In this era of booming social networks, blogs, viral e-mail, and increasingly fragmented media, the idea that a business could actively inspire people to talk about a particular company, cause, or product is rousing considerable interest from marketers, yet questions abound.

Andy Sernovitz, chief executive officer of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, has authored a book entitled, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, which addresses common questions, such as: How do I start? How do I measure results? How will I know it’s working? What are the dos and don’ts?

Sernovitz teaches business people how to participate in an active dialogue with consumers and drive positive word of mouth. He also offers tips for avoiding potential minefields when using this immensely popular technique.

Word of Mouth Marketing helps readers make sense of the changing communications landscape that includes blogs, podcasts, MySpace, Facebook, and more, and provides advice on creating effective viral marketing campaigns that tap these and other mediums (Kaplan Publishing, $24.95). HBM