Three Big Takeaways
 

1. Jabs are the lightweight pieces of content that benefit your customers by making them laugh, snicker, feel appreciated, or escape; right hooks are calls to action that benefit your businesses. It's just like when you're telling a good story - the punchline or climax has no power without the exposition and action that come before it. There is no sale without the story; no knockout without the setup. (pg. 7)
    

2. The Facebook algorithm make sure that a user who often likes or comments on a friend's photos we'll see more of that friends photos. Every engagement strengthens their connection and the likelihood that the algorithm will push appropriate content from those friends to the top of a user's feed. That's why it's never been more important to produce quality content that people want to actually interact with - future visibility depends on current engagement levels. (pg. 32)​
    

3. The main mistake most marketers make is to use Twitter primarily as an extension of their blog, a place to push a link to content they have posted elsewhere. They'll often use it as a place to brag, especially by retweeting favorable things people say about them. This is a new form of humble bragging. Twitter primarily rewards people who listen and give, not those who ask and take. There has never been a platform where engagement and community management have power like Twitter. Twitter is the cocktail party of the internet - a place where listening well has tremendous benefits. (pg. 84)

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Other Key Ideas:​
 

Just because your teenage daughter and her friends are excited about a new platform does not mean that that platform is irrelevant to you or your brand. You may not see any value in the platform, but when 20 million other people do, you need to do something with that information. Ignoring platforms that have gained critical mass is a great way to look slow and out of touch. Do not cling to nostalgia. Do not put your principles above the reality of the market. Do not be a snob. (pg. 9)

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Make sure to connect with your community and show them you are one of them. Make sure your brand is talking like a human being. The point is to give and give and give, for no other reason than to entertain your customers and make them feel like you get them. And the more you give, the more engagement you will get. The more engagement you get, the greater likelihood that more people will see when you do finally put out something that could directly benefit your bottom line (such as selling a book). (pg. 34)

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As of September 2013, Facebook’s algorithm will only allow your content to reach about 3-5 percent of your fans. One of the algorithm’s key ranking signals is whether a user has previously engaged with your page. Those likes and shares go a long way towards increasing your reach on future posts. This means you have to put in the elbow-grease before the algorithm can start to recognize and reward your page’s value. (pg. 39)

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Unlike TV, your content reach increases only when you put out content that people actually want to see and think others do, too. Create great content that gets people to engage and Facebook will let you show that content to more and more people. Create content no one cares about and Facebook will make it as difficult as possible for you to put more of it out on its site. (pg. 40)

 

Photography has become a kind of social currency. Don’t post poor pictures. By allowing subpar pics to get posted, you're saying that you're not as hip and cool as your customers. This is the kind of subliminal messaging that can kill a company. Before posting anything, ask yourself, “If I saw this picture would I share it?” If the answer is no, don't post it. (pg. 70)

 

Think about including your slogan in your media as an alternative to your company logo. More brands should use their slogan and consistently incorporate it into their social media efforts. (pg. 75)

 

Are you a lightweight up against a heavyweight? One thing heavyweights don't do is get personal. People love it when you acknowledge your humanity and vulnerability. You might be a lightweight up against a heavyweight, but you can be the lightweight who puts in 2 hours at the gym before the competition’s alarm clock goes off. People will notice your effort, and it will make a difference. (pg. 94)

 

Retweeting nice things said about you to your entire consumer base has only one name. It's called bragging. Doing it non-stop is called obnoxious. Retweets of this nature have little to no value to anyone who follows you. It's truly poor form, not to mention incredibly boring for your followers. (pg. 108)

 

This world evolves every second, every day. The skill-set  it takes to be a successful entrepreneur or marketer today is a different skill-set than you needed 10 years ago. I have bad news: marketing is hard, and it keeps getting harder. But there's no time to mourn the past or to feel sorry for ourselves. It's our job as modern-day storytellers to adjust to the realities of the marketplace, because it sure isn't going to slow down for us. (pg. 187)