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Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
From one of the leading experts in viral and social marketing-market your business effectively to today's customers For generations, marketing has been hypocritical. We've been taught to market to others in ways we hate being marketed to (cold-calling, flyers, ads, etc.). So why do we still keep trying the same stale marketing moves?UnMarketing shows you how to unlearn the old ways and consistently attract and engage the right customers. You'll stop just pushing out your message and praying that it sticks somewhere. Potential and current customers want to be listened to, validated, and have a platform to be heard-especially online. With UnMarketing , you'll create such a relationship with your customers, and make yourself the logical choice for their needs.Shows how to create a mindset and systems to roll out a new, 21st century marketing approach Marketing expert Scott Stratten focuses on a Pull & Stay method (pulling your market towards you and staying/engaging with them, leading them to naturally choose you for their needs) rather than Push & Pray Redefines marketing as all points of engagement between a company and its customers, not just a single boxed-in activity Traditional marketing methods are leading to diminishing returns and disaffected customers. The answer? Stop marketing, start UnMarketing !
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 2010
107 people are currently reading
3339 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
September 24, 2011
There are a lot of other 'uns' one could apply to this book: unImpressive, unEdited, and unDerwhelming. This is far more a book about Scott Stratten's pet peeves relating to customer service than it is a book about marketing in the 21st Century, and there are some truly egregious errors in it, as, for instance, when he attempts to relate a bad customer experience he's had at Future Shop and introduces it as a bad customer experience he's had at Best Buy. You might be charmed by the mistakes he relates in this book (such as not actually having a media kit together, not having investigated the need for hosting video prior to having one go viral, and not having a proper system in place to deal with the success of an email newsletter he produces), but I certainly wasn't. Much of the important information is contained in footnotes, although most of the footnotes are egregious examples of exactly how in love with himself the author actually is. There are really only two case studies from Stratten's supposedly vast marketing experience, and frankly, while good, they're small potatoes - a local framing store (not a national or even a regional chain) and a local private school. Stratten's forte really is video. But if you start following him on Twitter, you'll discover that despite all his injunctions to be genuine and to interact, he doesn't bother to reply to all his @messages, even to say thank you for a compliment on one of his videos.
For this book to be relevant in 2011, it would have had to include some innovative ways to use FourSquare, at least some mention of Facebook (you wouldn't be sure Facebook existed based on reading this), a discussion of pay-per-click ads and whether they're worthwhile or not, acknowledgement that Yelp exists, etc. A speaker and a coach he may be - a marketer he is not except that he has successfully marketed himself as a speaker.
I was anxious to read this because he does make good videos and because here, finally, was a book about marketing written by a Canadian. However, I had to question even his Canadian credentials in his long rambling dissertation on why he's now drinking MacDonald's coffee rather than Tim Horton's (of course if you take three sugars in your coffee no wonder you don't realize how bad both these chains' coffee is). Stratten claims Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Horton's.' Hmmm. I've now lived in four different provinces and on both coasts of this country, as well as several places in the middle. Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Tim's' or 'Timmy's.' I have never heard anyone other than Stratten refer to it as 'Horton's.' Perhaps it's an Oakville thing. Which, by the way, is a rather unCool place. Give this one a miss and read something by Seth Godin, D.M. Scott, or Paul Gillin instead. Or read Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo's Friends with Benefits instead, if you want a Canadian take on social media marketing.
For this book to be relevant in 2011, it would have had to include some innovative ways to use FourSquare, at least some mention of Facebook (you wouldn't be sure Facebook existed based on reading this), a discussion of pay-per-click ads and whether they're worthwhile or not, acknowledgement that Yelp exists, etc. A speaker and a coach he may be - a marketer he is not except that he has successfully marketed himself as a speaker.
I was anxious to read this because he does make good videos and because here, finally, was a book about marketing written by a Canadian. However, I had to question even his Canadian credentials in his long rambling dissertation on why he's now drinking MacDonald's coffee rather than Tim Horton's (of course if you take three sugars in your coffee no wonder you don't realize how bad both these chains' coffee is). Stratten claims Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Horton's.' Hmmm. I've now lived in four different provinces and on both coasts of this country, as well as several places in the middle. Canadians refer to Tim Horton's as 'Tim's' or 'Timmy's.' I have never heard anyone other than Stratten refer to it as 'Horton's.' Perhaps it's an Oakville thing. Which, by the way, is a rather unCool place. Give this one a miss and read something by Seth Godin, D.M. Scott, or Paul Gillin instead. Or read Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo's Friends with Benefits instead, if you want a Canadian take on social media marketing.
January 25, 2013
UNMARKETING is one of those rare books that simply changes you.
This isn’t just a book about doing business the right way. It’s about how to truly relate to people when doing business. To focus on what others want. It’s about how to engage.
