I am about to go on vacation. I’m a voracious reader and I typically tend to devote my vacation days to a stack of books whether I’m stuck home, headed to the beach or, in this case, sitting by a lake. For a lot of people, summer vacation is the time they traditionally bring along trashy novels or other mindless reading to while away the hot days. If you own a small business, this is an excellent time to relax AND catch up on reading that will further your business. Here are two great articles that recommend a variety of books on social media and marketing.
The first is by social media guru Melinda Emerson, the Small Biz Lady. She recommends books like:
-Michael Hyatt’s Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World for business owners struggling with social media
-The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing, a great way to get started
-Jeanne Hopkins and Jamie Turner’s Go Mobile: Location-Based Marketing, Apps, Mobile Optimized Ad Campaigns, 2D Codes and other Mobile Strategies, which covers why having a mobile strategy is essential and how to develop one
-Scott Fox’s Click Millionaires: Work Less, Live More with an Internet Business You Love is about how entrepreneurs can create a business entirely online
-Stephanie Chandler’s Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business, which gives clear advice on how to do internet marketing for your small business
The second is by one of my favorite social media bloggers, Sarah Evans, who runs a wonderful site, Sarah’s Faves. The inventive thing about this article is that Sarah doesn’t just provide us with a list of her favorite books on social media, she uses a great tool called List.ly, where a bunch of her readers suggested books and voted on the best. This is a longer list, but some of the books are available for free online or for Kindles and other e-readers. Some of these must-reads are:
–Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web by Brian Solis, a comprehensive guide to branding and building businesses online
-Scott Stratten’s UnMarketing: Stop Marketing, which covers why traditional marketing strategies are no longer effective
–The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue by Shama Kabani and Chris Brogan
-Christopher Barger’s The Social Media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out will help you develop your social media skills and successfully apply them to your business
-Lon Safko’s The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success
Happy reading and don’t forget the sunscreen!
