- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (11 Sep 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0470743085
- ISBN-13: 978-0470743089
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 2.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 312,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Trust Agents
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Product Description
Product Description
How to tap the power of social software and networks to build your business
In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand′s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Today′s online influencers are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online.
The book shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Because trust is key to building online reputations, those who traffic in it are "trust agents," the key people your business needs on its side.
- Delivers actionable steps and case studies that show how social media can positively impact your business
- Written by authors with over ten years of online media experience
- Shows you how to build and wield influence online to benefit your brand
- Combines high–level theory with practical step–by–step guidance
If you want your business to succeed, don′t sit on the sidelines. Instead, use the Web to build trust with your consumers using Trust Agents.
From the Inside Flap
There′s no question that the Internet has changed the way we do business—especially when it comes to marketing. Consumer environments are short on trust and populated by consumers who are cynical, savvy, and informed. Though it′s easier than ever to reach your customers, it′s less likely that they′ll listen. Today, the most valuable online currency isn′t the dollar, but trust itself.
At the same time, social networks and personal connections have far more influence on consumers than your marketing messages ever will—unless your business knows how to harness them. In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of these networks to build your brand′s influence, reputation, and profits.
Trust agents aren′t necessarily marketers or salespeople; they′re the digitally savvy people who use the Web to humanize businesses using transparency, honesty, and genuine relationships. As a result, they wield enough online influence to build up or bring down a business′s reputation. This book will show you how to build profitable relationships with trust agents, or become one yourself.
In an online world defined by its transparency, becoming a trust agent is no easy task, but once you′ve established your reputation, you can build influence, share it, and reap the benefits of it for your business. When you′ve learned a trust agent′s secrets, your words can carry more power and more weight than any PR firm or big corporate marketing department.
Learn to use the power of the Web and social networks for your business now. Trust Agents gives you all the tools and strategies you need to do it the right way—honestly, effectively, and profitably.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have been following Chris Brogan on Twitter for over a year and I love his style and the information he imparts to the world. When I read his tweet that he was releasing his book Trust Agents (co-authored by Julien Smith) i was straight on to Amazon to order my copy.
Chris Brogan is ahead of the game, really at the forefront of social networking and using social media to grow influence. A Trust Agent is someone who spreads influence far and wide and someone who people look to for advice. You need to become a Trust Agent in your field of business. Chris shows us how to use the web and online tools to build our influence and spread it to a much wider audience. The traditional methods of promotion and advertising are losing their effective in the new world of web 2.0 - Trust Agents gives us the formula to succeed.
If you are reading this review you are probably already a bit of a Trust Agent. You probably "get it". Get what? That you can't go on shoving advertising down people's throats. You have to be more subtle - build trust, and once it's built keep it. That's real influence, that's being a Trust Agent.
Buy the book, have a read. You may already know and be using some of the advice in it but I can guarantee you that there's a lot of thought provoking material in it that you don't know. It's an easy read, it's not heavy and it's a great reminder of what is required to succeed in social networking. One of the problems people have is being consistent and having the patience to succeed. It takes a long time and dedication but it's good fun and opens doors. Reading this book will keep you right on track.
Chris Brogan is ahead of the game, really at the forefront of social networking and using social media to grow influence. A Trust Agent is someone who spreads influence far and wide and someone who people look to for advice. You need to become a Trust Agent in your field of business. Chris shows us how to use the web and online tools to build our influence and spread it to a much wider audience. The traditional methods of promotion and advertising are losing their effective in the new world of web 2.0 - Trust Agents gives us the formula to succeed.
If you are reading this review you are probably already a bit of a Trust Agent. You probably "get it". Get what? That you can't go on shoving advertising down people's throats. You have to be more subtle - build trust, and once it's built keep it. That's real influence, that's being a Trust Agent.
Buy the book, have a read. You may already know and be using some of the advice in it but I can guarantee you that there's a lot of thought provoking material in it that you don't know. It's an easy read, it's not heavy and it's a great reminder of what is required to succeed in social networking. One of the problems people have is being consistent and having the patience to succeed. It takes a long time and dedication but it's good fun and opens doors. Reading this book will keep you right on track.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As Chris Brogan and Julien Smith explain, "The idea for this book came out of our individual successes in achieving goals using the Web to work with people and out of our fascination with non-currency-based economies. We've taken what we've learned from our years as `digital natives' (people who have grown up inhabiting the various online haunts of the moment, combined with our understanding of games, people, and business as a whole, and followed it all up with information and ideas to help you better understand the mindset required to match these actions to your business needs." There seem to be at least two primary objectives that their book is intended to achieve:
1. To help their readers become "trust agents." That is, "power users of the new tools of the Web, educated more by way of their own experiences and experiments than from the core of their professional experiences, [and who] speak online technology fluently."
2. To help their readers think more strategically, to understand certain principles much better, and to master the aforementioned "new tools" to build influence, share influence, "and benefit from the other currencies that such exchanges of trust" deliver to them.