Every chapter is packed with eye-opening information, a lot of which goes against old-school marketing concepts that have been so deeply engrained in our minds.
He demonstrates directly, and not just with past examples, but in the most effective way conceivable: he makes you his fan.
See, as I was reading his book, I found myself checking out each and every link. I subscribed to his newsletter. I downloaded his free book, IF YOU COULD GO BACK.
He embraces every word he writes. Scott Stratten walks his talk like nobody else.
I sent him a tweet. He replied immediately. Try it. Just mention @unmarketing on Twitter.
He’s the guy who makes you feel like he’s your friend. Not only does he make you want to buy every product he has to offer, he makes you want to evangelize it as well! He makes you want to write a five-star review, like I’m doing now.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could affect people the same way? UNMARKETING teaches you how.
Read this book. Even if you don’t own a business—It doesn’t matter. I’m an author, nevertheless, almost everything he wrote still applied. And the one or two chapters that didn’t, like the chapter on trade shows, were so funny and entertaining, I didn’t skip a word.
Buy this book. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
This isn’t just a book about doing business the right way. It’s about how to truly relate to people when doing business. To focus on what others want. It’s about how to engage.
Every chapter is packed with eye-opening information, a lot of which goes against old-school marketing concepts that have been so deeply engrained in our minds.
He demonstrates directly, and not just with past examples, but in the most effective way conceivable: he makes you his fan.
See, as I was reading his book, I found myself checking out each and every link. I subscribed to his newsletter. I downloaded his free book, IF YOU COULD GO BACK.
He embraces every word he writes. Scott Stratten walks his talk like nobody else.
I sent him a tweet. He replied immediately. Try it. Just mention @unmarketing on Twitter.
He’s the guy who makes you feel like he’s your friend. Not only does he make you want to buy every product he has to offer, he makes you want to evangelize it as well! He makes you want to write a five-star review, like I’m doing now.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could affect people the same way? UNMARKETING teaches you how.
Read this book. Even if you don’t own a business—It doesn’t matter. I’m an author, nevertheless, almost everything he wrote still applied. And the one or two chapters that didn’t, like the chapter on trade shows, were so funny and entertaining, I didn’t skip a word.
Buy this book. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
December 30, 2014
Most of the book is forgettable and poorly written. While I appreciate Strattan's Twitter evangelism, countless chapters on customer service and swag he got as a result of his brand advocacy grew tiresome.
December 8, 2021
I loved the premise of this book, the only catch was that it was written 10 years ago, and so a lot of the more practical advice that he gave is already outdated. Overall he offers a valuable perspective, and most of the tips can be applied to more current platforms.
July 26, 2023
It’s giving: man with a newsletter who writes Twitter threads about how to write newsletters, but there are good nuggets about creative marketing campaigns.
October 26, 2010
If you’re a regular Twitter user, Scott Stratten can be hard to miss at times (ok, always). The self-proclaimed “Jedi for social media,” with a big online mouth and an even bigger following, Scott provokes strong reactions from people. I’ve known him for a while and, while I always enjoy sparring with him, I consider him a friend so readily agreed to take a look at his new book – UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging – when he offered to send me an advance version.
Right from the first word, UnMarketing is an easy read, written in simple, plain language that is easy to digest and has made Scott so many friends online. The blunt approach might put a few people off, but frankly it’s refreshing to see someone finally put in print the responses that people *should* hear to bone-headed push-driven marketing ideas.
UnMarketing veers sharply back and forth between different marketing-focused topics, which is both a good thing and a challenge as you work your way through it.
On one hand the varied content makes for an interesting read that never gets dull. From the evils of the approaches taken to telemarketing and how many marketers have adopted similar approaches in other forms of communications, to what Scott calls the “experience gap” (similar in some ways to Gap Theory but simplified), there’s plenty to think about.
On the flip side, there are times where it sometimes feels like a series of blog posts strung together. Still, it’s also well-formatted for the gnat-sized attention spans of many people nowadays, and it’s easy to digest a chapter or two on the way to work.
The book is also replete with examples of companies who have “done it right” – from Cirque du Soleil’s Jessica Berlin, to the Freshbooks RV tour, to the culture of customer delight created at Zappos, there are plenty of anecdotes of companies adopting tactics which just “feel” right. They’re also held up against examples of companies doing it wrong which, while it may not make Scott friends at those companies, is refreshing.
If there’s one weakness here, it’s that there are relatively few examples of results to back up these examples (my issue with many social media-focused books) – you’re left to rely on the warm feeling generated by the empirical examples rather than the broader business results of these techniques over the longer term. The language is very much “within the bubble” – it’s written for people who know understand basic social media terms, rather than those who are completely new to things. While there’s nothing massively complex within, if you’re completely new then you may want to check out Shiv Singh’s Social Media Marketing for Dummies or something similar before diving into this book.
