"Trust Agents" - Chris Brogan & Julien Smith - Quick Book Review

To state that Chris Brogan is a social media rockstar might just be an understatement. He has over 31,000 subscribers to his blog at ChrisBrogan.com. He has over 100,000 followers on Twitter right now. Clearly, he knows how to develop an audience of people who will pay attention to him.

And now, he has a book, too.

"Trust Agents", which Chris co-wrote with veteran trend analyst Julien Smith of InOverYourHead.net, is a solid field guide for new users of social media as well as seasoned veterans. The tips are practical and easy to start implementing right away.

The book is comprised of six overarching ideas on how to position yourself online and make a real impact using tools that are readily available to all of us, most of which are absolutely free.

With chapter headings like "Make Your Own Game" and "One of Us", Chris and Julien deftly explain how to leverage the web for business use, while remaining a trustworthy and interesting figure (a "trust agent"). If you're looking for ways to connect with influencers in your industry, this book is a must-read.

As a sidenote, I remember when I started on Twitter over a year ago that Chris Brogan was one of the first people I heard about from multiple sources. Even back then, people that I know and like were referring to Chris as genuine, likeable, "the real deal", etc. Clearly, this stuff works!

I am about to say something that will mean a lot to you if you know me very well. I will probably read this book again. Every word? Probably not, but it will serve as a great reference source going forward.

I like to think that I have a relatively sizable following already, but this book provides a great playbook on taking things to a whole different level. I appreciate the fact that the authors didn't speak only in broad generalities here - they give actionable tips and a path for anyone looking to effectively use social media for marketing.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone sincerely interested in building a solid online reputation. The ideas contained therein can help you, no matter what your business is. In fact, I might just need to get a few copies for the agents that work for me, as an early Christmas gift. :)

I found the Amazon link if you're interested in picking up a copy now: