Likeable Social Media

Likeable Social Media Plot Summary

Introduction

In today's hyper-connected world, companies are struggling to cut through the noise and truly connect with their audiences. Social media platforms offer unprecedented opportunities to build relationships with customers, but most organizations continue to broadcast messages rather than engage in genuine conversations. When a customer posts a complaint on Facebook and receives no response, or when a Twitter user mentions a brand only to be met with silence, what message does this send? The social media landscape has fundamentally transformed how we communicate, shifting power from corporations to consumers. No longer can companies control the narrative through traditional advertising alone. Instead, success belongs to those who listen actively, respond authentically, and provide genuine value. The principles that make someone likeable at a cocktail party—being authentic, responsive, and genuinely interested in others—are the same qualities that make a brand thrive in social networks. The question isn't whether your organization should embrace these approaches, but how quickly you can implement them before your competitors do.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: First Listen Carefully to Your Audience

At the heart of effective social media engagement lies a fundamental yet often overlooked practice: listening. Before broadcasting messages or sharing content, successful organizations take time to understand what their customers are saying about them, their competitors, and their industry at large. This isn't passive monitoring—it's active, intentional listening with the goal of understanding your audience's needs and perspectives. Dave Kerpen, the author, shares a compelling story about his experience at Las Vegas's trendy Aria hotel. After a twice-delayed six-hour flight from New York, he found himself waiting in line for nearly an hour just to check in. Frustrated, he pulled out his smartphone and tweeted: "No Vegas hotel could be worth this long wait. Over an hour to check in at the Aria. #Fail." While Aria never responded, a competitor did. Just two minutes later, the Rio Hotel sent him a private tweet that simply said: "Sorry about the bad experience, Dave. Hope the rest of your stay in Vegas goes well." This simple act of empathy made a lasting impression. When Kerpen returned to Las Vegas for his next visit, he stayed at the Rio. And the time after that, and the time after that. The Rio's thoughtful response to his frustration—without attempting to sell or market anything—earned them a loyal customer worth hundreds of dollars in business. Beyond that direct revenue, Kerpen became an advocate for the hotel, sharing his positive experience with his social network and driving even more business their way. To implement effective listening in your organization, start with free tools like Google Alerts, Social Mention, or simple Twitter and Facebook searches for your brand name and industry terms. Set aside time daily to review what people are saying. Don't just search for your company name—look for terms your customers would use when discussing problems your business solves. A real estate broker might search for "want to buy a house" plus their city name, while an attorney could search for "need to hire a lawyer." For organizations dealing with higher volumes of conversations, consider investing in paid listening platforms like Meltwater, Tagboard, or Brand24. These tools can generate real-time reports on mentions, competitor analysis, and sentiment tracking. Though these solutions cost money, they're typically less expensive and more valuable than traditional marketing research methods. Remember that listening isn't a one-time activity but an ongoing commitment. Even after you begin engaging, continue refining your listening skills and processes. The most successful organizations often do more listening than talking, hearing what everyone has to say and speaking only when they have something truly worthwhile to contribute.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Second Create a Laser-Focused Target Audience