Scott’s sense of humour shines through throughout the book, which does a huge amount for the book as it could run the risk as coming across as arrogant and condescending were it not for that. Instead, Scott’s humour humanizes the book and he comes across as an everyday guy who has made mistakes, learned from them and – which is all to rare nowadays – is willing to share them with the rest of us. The footnotes throughout the book are simply hilarious, too. Believe it or not, they’re a highlight of the whole book, and had me laughing out loud in the middle of packed subway cars numerous times (thanks for that, Scott).
UnMarketing is aimed squarely at people who are new to social media, rather than people who’ve been around the block, and primarily at small businesses rather than larger corporations. For people in that bracket, UnMarketing is an easy and enjoyable read. Those people should pick up a copy today.
Right from the first word, UnMarketing is an easy read, written in simple, plain language that is easy to digest and has made Scott so many friends online. The blunt approach might put a few people off, but frankly it’s refreshing to see someone finally put in print the responses that people *should* hear to bone-headed push-driven marketing ideas.
UnMarketing veers sharply back and forth between different marketing-focused topics, which is both a good thing and a challenge as you work your way through it.
On one hand the varied content makes for an interesting read that never gets dull. From the evils of the approaches taken to telemarketing and how many marketers have adopted similar approaches in other forms of communications, to what Scott calls the “experience gap” (similar in some ways to Gap Theory but simplified), there’s plenty to think about.
On the flip side, there are times where it sometimes feels like a series of blog posts strung together. Still, it’s also well-formatted for the gnat-sized attention spans of many people nowadays, and it’s easy to digest a chapter or two on the way to work.
The book is also replete with examples of companies who have “done it right” – from Cirque du Soleil’s Jessica Berlin, to the Freshbooks RV tour, to the culture of customer delight created at Zappos, there are plenty of anecdotes of companies adopting tactics which just “feel” right. They’re also held up against examples of companies doing it wrong which, while it may not make Scott friends at those companies, is refreshing.
If there’s one weakness here, it’s that there are relatively few examples of results to back up these examples (my issue with many social media-focused books) – you’re left to rely on the warm feeling generated by the empirical examples rather than the broader business results of these techniques over the longer term. The language is very much “within the bubble” – it’s written for people who know understand basic social media terms, rather than those who are completely new to things. While there’s nothing massively complex within, if you’re completely new then you may want to check out Shiv Singh’s Social Media Marketing for Dummies or something similar before diving into this book.
Scott’s sense of humour shines through throughout the book, which does a huge amount for the book as it could run the risk as coming across as arrogant and condescending were it not for that. Instead, Scott’s humour humanizes the book and he comes across as an everyday guy who has made mistakes, learned from them and – which is all to rare nowadays – is willing to share them with the rest of us. The footnotes throughout the book are simply hilarious, too. Believe it or not, they’re a highlight of the whole book, and had me laughing out loud in the middle of packed subway cars numerous times (thanks for that, Scott).
UnMarketing is aimed squarely at people who are new to social media, rather than people who’ve been around the block, and primarily at small businesses rather than larger corporations. For people in that bracket, UnMarketing is an easy and enjoyable read. Those people should pick up a copy today.
December 29, 2010
Really, it was OK. This book comes across as a mix between "how to use Twitter (and why Scott loves it)" and "how good customer service is better than traditional marketing." Neither of these things is new or exciting for me. A lot of it is a personal narrative of how Scott has built his career over the years. There *are* some great case studies of how businesses have used Twitter successfully. Maybe it's better for someone who is new to the field or just getting interested in how to use social media to promote your self or your business. Very easy to read and written with people who are Internet-savvy in mind. Not a book I'll necessarily recommend, but a quick and easy read with some good examples - maybe good to get from the library.
January 17, 2016
So rare that I give a book 5 stars on Goodreads anymore, but this book blew me away! Most people think of marketing as a dry subject but this author makes it anything but! He is witty and laugh out loud funny (no really, I did it constantly), and you find yourself so engaged in the subjects and scenarios that you just keep wanting more. He is an author who puts himself on each page and his authenticity shines through in every word, each joke, and will have you recommending it to everyone you know. I would recommend this book to anyone who holds any kind of role in any kind of company. The information is up to date and useful to anyone in business, at any level.
February 7, 2011
really, really liked this book. Both because I bought in to what Scott was saying, but also because I just really dig short chapters. They make me feel like I’m reading faster or something. Anyhoo, the book really just focuses on his ideas about how and why marketing is different these days, which can be summed up in the phrase (borrowed from Field of Dreams) “build relationships and sales will come”. He also offers up some thoughts on how you, too, can get out there, talk to people and find your customers. Definitely worth reading if you’re a business owner.
August 23, 2015
This book is loaded with great advice on how to engage customers and connect with them. Each chapter is a mini-case study and easy to grasp and understand--but more importantly apply to your own marketing and business. I loved the chapter on Lush (52) and engagement in the retail stores.
