Social Media B2B

In a world where 500 word blog posts rule our everyday reading and information is discovered through social networks and search engines, is there still a place for the 300 page business book? Yes, information may be less scarce today, but much of the information that is available lacks the depth of thinking that only a thoughtful book can provide.

As we all leverage the possibilities of the social web to help serve as a catalyst in our Business-to-Business organizations, we need reference information to buttress our ideas. We have picked out 6 books that every B2B social media marketer to should read regardless if they are new to social media or a social media veteran.

In no particular order:

1. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff – By many opinions Groundswell is one of the best written and well received books about the social web. It makes our list because it integrates simple examples with rich statistical information. Published in 2007 many of the statistics are now vastly different, however, Groundswell is an ideal book to help you understand the basics, as well as something that you can give to senior management to read.

2. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – Trust Agents has only been released for for a few months and has already made its way onto the New York Times Bestseller List. How did a pair of first time authors accomplish this? They used pop culture references and practical business examples to outline how the social web can help build and bolster trust. Trust Agents also offers breakout boxes that empower readers with the step-by-step knowledge they need to set up a blog, monitor social media and a host of other skills necessary to be competitive in today’s online business environment.

3. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin – Over the past several years Seth Godin has made a name for himself writing marketing books that help change the way people think about marketing. We did not pick any of those for our list, instead we picked Tribes because it is about leadership. As B2B Social Media marketers you are going to have to sell ideas, convince management and most of all change your corporate culture.  None of these difficult and critical tasks are possible without leadership. Secondly, it is vital to the success of your company that it becomes a leader in its industry, and the social web is only a catalyst to help bolster the leadership abilities of an organization.  In Tribes, Godin shows us practical examples of individuals and companies using the web for leadership and how doing this transforms marketing.

4. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – Social Media helps to scale word-of-mouth, meaning more information can travel to more people, faster. Though we have this ability to share information, it is still only great, relevant ideas that get spread, while boring and spam ideas fail. The concept of successful ideas is so important that you do need to read an entire book about it. Their is no better book than Made to Stick. The Heath brothers have written the pitch perfect book to explain what makes an idea survive.

5 Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds – If you have read the first four books on our list you have learned about marketing, building relationships, leaderships, and developing great ideas. All of these things are worthless if you can not present them effectively. Whether it is a simple coffee shop conversation or a major client meeting, the confident and clear presentation of ideas is often the ultimate deciding factor of success, even more than the quality of the ideas themselves.  Garr Reynolds has transformed the way many people think about presenting and he can do the same thing for you.

6. Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone by Mitch Joel – Mitch Joel is a master of marketing and ideas. Six Pixels of Separation takes the discussion of branding digital and informs us how digital tools can build brands and new businesses.  Joel’s simple and clear writing style will win over management who are used to the same style from authors like Seth Godin. While this book is written for the general business person, and builds on the basics of the online world, even the most seasoned among us will find some examples of tactics to add to the mix.

We are aware that their are far more than six books that are worthy of the attention of B2B social media marketers, but we had to start somewhere. We hope that you find these books helpful. Please leave us comment below for books that should make our next list!

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