Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

Good if you lack motivation, otherwise not very practical. Didn't finish it.

For those of us in marketing, social media is all the rage these days. Everybody wants to know how to get thousands of followers on twitter. And how to succeed on facebook. And, ultimately, how to make themselves into highly paid social media superstars.But in their rush to cash in, many if not most have forgotten why you want your company/brand/client to be successful in the social media sphere. Which is? Word of mouth is the best advertising money can't buy.That's where Brains On Fire comes in. It's not about social media. It's about creating and nurturing word of mouth movements - movements that turn your customers into evangelists who will keep the buzz going long after you're gone (both online and off).Sound incredible? Well it is, but the book outlines how to do it - and illustrates each point with case studies from the authors' own work in this area. And you know what? After reading how they created a legion of Fiskateers for Fiskars scissors, I kinda wish I was a scrapbooker so I could get in on the action.That's how powerful this stuff is.I simply can't recommend this book highly enough. Already in the process of reinventing myself, Brains on Fire has inspired me to take it several steps further. I thought I wanted to be in social media, but really I want to do what these guys do - use social media to create truly passionate communities.Buy it. You'll be glad you did.

A major thumbs up to the folks at Brains on Fire!! For those who are interested in understanding how to build a tribe of not just customers but true followers this is a "must read" book for your library. The crew at BOF understand that the new social media tools are powerful but they are in fact only tools. The secret is defining ones message in a way that it empowers people to believe in your cause and want be a part of what you do. The case studies profiled in this book give wonderful insight on how to craft that message to build something remarkable (something everyone wants to remark about). Buy the book....you won't be disappointed.

I'm not sure where I stumbled onto Brains on Fire blog - but I'm glad I found it. Brains on Fire has some really awesome stuff when it comes to creating movements for your customers, advocates and zealots. I've marked up my copy with action points to take to several of my businesses ranging from publishing to adventure travel. They've done a superb job of breaking down the 10 elements that go into the mix for creating movements and tight communities.With traditional media having less impact it may be time for marketers to stop defaulting to the yo-yo of advertising campaigns and instead really look to "ignite" a word-of-mouth movement. Some of the advice here really hits home for the conversations that are taking place around your business or brand driven from the bottom-up.The Brains on Fire crew of Phillips, Cordell, Church and Jones hand you 10 rules for how they've engineered self-sustaining and extremely passionate (and successful) movements like the Fiskateers and Rage against the Haze for anti-smoking in South Carolina. Those are the two you hear the most about in the book and both are worthy of case studies by themselves. Fiskateers took a 360-year old company that makes scissors and helped double their profits by tapping into advocates in key markets. If you read this book with an open mind you might just see some significant changes to make in your marketing and business.This goes nicely with Primal Branding by Patrick Hanlon and True Believer by Eric Hoffer if you really want to get deep into creating zealots around your movement.

I have never read a business book that inspired me as much as this one. I have recommended Brains of Fire to just about everyone I know because this will change how we interact with people. This is natural, organic marketing on a level I think few of us can ever realize.I work in the arts, so we understand fans. But actualizing that relationship into movements is where Robbin and her crew really excel. This breakdown of how to approach it makes complete sense, and focuses on core competencies rather than the tools used.You will start seeing the world in a different way. You will start to see how to change the world.