There are about thirty gazillion books out there on the topic of social media these days. It can be a little bit overwhelming trying to select the books that will best help you and your direct sales business.
I decided today to share with you what’s on my bookshelf. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, these are some of the books I have read and enjoy on the subject. Would love to read some of your favorites in the comments!
- The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly
by David Meerman Scott – Far and away the best book I have read so far, I believe that every direct sales company executive in charge of marketing and overall social media for the company should read this book.
- Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff – This book is a fascinating read that explores various demographics around the world, and how they interact with social technologies. If you’re in the midst of creating your social media marketing plan and want to appropriately target your niche market, this is a great book to read.
- Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust
by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – I haven’t read this yet, but I’ve ordered it. Chris Brogan is one of the people I am learning a tremendous amount from with regards to social media. He is one of those people who is leading the way in this new world of social media, and I am excited to read this book!
- Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
by Joel Comm – If you’re new to Twitter and trying to figure out how to use it for business, this book is a great introduction. Joel Comm specifically addresses how to use Twitter for marketing.
One of the tricky parts of any book on social media is how quickly things evolve and become out of date. It’s one of the reasons I don’t often recommend books about specific applications. For example, any book in print you pick up these days on Facebook is likely to reflect the old user interface, not the current one. I have to update my training on blogs and social networking platforms every single time I teach a class, because things are constantly changing.
But there are essential guiding principles that are relevant to social media marketing, no matter how the tools change. The books above discuss those principles, and are certainly a good read.
So what do you think? Love these? Hate them? Can’t wait to hear in the comments below what you are reading!
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good post – I second the recommendation for new rules of marketing and pr