Olivia: Alright Jackson, I'm going to say a phrase, and you tell me the first corporate buzzword that comes to mind. Ready? "Social Media Marketing." Jackson: Oh, that's easy. "Synergistic engagement." Or maybe "leveraging authentic paradigms." Basically, anything that sounds like a robot trying to be your friend. Olivia: Exactly! And that's why today's book is such a breath of fresh air. We're diving into Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen. Jackson: A book that promises to make social media… likeable? That’s a bold claim in today's world. Olivia: It is, but what's fascinating is that Kerpen wasn't some academic in an ivory tower. He was a serial entrepreneur who built his own multi-million dollar agency, Likeable Media, by practicing what he preaches. This guy even got his start by getting his wedding sponsored by the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. He lives and breathes this stuff. Jackson: Okay, a sponsored wedding. That’s a level of hustle I can respect. So he’s a practitioner, not just a theorist. I'm listening. Olivia: And his core idea starts with a simple, powerful story about two hotels in Las Vegas that perfectly captures the massive shift in power from brands to us, the customers.

Jackson: I'm always here for a Vegas story. Let's hear it. Olivia: So, Kerpen lands in Vegas after a long flight, and he's stuck in a ridiculously long check-in line at the trendy Aria Hotel. He's frustrated, so he does what we all do: he pulls out his phone and tweets his frustration into the void. He complains about the terrible service and the endless wait. Jackson: A classic customer complaint. I'm guessing the Aria’s highly-trained social media team sprang into action with a heartfelt apology and a room upgrade? Olivia: You'd think so, but what he got was complete silence. Crickets. But then, something unexpected happened. A few minutes later, he gets a reply on Twitter, but it's not from the Aria. It's from their competitor, the Rio Hotel. Jackson: Whoa, that’s a bold move. What did they say? Olivia: It was incredibly simple. The tweet just said, "Sorry about the bad experience, Dave. Hope the rest of your stay in Vegas goes well." That's it. No sales pitch, no "come stay with us instead," just pure empathy. Jackson: That’s brilliant. It's like the host of the party you're at is ignoring you, so the host of the party next door leans over the fence and says, "Hey, sorry you're having a bad time." You immediately like that other host more. Olivia: Precisely. Kerpen was so impressed that on his next trip to Vegas, he stayed at the Rio. He then 'Liked' the Rio on Facebook. A few months later, a friend of his, Erin, was planning a family trip and saw his 'Like.' She asked him for a recommendation, he told her the story, and she ended up booking her family's stay at the Rio. Jackson: Let me guess the price tag on that. Olivia: That one recommendation from Kerpen's friend resulted in a $600 sale for the Rio. All stemming from a single, empathetic tweet that probably cost them nothing. Meanwhile, the Aria, by staying silent, not only lost a customer but also missed out on that word-of-mouth sale. Jackson: That perfectly illustrates the whole idea of social media as a giant cocktail party. The old way of marketing was to be the loudest person in the room, shouting with a megaphone. The Aria was still using a megaphone. The Rio understood it's a party, and the goal is to make connections, to listen to conversations, and to be a good host. Olivia: That's the core of the book. Kerpen says the biggest spenders don't win anymore. The smartest, most flexible listeners do. And this was back in 2010. The principle has only become more critical since. Jackson: But that raises a practical question. How does a company like the Rio even find that one tweet in a sea of digital noise? It feels like finding a needle in a haystack of cat videos and political arguments. Olivia: That's where the "listening" part becomes a real strategy. It's not passive. Companies use social listening tools to track mentions of their brand, their competitors, and keywords related to their industry. The Rio was likely monitoring mentions of "Aria" or "Vegas hotels" and saw an opportunity to step in. Jackson: So it's not magic, it's a deliberate act of eavesdropping on the party. Which, when you put it that way, sounds a little creepy. Olivia: Kerpen makes a great distinction here. He says there's a difference between "monitoring," which feels cold and impersonal, and "listening," which is a human process. Monitoring is just data collection. Listening is about understanding and empathy, which is what the Rio did. They didn't just see a data point; they saw a frustrated person and responded with kindness.

