Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt – Book Review

Title and Author: Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

Synopsis of Content:

The secondary title to this book is “A Step by Step guide for anyone with something to say or sell” and that is a very succinct summary of the book.

Hyatt worked in the book publishing business and has been forced to adapt to the use of social media to “market” his products, books. He is also the author of several books and has learned how to promote his own work on social media. While he uses a lot of publishing examples his methods are applicable to products, services, public speakers, as well as many other reasons to get the message out.

He devotes the most time in the book to Twitter. He started out as a skeptic about Twitter but is now a devotee. He offers a step by step process to gain attention in a very noisy social media world. Those steps include:

Begin by developing a compelling product or message that generates a “wow” reaction. There is no substitute for a high quality product.

Create a plan to launch your product with goals and tools.

Build a home base including a good webpage.

Expand your reach using a subscriber list and social media.

Engage your “tribe,” those who follow you in the social media, to create a buzz about you and your product or message.

Hyatt uses lots of real world examples based on his experience as well as what others have done and written about. While he likes Facebook now, he has had his reservations about its use and he clearly favors Twitter. He also offers lots of information about other programs and tools that enable you to use social media more effectively.

He does rely heavily on his own experiences and since he has a self-hosted blog using WordPress software with some custom design work. He also offers a lot of sound advice about branding and how to position oneself in the market place. He discusses all this in the Web 2.0 context with an emphasis on offering a lot of free material to engage his followers.

Usefulness:

Anyone who wants to utilize social media to effectively market an idea, message or product will benefit from the practical advice here. The seasoned marketer who has relied on more traditional marketing devices will learn how to use social media to expand or even replace the traditional methods. Those with no experience can learn how to use social media to market without much cost.

Readability/Writing Quality:

The book is clearly written and well organized. It is also well edited.

Notes on Author:

Michael Hyatt has spent his career in the publishing business spending much of that time with a Christian publishing company, Thomas Nelson Publications. He says it is the oldest continuously operating publishing company in the US. He served as its CEO and is now chairman. He now devotes a lot of time teaching others to use social media through his Platform training business.

Related Websites:

Michael Hyatt’s blog on Intentional Leadership is at http://michaelhyatt.com/

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

1. You must have a compelling product to succeed at social media marketing; there is no substitute for that.

2. You must create an “elevator pitch,” a concise description of what you offer and how it will benefit others you can use in media and in interviews.

3. There is no substitute for engaging your audience with social media. This requires time and persistence. You must maintain a constant presence to build your message and your audience.

Publication Information:

Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

Copyright: 2012 by Michael Hyatt. Published in hard bound by Thomas Nelson, Inc.