How to Grow Your Business Using Social Media

So many professionals are scrolling through miles of irrelevant content – smart service providers should rather turn that obsession around and learn how to complement their regular and digital marketing activities with the power of social media across channels.

Smart Social Media is the latest book from UK based author Luan Wise which has just been published in September 2024 within the series of “smart” titled books by British publisher Bloomsbury Business. Compared to books about individual platforms or covering theoretical aspects, hers is based on the insights from years of hands-on consultancy work for her clients.

Luan Wise is a well-recognised social media marketer, author, trainer, fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and also a TEDx speaker. I follow her website and online events for a couple of years since working professionally in the social media field. Her content became a reference at Hootsuite and a global guiding light far beyond the UK. Two out of her four books like last year’s Planning for Success received a National Indie Excellence Award.

The journey towards growing business with social media marketing spans over eight chapters. Following the foundation in the first chapter, the second helps to get to know your customers which includes the famous know, like, and trust factor but also the emotional behaviours and the importance of social listening (not everyone knows that term yet).

The following chapters cover business planning, branding and communication, the buyers' journey (not sales process!) and my favourite topic collaboration and partnerships. Before concluding with further success stories, I like the chapter about the power of communities –this is where social media excels over any other form of lead generation.

Some useful quotes jumped into my eyes which work also outside of the book such as “To truly connect and engage with your audience, you must understand them intimately.” A more business related version of that is “Understanding how people think, feel and act has become critical for businesses seeking to grow.” I also like this one: “To stand out amidst this digital clutter, capture attention and stop the scroll, social media content needs to resonate with the specific needs of your target audience.”

Whoever believes they would hold a book about technology in their hands, will recognise the adaptability for their own practice on another level. With the mentioned structure around improving business outcomes with aligned activities, the book achieved a mix of strategic mindset and concrete tips with an aha effect.

What I like about this book is the well-achieved balance: the smart mix of case study examples and reference resources support the story flow from planning to execution, from correction to automation. Only by putting the learning into practice, readers will see the desired transformation and business growth – and that change can happen quickly due to the hyper fast nature of social media.

I observed three elements to stand out as an inspiration for future business book writers: First of all is Luan’s easily readable writing style – it doesn’t need cliff hangers to keep reading. Despite being written in a conversational mode, she added facts and sources where suitable to support the flow. I also like the case studies in grey boxes sharing their challenges, the solution and the achieved outcome. Those illustrate the power of being smart with social media. Working as a reference book as well after reading, the summaries and the whole appendix section are helpful as well.

Congratulations to Luan for elevating the role of social media managers and showing organisations that this function is key to grow their business. Or as I learned during my time at Hootsuite: “Social Media deserves a seat at the Board table”.