I highly recommend this book as a valuable read.
I highly recommend this book as a valuable read.
May 2, 2020
This was a pretty decent read that is counter to the popular ways to market your business. As a person that is naturally inclined to the counter-popular as well as turned off by traditional marketing methods, it was refreshing to read.
For example, we don’t carry around business cards, because it seems forced and uncomfortable. We have been scoffed at for this, even by people that aren’t business owners. Not typically by potential clients, moreso by people in our circles. Stratten makes a point at the end of his book that he intentionally doesn’t bring business cards to marketing events. While other businesses hand out 50 cards a day, 47 of which never leave that same room, he is focused on developing new, natural relationships with people. The business card isn’t the punchline, or the objective. The relationship is. A relationship will cause people to think about you when the need you next. A business card won’t. He still exchanges information when appropriate, but it’s not as cold and standoffish as the business card exchange.
This is one of many examples in his book that are so simple and make so much sense at the same time. Most ideas are very basic, yet not many people are talking about them and even fewer enact them. The chapters are short and light reads.
This is great for people that are both new to business and being taught the old ways, as well as old-minded business people that need a jump start to adapt to the changing world.
For example, we don’t carry around business cards, because it seems forced and uncomfortable. We have been scoffed at for this, even by people that aren’t business owners. Not typically by potential clients, moreso by people in our circles. Stratten makes a point at the end of his book that he intentionally doesn’t bring business cards to marketing events. While other businesses hand out 50 cards a day, 47 of which never leave that same room, he is focused on developing new, natural relationships with people. The business card isn’t the punchline, or the objective. The relationship is. A relationship will cause people to think about you when the need you next. A business card won’t. He still exchanges information when appropriate, but it’s not as cold and standoffish as the business card exchange.
This is one of many examples in his book that are so simple and make so much sense at the same time. Most ideas are very basic, yet not many people are talking about them and even fewer enact them. The chapters are short and light reads.
This is great for people that are both new to business and being taught the old ways, as well as old-minded business people that need a jump start to adapt to the changing world.
January 26, 2020
Inspiring book. Great lessons. Some information was a bit dated, but otherwise great marketing book (mostly social marketing / growth hacking).
4/5
4/5
November 21, 2022
Reminded me of the importance of genuine engagement, but some of the book was a little too down to earth and generic for my taste.
April 20, 2019
Great business read! Absolutely loved it, very practical suggestions for making you business better.
February 2, 2011
Though I'm not a fan of this type of book, I will admit I enjoyed this one, probably because Mr. Stratten has a fun, conversational way of writing and is mostly humorous. I didn't start rolling my eyes at his ego and general ridiculousness until page 66 - a huge accomplishment considering I'm usually over the author by the end of the introduction.
I would argue that the topic is not actually "unmarketing". There is no lack of marketing or branding in this book. It's all about creating one's business image through social media - his favorite it Twitter. Oh how he loves the Twitter.
There are no ground-breaking, amazing ideas being shared; there's really nothing new at all. However, there are plenty of good reminders throughout the book and I think a lot of them come down to simple manners. Many of the manners our mothers taught us are applicable in a business setting, such as "When someone talks to you, you should respond" or "Smile and pay attention to people around you".
I think this book is less about not-marketing and more about not heeding the advice given in the past thirty years in books of the same genre. Being cut-throat, having your cheese and your parachute, going from good to great, or anything else in popular business books, could get you ahead in your company, but it's not going to win you a loyal following of customers.
Customer service often boils down to simply paying attention to the customer and this book is full of little reminders on how you can do just that using simple tools from the internet.
I liked:
much of the humor ; the reminders to have good manners ; reading about how social networking can enhance a business
I disliked:
the constant stream of "this happened to me once" stories (they seemed awfully contrived after the forty-seventh one) ; the general arrogance (a MUST for this genre. I guess successful people with small egos probably don't publish) ; the over-use of repetition (I know it helps people memorize stuff, but it's not actually useful to start and end paragraphs with the exact same sentence over and over again).
Ok, I do also have to point out that the viral marketing chapter, the one Mr. Stratten touted as being so incredibly important, seemed to have been written as the book was going to production, never edited and perhaps composed during an inebriated conference call. That one chapter should probably be removed from every copy of every book so that it can be revised to make sense. It was pretty awful.
I would argue that the topic is not actually "unmarketing". There is no lack of marketing or branding in this book. It's all about creating one's business image through social media - his favorite it Twitter. Oh how he loves the Twitter.
There are no ground-breaking, amazing ideas being shared; there's really nothing new at all. However, there are plenty of good reminders throughout the book and I think a lot of them come down to simple manners. Many of the manners our mothers taught us are applicable in a business setting, such as "When someone talks to you, you should respond" or "Smile and pay attention to people around you".
