Highly Recommended : Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth and Social Media to Build Your Brand and Your Business / Paul M. Rand.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-218) and index.

Foreword / by Margo Georgiadis, President , Americas, Google -- Introduction : living a recommendable life -- Preface -- Word of mouth recommendations : marketing's holy grail -- Stew Leonard's and the 30 minute recommendation -- Why Angie and her list are worth $650 million -- Fixing what advertising has broken -- A whole new model for a whole new world -- The power of positive recommendations -- Where, how and why we recommend -- Some recommendations are more valuable than others : the influencer ecosystem and the Oprah effect -- The roadmap to recommendations -- Know : understanding where and how your brand and your competitors are talked about and recommended -- Plan : developing a recommendable brand strategy, articulating your sharable story -- Identify : discover those people whose recommendations influence your brand's purchase decisions -- Activate : creating compelling content and experiences that engage the 90/10 rule -- Protect : identifying and neutralizing "hear me's", "reputation terrorists" and "competitive destroyers" -- Beyond marketing : operationalizing recommendations -- Customer service that gets you recommended -- Becoming the most recommended place to work (HR) -- Creating products and offerings your customers tell you they will buy (Product Innovation/R & D) -- Built by recommendations : tying it all together.