I appreciate Brogan and Smith's skillful use of reader-friendly devices such as "ACTION" sections throughout the narrative that serve two separate but related purposes: they emphasize key points and suggest how to apply them. For example:
"Build a Listening Station" (Pages 11-12)
"Start Figuring Out the Rules...Everywhere!" (Pages 45-46)
"Starter Kit fir Hacking Work" (Pages 61-62)
"How to Make Friends" (Pages 88-89)
"The Business Card Game" (Pages 161-162)
"Get LinkedIn" (Pages 177-178)
Brogan and Smith repeatedly stress the importance of being worthy of others' trust and respect, of building healthy, honest relationships. In Chapter 1, they identify the six characteristics of trust agents (e.g. "The Archimedes Effect" which involves effective leverage) and then devote a separate chapter to each of the six. Those in need of information and counsel to help them increase the scope and depth of trust in a workplace should seriously consider this book.
1. To help their readers become "trust agents." That is, "power users of the new tools of the Web, educated more by way of their own experiences and experiments than from the core of their professional experiences, [and who] speak online technology fluently."
2. To help their readers think more strategically, to understand certain principles much better, and to master the aforementioned "new tools" to build influence, share influence, "and benefit from the other currencies that such exchanges of trust" deliver to them.
I appreciate Brogan and Smith's skillful use of reader-friendly devices such as "ACTION" sections throughout the narrative that serve two separate but related purposes: they emphasize key points and suggest how to apply them. For example:
"Build a Listening Station" (Pages 11-12)
"Start Figuring Out the Rules...Everywhere!" (Pages 45-46)
"Starter Kit fir Hacking Work" (Pages 61-62)
"How to Make Friends" (Pages 88-89)
"The Business Card Game" (Pages 161-162)
"Get LinkedIn" (Pages 177-178)
Brogan and Smith repeatedly stress the importance of being worthy of others' trust and respect, of building healthy, honest relationships. In Chapter 1, they identify the six characteristics of trust agents (e.g. "The Archimedes Effect" which involves effective leverage) and then devote a separate chapter to each of the six. Those in need of information and counsel to help them increase the scope and depth of trust in a workplace should seriously consider this book.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been reading Chris's Blog for a long time now. I was looking forward to read his book. I must say I feel a bit cheated.
Let's be fair, if you lived in cave for the last few years and never used any social media (facebook, twitter etc...) then this book might come handy.
I try to review books one or two months after reading them, just to see there was important things to learn. Unfortunetaley I can't remember anything good about this book. It's been very well marketed, during the launch you couldn't miss it.
The book has no structure whatsoever, it's hard to read and never know where the book is heading. You really see it's been written by two different people, the tone is confusing, there is no style.
It also feels like re-reading the same blog post all over the books but written differently. I've read a few books written by bloggers (Crush it, Escape Cubicle Nation, Power of Less, 4 hours week, Seth Godin, Tom Peters etc...) and have always been impressed by them, you can't write a book like a blog (and vice versa), you have to construct the argument, build it and give more details than just giving some general feelings on how you should use social media.
Overall I would say that social media is just using common sense, don't spam people and create useful content. I think Chris is losing it, I can see he's struggling to renew his topics on the blog, by writing this book he totally lost me.
Remember, social media is a tool, if you haven't got anything interesting to say it's not gonna help you.
Let's be fair, if you lived in cave for the last few years and never used any social media (facebook, twitter etc...) then this book might come handy.
I try to review books one or two months after reading them, just to see there was important things to learn. Unfortunetaley I can't remember anything good about this book. It's been very well marketed, during the launch you couldn't miss it.
The book has no structure whatsoever, it's hard to read and never know where the book is heading. You really see it's been written by two different people, the tone is confusing, there is no style.
It also feels like re-reading the same blog post all over the books but written differently. I've read a few books written by bloggers (Crush it, Escape Cubicle Nation, Power of Less, 4 hours week, Seth Godin, Tom Peters etc...) and have always been impressed by them, you can't write a book like a blog (and vice versa), you have to construct the argument, build it and give more details than just giving some general feelings on how you should use social media.
Overall I would say that social media is just using common sense, don't spam people and create useful content. I think Chris is losing it, I can see he's struggling to renew his topics on the blog, by writing this book he totally lost me.
Remember, social media is a tool, if you haven't got anything interesting to say it's not gonna help you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Helpful guide to gaining consumers' trust online
Archimedes, the Greek mathematician and inventor, once said, "With a lever large enough, I can move the world. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rolf Dobelli
If you know Social Media, there's no need to buy this
Chris and Julien wrote this, as they told me personally, to introduce people into the trust economy. Read more
Published on 10 April 2010 by Scott Gould
Areas to Focus on for Having Positive Online Influence
"Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward." -- Job 15:31
The online world spins out ever-increasing amounts of videos,... Read more
For futility will be his reward." -- Job 15:31
The online world spins out ever-increasing amounts of videos,... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by Donald Mitchell
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