I think this book is less about not-marketing and more about not heeding the advice given in the past thirty years in books of the same genre. Being cut-throat, having your cheese and your parachute, going from good to great, or anything else in popular business books, could get you ahead in your company, but it's not going to win you a loyal following of customers.
Customer service often boils down to simply paying attention to the customer and this book is full of little reminders on how you can do just that using simple tools from the internet.
I liked:
much of the humor ; the reminders to have good manners ; reading about how social networking can enhance a business
I disliked:
the constant stream of "this happened to me once" stories (they seemed awfully contrived after the forty-seventh one) ; the general arrogance (a MUST for this genre. I guess successful people with small egos probably don't publish) ; the over-use of repetition (I know it helps people memorize stuff, but it's not actually useful to start and end paragraphs with the exact same sentence over and over again).
Ok, I do also have to point out that the viral marketing chapter, the one Mr. Stratten touted as being so incredibly important, seemed to have been written as the book was going to production, never edited and perhaps composed during an inebriated conference call. That one chapter should probably be removed from every copy of every book so that it can be revised to make sense. It was pretty awful.
July 30, 2014
Scott Stratten has written an incredibly approachable and user-friendly book on a subject that can be a bit daunting.
Social media has become such an integral part of so many of our lives. It is a fantastic place to shape or individual brands, and it would only make sense that commercial brands try to communicate with us through the same channels.
"Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging" is a fantastic guide for anyone who has ever wondered why no one "likes" them online. Through real world examples and lots of personal experience Mr. Stratten shares his thoughts on the best way to connect with an online audience. The book is a road map that gives you a great route to reach your focus/target market with the best chances for high conversion.
This book really drove home to me that at the end of the day the internet is about people. It is created by people, for people. It effects how we interact with each other, how we spend our free time, how we shop, how we think. It really made me think, "What content am I putting out there? Does it help people? Does it reflect who I am and who I would like to be?" It also made me think about a company as an individual. If my company was a person, how would people describe him? I think this is a huge question for companies to figure out. Do you want to be that weird or annoying "person" that nobody wants to talk to or be around? Or do you want to be the "person" people turn to because you always brighten their day, or teach them something new. I personally think it would be in every company's best interest to pick the latter of the two personalities!
"Unmarketing" is a bit out of date, as technology and social media zooms forward at the speed of light, but the principles are sound and can easily be applied to new platforms. I found Scott Stratten's writing style to be engaging and engrossing.
All in all, a very good book.
To check out my digital book report on Pinterest for "Unmarketing" Copy and paste this address: http://www.pinterest.com/apricitycraf...
Social media has become such an integral part of so many of our lives. It is a fantastic place to shape or individual brands, and it would only make sense that commercial brands try to communicate with us through the same channels.
"Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging" is a fantastic guide for anyone who has ever wondered why no one "likes" them online. Through real world examples and lots of personal experience Mr. Stratten shares his thoughts on the best way to connect with an online audience. The book is a road map that gives you a great route to reach your focus/target market with the best chances for high conversion.
This book really drove home to me that at the end of the day the internet is about people. It is created by people, for people. It effects how we interact with each other, how we spend our free time, how we shop, how we think. It really made me think, "What content am I putting out there? Does it help people? Does it reflect who I am and who I would like to be?" It also made me think about a company as an individual. If my company was a person, how would people describe him? I think this is a huge question for companies to figure out. Do you want to be that weird or annoying "person" that nobody wants to talk to or be around? Or do you want to be the "person" people turn to because you always brighten their day, or teach them something new. I personally think it would be in every company's best interest to pick the latter of the two personalities!
"Unmarketing" is a bit out of date, as technology and social media zooms forward at the speed of light, but the principles are sound and can easily be applied to new platforms. I found Scott Stratten's writing style to be engaging and engrossing.
All in all, a very good book.
To check out my digital book report on Pinterest for "Unmarketing" Copy and paste this address: http://www.pinterest.com/apricitycraf...
November 9, 2017
Regardless of your role when you work for a company, we are all sales and marketing people, not only promoting whatever the product or service is but also the customer experience. According to Scott, "marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present and potential customers."
This book is about "unmarketing" ... the ability to engage with your market. It's what comes naturally, not being forced to do things that make you uncomfortable. It's the authentic, it's personal and it's the way to building lifelong fans, relationships and customers. This book is for you if you have had enough of the "old-school" ways of marketing and want to believe there is a better way.
If you believe business is built on relationships, make building them your business. Scott Stratten
Scott starts with the hierarchy of buying ... with cold-calling on the bottom of the pyramid and referrals from current satisfied customers at the top. He then discusses the value of being considered an expert and trust. Various methods are described such as "pull and stay" rather than the "push and pray", social media such as Twitter, viral marketing, seminars and more. He includes his experiences of what some companies did well and how others failed to live up to their promises.
