Well, it was only a matter time - a book that synthesizes the online "Groundswell" phenomenon and how companies should approach it.

There's not a lot that is completely new in this book - it has, afterall, been the subject of a blog for some time now by leading Forrester analysts Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. However, it is an up-to-date guide for online marketing practitioners and it does present a useful schema for the way we view groundswell opportunities as marketers.

Li and Bernoff define the "groundswell" as "a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations."

They stress that the clarity of your objectives will make or break your strategy and that there are five primary objectives that companies can successfully pursue in the groundswell:

1. Listening: Use the goundswell for research and to better understand your customers.

2. Talking: Use the groundswell to spread messages about your company.

3. Energising: Find your most enthusiastic customers, and use the groundswell to supercharge the power of their word of mouth.

4. Supporting: Set up groundswell tools to help your customers support each other.

5. Embracing: Integrate customers into the way your business works, including using their help to design your products.

In future posts on this blog, we will examine each of these categories and describe examples - perhaps even some with a local (Aussie) flavour!