and helped train dozens of companies, from startups and small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises and even a Grammy Awardwinning musician. Neal has previously written two award-winning books on LinkedIn. His work has been recognized by the media, appearing in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Yahoo!, and the American Express OPEN Forum.

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Reality Check: The Permeating Trends of Social Media and Social Business 5

Chapter 2 A Social Media Strategy: The Framework for the Ever-Changing World of Social Media 13

Chapter 3 Determining Objectives and Background for Your Social Media Program 19

Chapter 4 Auditing Your Social Media Program 27

Chapter 5 Core Elements and Concepts in Your Social Media Strategy 35

Chapter 6 Blogging as an Essential Part of Every Social Media Strategy 53

Chapter 7 Maximizing Your Facebook Presence 59

Chapter 8 Maximizing Your Twitter Presence 71

Chapter 9 Maximizing Your LinkedIn Presence 83

Chapter 10 Maximizing Your Google+ Presence 91

Chapter 11 Maximizing Visual Social Networks 103

Chapter 12 Determining Staffing Roles and Responsibilities 119

Chapter 13 Onboarding Your Social Media Strategy 131

Chapter 14 Managing the Risks 145

Chapter 15 Creating Your PDCA Workflow 157

Chapter 16 Integrating Your Social Media Strategy 167

Chapter 17 The ROI of Your Social Media Strategy 177

Chapter 18 Conclusion: The Future Evolution of Social Media and Your Social Media Strategy 185

Notes 191

Acknowledgments 203

About the Author 207

Index 209