I liked the writing style. It is very conversational, casual and amusing. He seems like he'd be a fun guy to sit down and talk with. I read this book on my iPad and there are links which I found myself going to as I was reading to learn more about the experiences Scott talked about.
I look forward to reading his other books and hope sometime to see one of his keynotes.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/11...
This book is about "unmarketing" ... the ability to engage with your market. It's what comes naturally, not being forced to do things that make you uncomfortable. It's the authentic, it's personal and it's the way to building lifelong fans, relationships and customers. This book is for you if you have had enough of the "old-school" ways of marketing and want to believe there is a better way.
If you believe business is built on relationships, make building them your business. Scott Stratten
Scott starts with the hierarchy of buying ... with cold-calling on the bottom of the pyramid and referrals from current satisfied customers at the top. He then discusses the value of being considered an expert and trust. Various methods are described such as "pull and stay" rather than the "push and pray", social media such as Twitter, viral marketing, seminars and more. He includes his experiences of what some companies did well and how others failed to live up to their promises.
I liked the writing style. It is very conversational, casual and amusing. He seems like he'd be a fun guy to sit down and talk with. I read this book on my iPad and there are links which I found myself going to as I was reading to learn more about the experiences Scott talked about.
I look forward to reading his other books and hope sometime to see one of his keynotes.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/11...
January 7, 2013
Imagine my surprise when a friend of mine, living far and away overseas, recommended that I read this book. He said, though I can't remember verbatim, something along the lines of: "If you don't read this book, and ever plan on going into business for yourself, you are a moron."
Again, I cannot remember his exact words - the impression was strong and I, being the slave to recommendations that I am, requested the book and it arrived in due time. I sat down, read the book, and due to its bite-sized chapters, felt more like I was reading from a menu, where all of the choices were delicious and easy to digest. Even the most complex of topics was presented in such a way that I, not too far removed from being a peasant (in terms of my technological savviness) was able to understand.
Imagine my surprise, indeed.
The book, UnMarketing, gave me a lot of ideas of how even the most technologically inept of us, can and should, exercise ourselves online. There's a lot of practical advice, practical examples, and practical... Well, everything is practical. If one were to wander over to Mr. Stratten's website (and I would recommend this action), one would find that the website serves almost as a supplement to the book (or vice-versa).
Should you be planning on making any form of business venture in the future, I would recommend that you read this book (far more so if you are Canadian, due to the many Canadian-friendly references) and enlighten yourself in terms of how the "new media" is beginning to diverge from the "old".
Five stars. Two thumbs up. A couple of olives in the martini.
djm.
Again, I cannot remember his exact words - the impression was strong and I, being the slave to recommendations that I am, requested the book and it arrived in due time. I sat down, read the book, and due to its bite-sized chapters, felt more like I was reading from a menu, where all of the choices were delicious and easy to digest. Even the most complex of topics was presented in such a way that I, not too far removed from being a peasant (in terms of my technological savviness) was able to understand.
Imagine my surprise, indeed.
The book, UnMarketing, gave me a lot of ideas of how even the most technologically inept of us, can and should, exercise ourselves online. There's a lot of practical advice, practical examples, and practical... Well, everything is practical. If one were to wander over to Mr. Stratten's website (and I would recommend this action), one would find that the website serves almost as a supplement to the book (or vice-versa).
Should you be planning on making any form of business venture in the future, I would recommend that you read this book (far more so if you are Canadian, due to the many Canadian-friendly references) and enlighten yourself in terms of how the "new media" is beginning to diverge from the "old".
Five stars. Two thumbs up. A couple of olives in the martini.
djm.
April 11, 2014
When your boss asks, "Why do we need social media?" just hand them this book.
I liked how personable this book was. About halfway through the book, Stratten mentions that he was using voice-to-text software to write it, which makes all the more sense. If you've heard him speak before, you know exactly what this read will be like.
From someone who is incredibly new to the industry, who never really understood marketing from a traditional standpoint, a lot of the examples and tips seemed very fundamental. Some of these things — like no auto-follow on Twitter, or auto responses, or scheduling tweets while you're on a cruise — should be common sense. But he understands that some business people get hyper-focused on the bottom line and short-term profit.
I liked how he almost told it from a half-marketer, half-consumer perspective. His approach to relationship-driven marketing reflects how I (and a lot of the people I know) approach marketing today: "You did something really neat that made my day. Sure, I'll buy you're product." We care less about brand and more about experience.
Reads like a really long blog post, had some great laugh-out-loud moments, and I loved all the footnotes. But what I loved most of all was how he presented "unmarketing" as not only a new way to reach consumers, but the optimal way to reach consumers. All supported by real-life experiences.