Traditional marketing has long relied on broad demographic categorizations like "women 25 to 54" or "urban males 18-34." While these segments might have worked in the age of mass media, today's social platforms allow for unprecedented precision in identifying and connecting with your ideal customers. This hyper-targeting capability represents one of social media's most powerful advantages over traditional advertising. At a South by Southwest Interactive conference, the author was discussing what he calls "hypertargeting"—directing marketing efforts toward specific groups based on their social media profiles and activities. When his friend Leslie Bradshaw overheard the conversation, she introduced the concept of "nanotargeting"—targeting so narrow that it could reach just one individual among hundreds of millions. Intrigued by this idea, Kerpen returned to his hotel room and created a Facebook ad targeted exclusively at his wife Carrie, a 31-year-old married female employee of Likeable Media living in New York City. The ad read: "I love you and miss you Carrie. Be home from Texas soon." This playful experiment demonstrated something profound: social platforms now allow marketers to identify precisely who they want to reach with unprecedented specificity. Of course, most businesses aren't targeting a single person, but they can now connect with highly defined segments that were impossible to isolate through traditional media. For example, a financial advisor could target recently engaged couples within certain income brackets, or a yoga studio could reach people interested in meditation who live within five miles of their location. To implement this strategy in your business, start by defining your perfect customer in detail. How old are they? What are their interests? What professional roles do they hold? Where do they live? Once you've created this detailed profile, explore the targeting options in Facebook's or LinkedIn's advertising platform to find exactly how many people match your criteria. Remember that targeting is just the beginning of your relationship with potential customers. The goal isn't to bombard them with promotional messages but to begin meaningful conversations that address their needs and interests. When they're ready to buy, they'll turn to the business they've already connected with and grown to trust. The author shares how his company, Likeable Media, targeted chief marketing officers, vice presidents of marketing, and brand managers on social platforms. Rather than directly pitching their services, they provided valuable content about social media and marketing trends. Over time, these prospects began reaching out to Likeable Media when they needed social media assistance, demonstrating how effective targeting combined with value delivery can drive business growth without aggressive sales tactics.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Third Leverage Social Advertising for Precision Reach

Social advertising represents a revolutionary advancement over traditional media. Imagine watching television when you notice your friend's name in the corner of a commercial: "Your friend Megan Miller likes this ad." You pause your finger over the fast-forward button, curious about what caught your friend's attention. This personalized endorsement—impossible in traditional media—is the everyday reality of social advertising. The author explains how Facebook and Instagram advertising operates on a fundamentally different principle than conventional advertising. When you create a "Friends of Connections" ad on Facebook, you leverage the social proof of existing relationships. If you have 100 people who like your page, and each has around 350 friends, your potential audience reaches 35,000 people who will see personalized endorsements from people they know and trust. This integration of social proof transforms ordinary ads into powerful recommendations. Take the case of Q Squared, a luxury brand selling melamine plates and dinnerware. Despite having tested various e-commerce campaigns, the company struggled to drive meaningful return on investment through social media. Working with Likeable, they began with a testing phase to identify the most receptive audiences and strongest calls to action. They implemented creative testing using dynamic ad units including video posts, photo link posts, and carousels, each paired with carefully crafted messaging. They even developed unique promotional offers specifically for social media users. The campaign was monitored and optimized daily, with the team making real-time adjustments based on performance data. By targeting the right audiences with compelling creative and exclusive offers, Q Squared saw a significant increase in direct site revenue, reaching its ROI goals. The success came not from broadcasting the same message to everyone, but from identifying precise segments and testing different approaches to find what resonated with each group. To implement this strategy in your business, start by defining your perfect target audience using Facebook's advertising categories. Test different creative ideas, beginning with a small budget (as little as $5 per day) and several variations to determine what performs best. Beyond basic demographics like age and location, consider targeting by interests, behaviors, and even life events like "recently engaged" or "new parent." Remember that social media is primarily for socializing, not selling. The most effective approach is to build rapport with potential customers first, engage them with valuable content, and create opportunities for them to connect with your community. You'll have time to make your sales pitch later—first, focus on getting them to like and trust you.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Fourth Think and Act Like Your Customer

