Big News!!!!! I’m excited to announce the release of my new book “Social Media Field Guide” as it hits Amazon.com and will soon hit the shelves at select bookstores! Many of you probably know that I have been working on this book for quite a while now and I am THRILLED that it is finally done and available to order.

This is my first book, and it is actually being modified and turned into a textbook for social media marketing (you may have seen the post on that). I have so many people to thank for helping me get here, and later this week I will post an entire Thank-You post. I can’t tell you how much I value and appreciate all of the support and encouragement I have received over the past few years as I started my business.

I wrote the Field Guide after I started running social media training programs a few years ago, and after training thousands of people I created some systems to help explain and create a system for social media strategic planning and to help businesses understand the social media landscape, which can be overwhelming.

Part 1: The Social Media Planning System

I created the social media system, which is the underlying model for the book based on working with many companies and individuals on their social media marketing strategies. One thing I learned was that most business owners lacked a real solid social media plan. They weren’t getting results from their social media marketing because they didn’t really approach it with a plan. Someone told them they had to get on Twitter or that all of their competitors were on Facebook, so they created accounts and started posting content. They came to me because they weren’t getting results.

The Social Media System is a planning method that helps businesses get results by laying out a strategic plan. This is the part that most businesses skip in their rush to get on social media and it is also why most businesses don’t get value from social media. They have no real plan – they just throw stuff out there without a real audience in mind.

Part 2: The Social Media Field Guide – The Landscape

The second part of the Social Media Field Guide is the Field Guide model, which is a model to help businesses wrap their heads around the key opportunity areas in social media. Rather than tactically focusing on the social media tools like Facebook and Twitter the Field Guide encourages businesses to think about the broader functionality of social media. The Social Media Field Guide categorizes social media into 8 categories – Publishing, Sharing, Social Networks, Microblogs, Collaboration and Co-Creation, Discussion and Review, Public Relations and Mobile. Rather than focusing on an individual tool, businesses should think about how they can leverage each of these categories, and then drill deeper into the specific tools.

In addition to the book, the Social Media Field Guide also comes with a FREE ACTION PLANNER DOWNLOAD so that you can put the Field Guide into action.

In the past 10 years of , I’ve traveled to Brazil, Vegas, NY, San Francisco, London, Toronto and countless other cities where I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to thousands of business owners, marketers and social media managers. These experiences have helped me in creating this essential resourceful media guide full of great tips and advice. It also served as a great tool used in my social media certification program held at the newly established Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State.

I’ve already received some great feedback about the book and I would like to hear what you think! Click here to order your copy of the Social Media Field Guide.

Also, stay tuned for the official announcement, but I will be hosting a book party and showcasing my new office space on January 20th.

For more information on my new book, visit http://bootcampdigital.com/social-media-book/.