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ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

HOW TO ACCESS 1 BILLION POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN 10 MINUTES

From the Ultimate series

Exhaustive in scope, expertly presented, and authoritatively written.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

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An expert and his cohorts share definitive strategies for succeeding at Facebook advertising.

Leading internet consultant Marshall (Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords, 2017, etc.) and equally knowledgeable co-authors Krance and Meloche jam this third edition full of wise advice and witty asides. While opening chapters perhaps overjustify using Facebook as an advertising vehicle, most of the content is meaty and on-target. The authors give the uninitiated marketer virtually every tool and technique to make the most of Facebook, delivered through their trademarked “Facebook Flight Plan,” an ad campaign blueprint that is painstakingly described in detailed text and excellent supporting webpage screenshots. The content ranges from advertising basics (campaign objectives, writing persuasive ad copy, and ad creative checklists, for example) to the more advanced (“the five most common troubleshooting scenarios” and a “five-tier scaling system”). The coverage is comprehensive; if ever there were questions about whether “Like” campaigns work, creating a solid offer, using video ads, targeting specific audiences, analyzing campaigns, or understanding the “Facebook Pixel” (a piece of code), this outsized handbook has the answers. And if that isn’t enough, Marshall offers free access to tools, videos, and case studies on his website. A nice touch not always found in technology manuals is the sprinkling of relevant stories and screenshots of actual campaigns. One notable aspect is the inclusion of chapters written by seven “guest authors,” each with specialized expertise. The format is also a plus; the large pages are nicely laid out with lots of subheads and easy-to-read type. Screenshots are legible, although some may have been better reproduced in larger size. It’s apparent that the content has been honed, shaped, and massaged in the third edition to keep up with evolving advertising strategies and rapid changes in Facebook technology; the online material and email alert service that accompany the book are equally welcome as a way to stay updated on Facebook.

Exhaustive in scope, expertly presented, and authoritatively written.

Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-59918-611-5

Page Count: 268

Publisher: Entrepreneur Press

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

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THE CULTURE MAP

BREAKING THROUGH THE INVISIBLE BOUNDARIES OF GLOBAL BUSINESS

These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.

A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.

“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.

These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.

Pub Date: May 27, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1

Page Count: 288

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014

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GOOD ECONOMICS FOR HARD TIMES

Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.

“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.

It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.

Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.

Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0

Page Count: 432

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019

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