Jackson: Okay, so listening is step one. But what happens when the person at the party isn't just complaining about a long line, but is actively shouting that your company is terrible? My instinct, and I think most companies' instinct, would be to escort that person out of the party. Or at least pretend you can't hear them. Olivia: And that's where Kerpen introduces what might be his most controversial and important rule: the "Do-Not-Delete" rule. Unless a comment is obscene or bigoted, you never, ever delete a negative comment. Jackson: Hold on. You're telling me if someone posts "Your product is garbage and your company is a scam!" on my company's Facebook page, I'm supposed to just... leave it there? For everyone to see? That feels like marketing suicide. Olivia: It feels that way, but Kerpen argues that deleting it is far worse. Deleting a comment is the digital equivalent of shouting "Screw you!" in a customer's face. It takes a disgruntled customer and turns them into an enraged crusader. He gives a great example of a company, Verizon FiOS. A customer named Ray posted a furious, all-caps rant on their Facebook page about being overcharged. Jackson: And they left it up? Olivia: They did. Instead of deleting it, a Verizon team member named Devin responded publicly, right under the angry comment. He said, "I'm sorry you had this experience," and offered to help resolve it privately. He got Ray's information, connected him with support, and they fixed his billing issue. Jackson: And what happened? Did Ray just quietly go away? Olivia: Better. A few days later, Ray came back to the same public post and wrote a follow-up. He thanked Verizon profusely for fixing the problem and praised their service. He went from being their biggest public detractor to a vocal supporter, all because they listened and responded instead of deleting. They turned a foe into a fan. Jackson: That's powerful. It shows that transparency builds more trust than a perfectly curated, flawless image. It’s the difference between a brand that’s polished and a brand that’s real. Olivia: And it's not just about apologizing. It's about the action that follows. There's a fantastic story about the clothing brand Loft. They posted a picture of a very tall, thin model in their new pants, and their Facebook page erupted with comments from women saying, "Those would never look good on a real person!" Jackson: A very common and valid complaint. Olivia: Instead of just issuing a corporate apology, Loft did something brilliant. Two days later, they posted photos of their own female staff members—of all different shapes and sizes—wearing the exact same pants, looking great. Their apology wasn't just words; it was proof. They showed, they didn't just tell. Jackson: I love that. The apology is the entry ticket, but the action is what earns you the trust. It’s admitting, "You were right, we messed up, and here’s how we’re fixing it." That level of honesty is so rare that it becomes remarkable.

Jackson: Okay, so listening and responding is about managing the conversation that's already happening. But how do you start a positive conversation in the first place? You can't just sit around and wait for people to complain or compliment you. Olivia: That's the final, and maybe most important, piece of the puzzle. You have to give people something to talk about. You have to provide value, and often, you have to provide it for free. Kerpen's own story is the best example of this. Jackson: The sponsored wedding guy? Olivia: The very same. When he started his agency, Likeable Media, they had almost no capital. They couldn't afford a big sales team. So instead, they just started sharing everything they knew. They blogged, they tweeted, they posted helpful tips and strategies on Facebook, all for free. Jackson: Giving away the secret sauce. A bold strategy. Olivia: For months, that's all they did. They just gave and gave. Then one day, the phone rings. It's a potential client who says, "I've been following your blog and your Facebook page for months. I love how you think. We have a $200,000 budget for a social media plan, and we want to hire you. No need for a proposal, just send the contract." Jackson: Wow. A $200,000 inbound lead from a blog post. That's the dream. Olivia: It proves the point. By consistently providing free value, they built a reputation and credibility that acted as their best salesperson. The sale was already made before the phone even rang. Jackson: It's fascinating. He was basically doing what every successful YouTuber or Substack writer does now: build an audience by giving away 99% of your best stuff for free, and the 1% who need more will pay you handsomely for it. He was really ahead of his time on that. Olivia: Absolutely. And that value doesn't always have to be educational. It can be entertainment. Look at Blendtec's "Will It Blend?" videos. They took their boring product—a blender—and created hilarious, must-see videos of them blending iPhones, golf balls, you name it. They weren't selling blenders; they were selling entertainment. And it led to a massive increase in sales. Jackson: But does this still work today? That book was published in 2011. Now, everyone is a "content creator." The "free value" space feels incredibly saturated. Can you still stand out by just being helpful or entertaining? Olivia: I think the principle is more important than ever, but the execution has to be smarter. The bar is higher. Your value has to be more unique, your stories more compelling. But the fundamental human desire for connection and generosity hasn't changed. A genuine act of help or a truly great story still cuts through the noise.

Jackson: It really feels like the book's title, Likeable Social Media, is almost a misnomer. The book isn't really about social media, is it? Olivia: That’s such a great point. It seems like all these strategies—listening, responding with empathy, being transparent, giving value, telling stories—are not 'social media' strategies at all. They're just good business and human relationship principles, amplified by technology. Jackson: Exactly. The internet didn't invent these rules; it just made the penalty for ignoring them immediate and public. And the reward for following them just as visible. Olivia: In the old days, if a company treated you badly, you might tell ten friends. Now, you can tell ten thousand. But the flip side is also true. If a company delights you, that story can also reach thousands. The stakes are just higher in every direction. Jackson: That's the real takeaway for me. The technology will always change—it went from Facebook and Foursquare when Kerpen wrote this, to Instagram, to TikTok, to whatever's next. But the core need for human connection and respect doesn't. The question for any business, or even any person online, is: Are you acting like a megaphone, or are you acting like a host at a party? Olivia: A perfect question to end on. We'd love to hear your thoughts. What's the most 'likeable'—or 'unlikeable'—thing you've seen a brand do online? Let us know. We're always listening. Jackson: This is Aibrary, signing off.