DAVID B. THOMAS is Executive Director at New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. Before joining NML, he was social media manager at SAS, where he led the company's global social media strategy. A marketer and communicator with more than twenty years' experience, Dave blogs at dbthomas.com.
MIKE BARLOW is an award-winning journalist and author. He is Managing Partner at Cumulus Partners (cumuluspartners.com), a marketing communications strategy consulting firm specializing in original content development and content-based marketing.

An actionable framework for developing and executing successful social media strategies supporting collaboration, teamwork and communication in modern corporations
Using straightforward language, this book offers real-world stories and revealing anecdotes to demonstrate how executives and business leaders develop successful corporate social media strategies.
* High level guidance to developing the practical business frameworks and policies necessary for implementing and managing successful corporate social media strategies
* Describes the actual processes, organizational structures, and technology platforms required to develop and execute a strategy of continuous engagement with customers, partners, and stakeholders
* Provides both how-to advice as well as best practices on creating an enterprise social networking strategy
* Other titles by Barlow: Partnering with the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Though the Eyes of Decision Makers
An executive handbook and referencefor social media strategy planning and development, The Executive's Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy answers all the questions you have on this topic, including why every corporation needs a social media strategy and how it can be successfully leveraged to achieve business objectives.
Praise for The Executive's Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy: How Social Networks Are Radically Transforming Your Business
"This book is an 'executive summary' of the e-social revolution, as it applies to business. Thomas and Barlow have distilled the most thrilling and life-changing technological revolution that any of us will witness in our lifetimes into a clear-eyed set of 'nothing-but-the-facts-ma'am' data points for business managers. A great read, well worth the effort.
--Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D., co-authors of Rules to Break & Laws to Follow
"Forgot all the social media buzzwords! Dave and Mike cut through the social sphere hype with his practical guide helping you hone in on making social media a vital business success tool. After reading David and Mike's book, you will understand why you need to integrate your efforts in social media with your overall business objectives. Through new (not-your-everyday-Zappos-Dell-Facebook-example) and varied case studies, analytical direction and measurement insights, Dave and Mike's book provides the fundamental strategies for your brand to truly connect with people via social media."
--Zena Weist, Director, Social Media, H&R Block
"Thomas and Barlow have nailed it. I wish I wrote this book."
--Chris Brogan, co-author of TrustAgents
"As a social media strategist for a large brand, I understand the challenges companies face integrating social media. This book presents practical solutions in a way that makes sense for large enterprises."
--Bert DuMars, Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing, Newell Rubbermaid
"Lots of companies try their hands at social media and are unhappy with the results because they don't do their homework. Success in social media comes from smart preparation and making sure your online actions support your key business objectives. This book lays out the groundwork in a way that's easy for companies to understand and implement."
--Justin Levy, author of Facebook Marketing: Designing Your Next Marketing Campaign
"Many enterprises continue to treat social media as a box they'd rather not open. With Enterprise Social Media Strategy, David Thomas and Mike Barlow not only provide organizations with the keys to that particular box, but also clear, actionable strategies for dealing with its contents. The payoff: happier customers, better products and services, and a potentially enormous trove of valuable business intelligence. Highly recommended."
--Tom Webster, Vice President, Strategy, Edison Research

Foreword.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
Country Village or Gleaming City?
Beyond Disruptive.
Step Aside, Fred Taylor...
Social Media or What?
Why Now?
So, What's the Best Way to Skin a Mastodon?
Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer.
Critical Areas for Success.
Part I: The Grand Scheme of Things.
Chapter 1: Speed, Scope, Complexity, Power, and Potential.
They Laughed at the Wright Brothers.
A World of New Challenges and Opportunities.
Getting a Firm Grasp on a Viral Phenomenon.
What's the Hurry?
Too New-Fangled for You?
A Very Cool Scenario.
Step Up and Meet the Millennial Generation.
Just What You Needed: Another "Perfect Storm".
Chapter 2: The New Mode of Production.
Social Media, Teamwork, and Collaboration.
Mapping Social Media to Results.
Accelerating Product Development.
Driving Knowledge into and across the Organization.
Crowd Sourcing...
We're All Hackers Now.
Chapter 3: The Social Enterprise.
Forget Murphy's Law.
More Important Than Money?
The Social Workforce.
Collaboration is the New Efficiency.
Social HR.
First Impressions Count.
The Train Is Leaving the Station...
The New Social Dimension.
Social CRM.
Social Leadership.
Making It Stick.
Legal Niceties.
High Speeds Need Seat Belts.
Take the Time to Write It Down.
Part II: Building a Structure for Success.
Chapter 4: Get Everybody Together in the Same Room.
Invite the Practitioners, Not Just the Rulemakers.
Figure Out What's Important.
What Are Your Existing Goals?
What Makes Sense in Your Industry?
What Makes Sense in Your Company?
How Can You Figure Out What Will Work for You?
Chapter 5: Creating Social Media Guidelines.
Be Clear and Concise.
Guiding Principles for Social Media at SAS.
Include Do's as Well as Don'ts.
Include Examples.
Communicate as Often as Possible, in Every Channel you Have.
Spotlight Successes.
Lead by Example.
Chapter 6: Staffing and Structuring.
Where Does It Live?
Hire or Designate?
How Do You Structure for Social?
How One Organization Pulls It Together.
Outsourcing the Roles.
Chapter 7: Listening, Measurement, Analytics, and ROI.
A Simple Listening Framework.
First, a Word from the Measurement Queen.
"Listen Yes. But Think Bigger.".
The Five Kinds of Listening
What Is Social Media Analytics?
CareOne's Measurement Model.
Not a Simple Formula, but a Formula Nonetheless.
Chapter 8: The Keys to Success in Social Media.
It's Difficult in Its Simplicity.
Finding the Time to Do It.
A Simple Model.
Using All Your Channels.
Nine Easy Ways to Write a Blog Post.
Part III: Putting Your Social Media Strategy to Work.
Chapter 9: Marketing.
From Strollers to Sharpies.
From the Nursery to the Kitchen.
Sharpie, Meet Lamborghini.
Bert's Advice.
Chapter 10: Social Media for B2B.
B2B and Phonebooth-to-B.
Taking an Integrated Approach at Cisco.
Chapter 11: Public Relations.
The Old Model of PR.
The New Model of PR.
Social Media PR at the Mayo Clinic.
Social Media in a Crisis.
Greenpeace versus Nestlé.
The Power of Parody.
Chapter 12: Sales.
Turning Twitter Connections into Sales Leads.
A Debt of Gratitude.
Chapter 13: The Voice of the Customer.
Customer Service.
Comcast Cares.
Nothing Is Certain but Twitter and Taxes.
Product Development.
The Phone Is Ringing.
Chapter 14: Internal Communications.
The "Virtual Water Cooler".
Social Media and Internal Communications at SAS.
Appendix: Intuit Social Communications Policy.
Additional Resources.
Recommended Reading.
About the Authors.
Index.