Ink Foundry - Social Media Marketing and Word of Mouth Marketing

If you are looking for a book about social media to buy as a holiday gift or if you’re going to have some extra time over the Christmas break to curl up next to the fire and read, I’ve put together my list of current social media marketing favorites.

I am a voracious reader and would re-arrange deadlines to finish a compelling book! However, I am not a book reviewer/critic so this list includes my quick top line thoughts, not full blown reviews, you can find a ton of them on Amazon. I will be adding to this list regularly, and I’m always looking for the next great book, so feel free to share your favorites in the comments below.

The links are affiliate links back to Amazon.

Happy reading!

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
This is a great, easy read for anyone interested in finding out more about social media who is looking for a good primer on the subject. You won’t find anything new in here if you or the person you are buying it for are familiar with social media channels. That being said, Brogan and Smith make social media sound so chimp simple, I do think everyone should read it.

Crush It Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, by Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk figured out how to take his personality and leverage social media tools to build his family’s retail wine business. At first I was a bit put off by his loud personality (you’ll “hear” it immediately when you start to read), but was won over by his work ethic. He’s 10,000 watts of entrepreneur. A great book for an entrepreneur, someone trying to build their personal brand or anyone even marginally interested in the how social media channels can help their small business.

The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited: Real Life Lessons in Word of Mouth Marketing, by Emanuel Rosen
I’ve heard Rosen speak at a couple of social media marketing seminars and he’s a marvelous story teller. This book continues in that tradition. This book was in the gift bag at the Word of Mouth Marketing Summit and I’m so glad that it was. A must read.

Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods, by Shel Israel
Again, like Emanuel Rosen, this is a guy who knows how to tell a story. Israel uses case studies to demonstrate how companies, many you’ll recognize, have leveraged Twitter to help their business explode.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin
It’s hard to beat Godin’s thinking on social media and how unconventional leaders can achieve unexpected greatness. He makes a compelling arguement that there are groups of people, “tribes”, who are looking for leadership. So stand up and lead. He section titled, “Should They Build A Statue of You” is of particular interest.

Crowdsourcing, Why The Power of the Crowd is Driving The Future of Business, by Jeff Howe
Jeff Howe is genius. Although I have to admit, I have a bias toward just about any reporter from Wired magazine. Howe coined the phrase “crowdsourcing” back in 2006 and his book explores how the collective brain-trust of the many can frequently achieve much more than the specialized few. Great storytelling. I had to pry this one from my boyfriend’s hands so I could read it first.

PHOTO CREDIT: “Naughty Librarians” by CheeseBikini

• Posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009
• 1 comments