Have you ever been interrupted by a pop-up ad while reading something online? Or had a telemarketer call during dinner? As marketers, we routinely create these disruptive experiences for others, even though we dislike them ourselves. The author challenges marketers to place themselves in their customers' shoes and consider how they would feel receiving their own marketing messages. At marketing conferences, Kerpen often asks audiences, "How many of you listen to and enjoy radio commercials?" Typically, no hands go up. "How many of you watch and enjoy television commercials?" Perhaps a few advertising professionals raise their hands. "How many of you use and enjoy Instagram or another social network?" At this question, 60-90% of hands shoot up. People fundamentally want to use media to relax, enjoy themselves, and connect with others—not to be interrupted by marketing messages. This insight is powerfully illustrated by the case of Stop & Shop, a grocery chain facing increasing competition from online retailers. Rather than creating social media posts focused solely on product features and deals, Stop & Shop listened to its customers and leveraged something they were already passionate about: Pokémon GO. When the augmented reality game launched, community managers noticed shoppers tweeting pictures of Pokémon they had caught in-store—some of the most creative, engaging content customers had ever shared about the brand. Within days, Stop & Shop launched a campaign encouraging fans to visit stores, shop for groceries, and catch wild Pokémon. On a microsite, a live "Pokémap" showed which Pokémon had appeared in local stores, while social posts compared bagging groceries to bagging Pokémon. Instead of pushing a traditional marketing message, the campaign tapped into an existing customer interest and invited participation. The results were remarkable: in just two weeks, the campaign generated more than 25,000 social actions. Without offering any prize, it encouraged shoppers to submit their in-store photos repeatedly, becoming Stop & Shop's most successful user-generated content campaign ever. To implement this customer-centric approach, start by identifying what your typical customers truly care about. What makes them click "like" or leave a comment? What topics generate genuine excitement? Remember that social media is not broadcast media—it's about engagement. People don't care about your press releases or earnings statements; they care about content that resonates with their interests, solves their problems, or makes them smile. The key question for every piece of content should be: "Would I want to receive this as a consumer?" If the answer is yes, it's worth sharing. If not, it's just contributing to the marketing noise your audience is already trying to avoid.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Fifth Convert Your Customers Into Enthusiastic Fans

You've set up social media accounts for your business, added buttons to your website, and started posting content. Yet the results have been disappointing—few followers, minimal engagement, and the only person you're having a conversation with is yourself. This common frustration stems from a fundamental misconception about how social media works. The internet has changed dramatically from fifteen years ago when people endlessly surfed the web. Today, users primarily access information through personalized filters like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, looking for relevant and recommended content. This means people who don't already know your business are unlikely to become your first social media followers. Instead, your initial advocates will come from existing relationships: customers, staff, partners, and vendors. Kerpen shares the story of Dr. Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist from Dobbs Ferry, New York (and father of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg). Known as "Painless Dr. Z," he demonstrated how even traditionally unsexy businesses like dental practices can effectively leverage social media. When patients arrived at his office, they saw a sign saying, "Like us? Then Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/PainlessDrZ to join the conversation." This simple call-to-action converted waiting room patients into online fans. Dr. Zuckerberg didn't stop there. His email appointment reminders included invitations to ask questions about upcoming visits on Facebook, and new patients were encouraged to "get to know us better before you come in by checking out our bios on our Facebook page." These techniques made patients feel more comfortable before their first visit while simultaneously building his online community. Eventually, more than 50,000 people liked Dr. Z on Facebook, leading to dozens of new patients through social referrals. To implement this strategy in your business, develop a clear value proposition for why people should connect with you online. Instead of saying "Like us on Facebook," explain what's in it for them: "Ask us your questions anytime on Facebook" or "Get exclusive tips and offers by following us on Instagram." Make this invitation part of every customer touchpoint—your website, email signatures, business cards, receipts, packaging, and in-person interactions. Remember that likes and follows are more valuable than website visits because they create ongoing connections. When someone likes your Facebook page, they not only subscribe to your updates but also endorse you to their friends. With the average person having around 350 Facebook friends, each new follower potentially exposes your brand to hundreds more people. By focusing on converting your existing customers into online advocates, you create a foundation for sustainable social media growth and word-of-mouth marketing.

Summary

Throughout this journey into social media marketing, we've explored the essential principles that transform ordinary online presence into meaningful customer relationships. The fundamentals remain constant despite the ever-changing landscape of platforms and features. As Dave Kerpen reminds us, "The networks may change. The rules may change. The tactics may change. But the principles never will." Your path to social media success begins with a simple shift in perspective: stop broadcasting and start connecting. Listen carefully to your audience before speaking. Target precisely the people who need your solutions. Leverage social advertising to reach them effectively. Think and act like your customers rather than like a marketer. And convert your existing relationships into enthusiastic online advocates. By embracing these principles with authenticity and consistency, you'll build a social media presence that genuinely resonates with people, creating not just customers, but true believers in your brand. Start today by identifying just one conversation happening in your industry online, and instead of immediately promoting your business, listen first with the sincere intention to understand and add value.

About Author

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Dave Kerpen

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