I liked how personable this book was. About halfway through the book, Stratten mentions that he was using voice-to-text software to write it, which makes all the more sense. If you've heard him speak before, you know exactly what this read will be like.
From someone who is incredibly new to the industry, who never really understood marketing from a traditional standpoint, a lot of the examples and tips seemed very fundamental. Some of these things — like no auto-follow on Twitter, or auto responses, or scheduling tweets while you're on a cruise — should be common sense. But he understands that some business people get hyper-focused on the bottom line and short-term profit.
I liked how he almost told it from a half-marketer, half-consumer perspective. His approach to relationship-driven marketing reflects how I (and a lot of the people I know) approach marketing today: "You did something really neat that made my day. Sure, I'll buy you're product." We care less about brand and more about experience.
Reads like a really long blog post, had some great laugh-out-loud moments, and I loved all the footnotes. But what I loved most of all was how he presented "unmarketing" as not only a new way to reach consumers, but the optimal way to reach consumers. All supported by real-life experiences.
August 1, 2017
This book gives some suggestion on how to market your business by not spending money for that.
Here author says how customers engagement will be a great marketing strategy for your business. Consider every moment spending with customer as a marketing. Author suggests to make social media accounts for your business in twitter, facebook, youtube and other sites. This will help your customers to engage with your support team. Use this tool as a marketing tool. Respond to the customers questions and suggestion and engage with them.
Also says content marketing and audio video marketing give more impact on your business. Make few tiny videos and audios on your business and have few faq pages, support pages, how to pages. Make the customers to understand your product.
Also he suggest that spending time on getting new customers must be equal to the time spending with the existing users.
Word of mouth marketing is the main source of marketing so make your existing customers be a marketing team for your business. Make your customers to be loyal to your business. This will be achieved by giving good customer support. Dominos, zapposs, and many companies considered customer satisfaction as a main priority.
Here author says how customers engagement will be a great marketing strategy for your business. Consider every moment spending with customer as a marketing. Author suggests to make social media accounts for your business in twitter, facebook, youtube and other sites. This will help your customers to engage with your support team. Use this tool as a marketing tool. Respond to the customers questions and suggestion and engage with them.
Also says content marketing and audio video marketing give more impact on your business. Make few tiny videos and audios on your business and have few faq pages, support pages, how to pages. Make the customers to understand your product.
Also he suggest that spending time on getting new customers must be equal to the time spending with the existing users.
Word of mouth marketing is the main source of marketing so make your existing customers be a marketing team for your business. Make your customers to be loyal to your business. This will be achieved by giving good customer support. Dominos, zapposs, and many companies considered customer satisfaction as a main priority.
January 18, 2011
Книгите, посветени на бизнеса, обикновено са скучни.
Не и тази. Скот успя да ме грабне още с първите страници - със разумните забележки, свежите идеи и добре подредените и смислени аргументи. Представя маркетинга така, както винаги съм мислел за него - като нещо повече от "бутай, а те да хващат, ако могат". Повечето му идеи са съвсем ясни и не е трудно да осъзнаеш силата им. Други ми се струват не на място, но пък и тяхното време ще дойде.
На моменти се съсредоточава твърде много върху детайлите, като обяснява някои неща по няколко пъти. Към средата на книгата започнах да се разсейвам и с нетърпение да прехвърлям страниците по-бързо, за да стигна до по-интересна част.
Харесаха ми и идеите му за активното поведение в интернет и възможностите да стигнеш до много повече хора, използвайки техния канал за комуникация и техния език. Имаше и чудесни примери за това как да се противопоставиш на всеобщата анти-логика и да постигнеш своето.
Препоръчвам! Интересно и безспорно полезно четиво :-)
Не и тази. Скот успя да ме грабне още с първите страници - със разумните забележки, свежите идеи и добре подредените и смислени аргументи. Представя маркетинга така, както винаги съм мислел за него - като нещо повече от "бутай, а те да хващат, ако могат". Повечето му идеи са съвсем ясни и не е трудно да осъзнаеш силата им. Други ми се струват не на място, но пък и тяхното време ще дойде.
На моменти се съсредоточава твърде много върху детайлите, като обяснява някои неща по няколко пъти. Към средата на книгата започнах да се разсейвам и с нетърпение да прехвърлям страниците по-бързо, за да стигна до по-интересна част.
Харесаха ми и идеите му за активното поведение в интернет и възможностите да стигнеш до много повече хора, използвайки техния канал за комуникация и техния език. Имаше и чудесни примери за това как да се противопоставиш на всеобщата анти-логика и да постигнеш своето.
Препоръчвам! Интересно и безспорно полезно четиво :-)
January 28, 2013
I'm a recent graduate in marketing and management. I didn't want my education to stop with college, though, so I immediately went to the book store to start picking up some books to continue learning. I'm not going to lie, my biggest draw to this book was the style of the cover and the title. I was very keen on the idea of relationship building vs old-school selling techniques.
