"Essentials of Social Media" Textbook Review

 Essentials of Social Media Marketing by Michelle Charello is the textbook that has provided the structure for my Principles of Social Media class this semester. The book is strictly digital and connected to the same database, Stukent, that runs the Social Media Simternship that I blogged about last week. The book is organized by chapters that each cover a different social media platform or key concept of social media marketing. Each chapter has a corresponding slideshow that we reviewed during lectures in class. 

Something I really appreciated about the textbook was the integration of videos and real-world examples provided for almost every concept. It was also fun to see what kind of brands the author is especially fond of. One example that comes to mind is the use of Tensile media. Tensile is a company that makes tents that you can suspend above the ground. Michelle Charello must absolutely adore these tents, or maybe owns shares in the company, because she talks about them SO MANY TIMES. Listen, I’m all for using real-world examples, but a little bit of variety would be nice. Also I feel like a floating tent is so far out of the realm of normal things that are marketed on Social Media. Giving more common examples of companies marketing on social media may be more beneficial, rather than the wacky and extreme.

Regardless of the examples used, I love the integration of multimedia into a textbook. Videos are such a  great learning tool that I usually enjoy and process far better than I do simply by reading. There were also links that led to the websites of companies referenced within the text. This book does a great job of bringing academics into a modern context. Rather than resisting the shift to digital learning, this textbook integrates it and recognizes it as a tool. I think this is especially fitting considering the textbook is all about social media and marketing in the digital era.

I really enjoyed this class as a whole, including the homework and reading I did outside of class. Of all the homework I’ve done this past semester, sitting down to read and take notes on this textbook was what I most looked forward to on a weekly basis. Maybe it's because the class is in the same field as my major, but I think the quality of this textbook also has something to do with it. I’m really hoping some of the books I use in the future are also Stukent and of a similar ilk as this textbook.