Although media marketing books can help you understand the objectives of outreach and engagement, social media can be a different beast altogether. You need to specifically get social media books to understand and master this landscape.
This is because the marketing communications landscape has seen an evolutionary change over the years. Gone are the days where businesses relied on traditional media for their outreach. We are in an age where memes, viral marketing, influencers, likes and shares dominate the marketing lingo.
The way social media content is planned, produced, consumed and distributed has significantly changed. That is why you will need books about social media in your reading list. Our list of the best social media marketing books will help you better understand what it is all about and how to use it for the success of your business.
Top 10 Books on Social Media
1. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
by Donald Miller
This media marketing strategy book is helpful for business leaders that struggle with talking about their businesses. It provides guides to help them connect with customers and communicate the benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. And this requires capturing your customer’s attention with clear, effective marketing messages. The book will help you transform how you talk about the unique value you bring to your customers, who you are and what you do.
Because social media is a brand storytelling channel, you’ll want to understand exactly what your brand story is before you jump in. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen will explain the seven universal story points all humans respond to, the real reason customers make purchases, how to simplify a brand message so people understand it, and how to create the most effective messaging.
2. The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand
by Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio
Visual storytelling is absolutely essential because of the way people communicate now. All it takes is a smartphone to take images and videos and post it online. This is true for consumers and brands alike. The book provides insights on the power of visuals to strengthen your messaging. Why is this important, because the human brain is wired to process visuals 60,000 times faster than simple text. It explains why viewers spend more of their time on web pages and videos. This book will help you navigate the fast-changing world of today’s digital media.
Discover how to grow your business and strengthen your brand by leveraging photos, videos, infographics, presentations, and other rich media. The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand provides a powerful roadmap for starting your own social media efforts as well as hundreds of real examples that will inspire your own social media strategy.
3. The Social Organism: A Radical Understanding of Social Media to Transform Your Business and Life
by Oliver Luckett and Michael J. Casey
The authors explain the phenomenon called social networks, memes, hashtags and new mass communication. They provide a unique take on social networks by comparing and contrasting them with biological life. They postulate that by examining cells, viruses, and other microbiological functions, people can master social media in both business and in life.
Before the advent of social media, marketing communications were much more controlled; initiated by a leader and repeated by employees and media. With the advent of mobile phones and social media channels, organizations have “lost control” of the message. Casey asserts that “Any brand or institution that wants to properly reach a major audience must come to grips with this new architecture and the powerful intermediation of these new, independent stars.” The Social Organism: A Radical Understanding of Social Media to Transform Your Business and Life is essential for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the role and power of this medium.
4. Likeable Social Media, Third Edition: How To Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand & Be Generally Amazing On All Social Networks That Matter
by Dave Kerpen
Considered as a primer on social media marketing, the third edition of this book now includes updated tools and tactics around video, mobile, paid media, and data. It gives readers a rundown on strategies and uses examples from many of the major social sites. If you are looking for a book to give you a comprehensive overview of social media then this is it.
Social media is…well…social. Likeable Social Media reminds us that the key to being successful on this platform is to be empathetic, authentic and honest. With this book, Kerpen’s goal is to have small business owners understand the “why” behind their strategy on this medium. It gives advice on practices regarding customer interaction and updates. This updated edition of the bestselling classic is one of the best social media marketing books packed with expert advice and new case studies that demonstrate the latest, best practices.
Read our review of Likeable Social Media.
5. See You on the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing
by Avery Swartz
The author stresses the need to look towards marketing communication for greater impact. Swartz describes the book as a highly usable guide for anyone in a small business or similar organization to thrive in the digital world. There is a framework to plan and execute a brilliant digital marketing strategy with confidence. Its five simple steps will teach you to build your brand, increase your customer base, and revenue.
Social media doesn’t stand alone, it’s an integral part of any digital marketing strategy. And this is the main message behind See You on the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing. Swartz’s goal is for you to think strategically about social media. She provides a contextual guide to website development, eCommerce, search engine optimization, email marketing, online advertising and the role of social media in supporting all of these marketing efforts.
6. One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days
by Brendan Kane
How to start your social media journey? This book shows how Kane did what the title says along with in-depth interviews with marketing experts and influencers. Kane highlights the tools you need to use to get your small business recognized. The way Kane hit a million followers was with a content testing approach. He says he measured the response of this content in real-time. The book is great for those seeking to understand how social media marketing works.
Ok, so you may not get one million followers (nor do you need one million followers), but you will want to build an active and engaged community on social media if you want to leverage those platforms to increase sales and build loyal customer relationships. The good news is that the process for building your social following works, the bad news is that it takes work. If you want to leverage the power of social media for your business and you’re willing to invest time to do the work, One Million Followers will show you how.
