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Here are 10 Great Books about Social Media written by Social Media Experts which I Highly Recommend
Since many of us are always on the lookout for really great books on social media I thought I’d recommend a few that I’ve read this year and will add some comments. These are also some great gift ideas and I don’t know this for sure, but I would think these would all be available on CD to load onto your iPod.
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan & Julien Smith. *****
According to Chris & Julien, the first step in building trust is to turn yourself into Donnie Brasco. That’s right, you have to become a member of the community. The movie Donnie Brasco is the real life story of Joe Pistone, the FBI agent who infiltrated the Mafia and brought them to their knees. Joey spent 6 months sitting on a barstool in New York, drinking, eating peanuts, and watching the scene around him. He knew that the only way to integrate himself into the mafia community was to watch and learn how it operated first.
You should feel free to take the same approach. Go to the websites of the people you want to connect with, and watch how they interact with each other. When you feel comfortable knowing how to interact, start leaving thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs. That lets the blogger know you’re listening and it helps them build up credibility. Your credibility will follow.
Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel. *****
You’ve listened to and integrated feedback, and now you are ready to communicate. The 2 pillars which should guide your communication are permission and content. Permission is grade-school easy: only share relevant and timely information with the people who have agreed to receive it. Content comes next. As Joel says, your ability to create compelling text, audio, video, and images is what’s going to build your story and get people excited about staying connected. He says to ask yourself these hard questions to decide what content to create: (1) What expertise and knowledge do I have, and how can I best share this with my customers? (2) Is there something I can create that will empower my consumers to connect to one another better? (3) Which medium am I most compelling with – text, audio, images, or video?
Groundswell by Charlene Li. *****
Not my personal favorite, but it’s a must read if you are in a corporate environment. Social Technology is now mainstream and for managers struggling to answer questions about how their company should be in the social media space and why, it’s answers those questions with loads of data and analytics from companies large and small. . It is small but packed with so much useful information.
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott. *****
One of my favorites because it really inspires people to find their authentic voice, become vulnerable, and really put yourself “out there”. The New Rules of Marketing & PR’ leads you down the social media road and spells out the various methods to launch a thought leadership campaign by using the far-reaching, long-lasting tools of social media. It is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to make a name for themselves, their ideas, and their organization
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck. ****
Vaynerchuck’s not drugs, it’s drive. He wants you to work your 9-5 day job, go home and hug your spouse, kiss your baby, and then get working again from 9-2 AM on the thing you love. As he so eloquently puts it, “you’ll be bleeding out of your eyeballs at your computer.”
When you want to change the world, there’s no place or time for couch surfing Grey’s Anatomy, Wii, Scrabble, book clubs or online poker. So, be sure to pick something you are very passionate about, because there’s NO way you will work this hard at something you don’t enjoy.
The New Community Rules by Tamar Weinberg. ****
Tamar Weinberg is Mashable’s Director of Community. Want the nitty gritty details of social media success? Weinberg (the Queen of Smart) has literally hundreds of great tips in this book. Some of the gems include: submitting your blog to various directories (a simple but often overlooked step), how to become a power account user on the social news sites, and how to use Yahoo!
The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt. ****
What you’ll learn, while sitting on your virtual barstool, is the fascinating part: you’ll learn quite literally how to transform your products and services. And that’s a big deal. Hunt gives us some great tips on how to properly put all this new information to work to your advantage: (1) use it to design a product/service for the broadest possible community, (2) make sure you respond to all feedback, even if it’s with “no thanks,” and (3) give credit to the people whose ideas you implement.
The Social Media Bible by Lon Safko & David Brake. ****
This is a great reference and guide to all of the different online avenues, their strengths and weaknesses in addition to what they can mean to your business. The book is grouped into 3 parts so it can be quickly referenced. Part One is an intro to Social Media, Part Two is a guide to over 100 Social Media tools and how they could be applied to your business, and Part Three is filled with strategy tools to help you figure out how to use Social Media in your business. It is a “must have” for any marketer.
Socialnomics by Erik Qualman. *****
Statistics show that Social Media is bigger than you think! This is a great book and it explores the concept of how “socialnomics” is transforming the way we live and do business. It’s packed with tons of research and is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the implications of Social Media. Erik is a former online marketer for several top 100 brands and provides a research-based look at the impact Social Media is having on businesses and consumers around the world. It’s a fascinating read.
Inbound Marketing: Getting Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah and David MeermanScott. *****
This is a great book to help you get found online. Stop “pushing” your message out and start “pulling” your customers in! Use this how to guide to get found on google, the blogosphere, and the popular social media sites. It’s written by the innovators at HubSpot – check out hubspot.com – and if you like what you see there – get the book. In my mind it’s a no brainer. I recommend it highly.
