Social Media for Strategic Communication: Creative Strategies and Research-Based Applications

by Karen J Freberg

Social Media for Strategic Creative Strategies and Research-Based Applications teaches students the skills and principles needed to use social media in persuasive communication campaigns. Author Karen Freberg combines cutting-edge research with practical, hands-on instruction to prepare students for the challenges of today′s workplace. With an emphasis on strategic thinking and awareness, the book equips students to adapt their skills to emerging platforms and technologies. Its broad focus on strategic communication—from PR, advertising, and marketing to non-profit advocacy—provides a comprehensive foundation for success in diverse career paths. The Third Edition features a brand new chapter on social media and crisis communication, discussion of AI integrated in each chapter, and new case studies in addition to updated coverage of changes to platforms, trends, strategies, and emerging challenges across social media.

475 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2025

Reviews

[Zoe Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selections for Non-Profit Social Media class

[Tuija Aalto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen Freberg offers an update to much quoted definition of a social media influencer in the second edition of SMSC: "An influencer is someone who has built an audience, naturally and over time, and who is viewed as an authority on a certain subject, practice, or perspective in online spaces. In addition, because an influencer has the trust of a community, that person can share content that persuades their audience to take a specific action."

A great overall resource for an aspiring professional, the book is a pleasant read with many practical examples.

As a gen-X-er, I was amused by the author's clever movie examples ("strategic plan can be used as a guiding compass similar to the one that Jack Sparrow uses in Pirates of The Caribbean"), ostensibly familiar to millennials, who are the book's target readers.

[Kara Rochester Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great textbook! It has a lot of practical resources and suggests appropriate tools for various strategic approaches to social media.

One star off because the glossary is organized by chapter instead of alphabetically; I also think this book will need to be updated with a new edition every few years as platforms change (making it way too expensive for such a short lifespan!).

[Iris Blatcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was my textbooks i had to read for school so... yeah interesting but no stories