7. Networking in the 21st Century... on LinkedIn: Creating Online Relationships and Opportunities
by David J.P. Fisher
Nurturing the digital presence of your business is no longer an option, With this book you will understand networking is a combination of sales, marketing, relationship-building, and career management. You will learn how to connect with the right prospects, employers, and partners while navigating 706+ million members of LinkedIn to create a network. Like other good books on social media, it is packed with easy to follow guides and practical advice to embark on your digital journey.
If you’ve set a goal to leverage LinkedIn for building your network and business by referral, then Networking in the 21st Century … on LinkedIn is for you. The biggest mistake business owners and managers make is ignoring LinkedIn until they are “desperate” for networking. In this book, Fisher guides you toward establishing a brand on LinkedIn by showing you how to create a powerful profile. You’ll also learn how to create content that supports your brand and is helpful to your network. Ideal for today’s remote networking.
8. Pinnacle of Pinterest: Reach the Peak of Pinterest Marketing with Less than 100 Followers
by Elsie Wilde
This book highlights there is more than one way to establish your social media presence. And if your business is in a particular segment Pinterest is a great platform. If your focus is on raising your profile on Pinterest then this book is for you. Often overlooked when compared to other platforms, Pinterest does have its benefits. Wilde provides advice on group boards, Pinterest for biz accounts, activating rich pins, selling ads, affiliate marketing and more.
Rather than focusing on esoteric stories of how big brands use Pinterest, Wilde plunges into the power of Pinterest for small business. Everything from understanding how the platform works, to how to leverage the power of Pinterest posts and pins to drive meaningful traffic to your website. Pinnacle of Pinterest: Reach the Peak of Pinterest Marketing with Less than 100 Followers is especially helpful in sections about analytics, advertising and Pinterest etiquette.
9. Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Business
by Jason R. Rich
YouTbue is a great engagement platform that can give SEO boosts to your website. Jason Rich explains how to use to help promote your business brand, products, or services and attract new customers. This is basic information you need to acquire before moving on. The fundamentals Rich teaches in this book will serve you well as you grow on your YouTube journey.
Written in 2013, Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Business is still the best book for small business owners who want to leverage the power of the YouTube search engine to market their business. You’ll find a full tutorial on pre-production and production essentials. From developing video ideas that attract attention to overcoming lighting and sound challenges. Especially helpful are tips for generating video ideas and how to optimize your videos for maximum exposure.
10. Twitter Marketing in 2019 Made (Stupidly) Easy: How to Use Twitter for Business Awesomeness
by Michael Clarke
Twitter’s social ecosystem helps to create conversations, listen to your consumers’ opinions and leverage that information to create relevant and engaging content. Clarke teaches you insider strategies for using Twitter as part of your marketing. You will learn how to to set up your ads, what bidding to use, and how to target the right type of prospect. Each chapter gives you an action plan to improve your Twitter marketing strategy so you can learn progressively.
As it’s gone more and more mainstream in the last twenty years, Twitter has evolved from a social media platform to the primary platform for live engagement. Some businesses use it for customer service and others to share content. But what about you? Can you leverage Twitter for business? Twitter Marketing in 2019 Made (Stupidly) Easy: How to Use Twitter for Business Awesomeness contains practical advice of good times to tweet, where to place the link, and the best tweet size. Along with the solid advice about the content of your tweets, it also explains the importance of splitting the content between helpful, inspirational, fun, re-posted, and promotional.
More Business Information on Social Media
Social Media Marketing
Beyond books, there are many more resources available to you on social media marketing. And these resources address specific aspects of social media. Knowing the best practices in social media marketing is very important when you start engaging with your audience. So is understanding the different tools available to you such as social media automation.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
With so many platforms available today, you have to establish a clear goal to optimize your social media marketing strategies. In order to improve your social media outreach, listen to your audience and change accordingly. You can’t just set it on automatic and forget about it because it requires constant interaction if you want to grow.
Best Social Media Sites
In addition to learning how to market on a social media channel, you have to know which platform is best for you. The biggest platform may not be right for your brand and audience. And although the big names dominate the conversation, there are many other social media channels available to you. Whether you are looking to establish yourself on local social media sites or you need a bigger platform, you have options.
Understanding the Value of Social Media
No matter how big or small your business is, understanding the value of social media is critically important in today’s digital ecosystem. These social media books highlight their importance, but you have to keep on learning from other resources in order to stay on top of the latest developments in the segment. Mastering your social media communication skills will allow you to more effectively reach and engage with your audience.