While I admit that there was an over abundance of twitter talk in here (I get that it is simply the authors favorite social media medium), the other information was great. I appreciate that other people out there believe in relationship building as a means of selling your product. Not to make it sound like a trick, though, as the whole point it to actually care and work from there.
Anyway. This was a good read, whether or not you agree with everything said I still recommend you pick up a copy and take a look. Warning: He is very sarcastic. If you can't pick out written sarcasm, or don't appreciate such humor, perhaps you shouldn't read this!
While I admit that there was an over abundance of twitter talk in here (I get that it is simply the authors favorite social media medium), the other information was great. I appreciate that other people out there believe in relationship building as a means of selling your product. Not to make it sound like a trick, though, as the whole point it to actually care and work from there.
Anyway. This was a good read, whether or not you agree with everything said I still recommend you pick up a copy and take a look. Warning: He is very sarcastic. If you can't pick out written sarcasm, or don't appreciate such humor, perhaps you shouldn't read this!
June 18, 2017
Picked this up from the library to brush up on my marketing skills and to get some fresh ideas for building an author platform. As one of those oft-despised Millennials (albeit an old one born in '85), I pretty much instinctually knew all of this — but I expected that. I wanted to read it because sometimes you know something so intuitively that you can't explain it to other people, and therefore, you struggle to implement it. That's how I am with social media. It's easy for me, but not effortlessly easy.
Anyway, I picked up 3 key things (or reminded myself of 3 key things?) to look further into while skimming through this book today:
- Twellow Pages - need to see if this still exists
- Twitter Grader - same
- Is the old truism 'People need to see things 7 times in order to buy' really true?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Anyway, I picked up 3 key things (or reminded myself of 3 key things?) to look further into while skimming through this book today:
- Twellow Pages - need to see if this still exists
- Twitter Grader - same
- Is the old truism 'People need to see things 7 times in order to buy' really true?
Enquiring minds want to know.
September 22, 2017
I admit - I am a Scott Stratten fan. His advice to business folks is not rocket science. However he writes it in a way that is funny and engaging. The chapters for the most part are short which makes it easy and read when you are busy and your only time to read is on the john.
My only issue with the book is that some of the information is dated. Some of the suggestions may not be available anymore and if you are new to social media, you may not know about other alternatives.
I work in government, so I am not in sales. However the information is was still very relevant - especially when it comes to customer service.
Looking forward to UnBranding!
My only issue with the book is that some of the information is dated. Some of the suggestions may not be available anymore and if you are new to social media, you may not know about other alternatives.
I work in government, so I am not in sales. However the information is was still very relevant - especially when it comes to customer service.
Looking forward to UnBranding!
October 22, 2017
I gave UnMarketing a 5-star rating because it connected with me on thoughts I've had as a consumer for many years. Scott and Alison have articulated clearly the role of social media as a means to an end...not the end. Social Media offers a penetrating tool for engagement...and that's what selling is about; building trust. In addition to beating the drumbeat of that core premise, UnMarketing offers great content on how to leverage SM to get MORE of the magic sauce that engagement represents. I've seen some negative reviews on the book. Perhaps the readers didn't like the style, but I don't see how you could argue w/the content. I highly recommend!
February 21, 2017
I enjoyed the content quite a bit. The writing style wasn't really my jam (I don't respond well to what feels like forced humor) and it felt a bit choppy (like it was maybe more of a string of blog posts). Good stuff to ponder, though, and I think I'll be able to put a good amount of their ideas into practice. I will also give their podcast a listen because I think their style may translate better for me in that medium.
September 11, 2018
I didn't finish this book, getting about a third of the way through.
There was far too much focus on Twitter, which I don't use... as a result, finding large sections of the book to be irrelevant to my needs.
But, I valued the lessons on dropping the marketing and focusing instead on connecting. This gem, I am rather glad to receive and have strengthened as a value.
Oh well! So many lovely books to read, and so little time! I don't see a reason to continue.
There was far too much focus on Twitter, which I don't use... as a result, finding large sections of the book to be irrelevant to my needs.
But, I valued the lessons on dropping the marketing and focusing instead on connecting. This gem, I am rather glad to receive and have strengthened as a value.
Oh well! So many lovely books to read, and so little time! I don't see a reason to continue.
September 16, 2018
Excellent book for contemporary Marketing. It is about Engagement, Engagement and Engagement. I have already started to re-read. Many great lessons and stories. Today, the Marketing tools are dramatically different; however, people still want to be connected with their favorite brands and know that the brands are listening.
December 6, 2010
Thoroughly. Enjoyable, readable, and applicable. First time I've laughed out loud in a business book! Great read!
March 5, 2011
I loved this book for it's simplicity, it read like 64,000 tweets, great job Scott.
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