Feeling confused about social media and what you need to do to get noticed? Your start-up is just launching on social media channels and you don’t know where to start? Want to improve your social media strategy in general? We compiled a list of books for social media marketers, that will help you do just that!

There are many social media tactics out there that work, but it is difficult to choose form them if you do not know the specifics of both, the channel and your industry. How do you choose what is best for your brand and what is not worth your time? By learning from the gurus of online marketing! These eight books treating about social media marketing will help you deconstruct virtual platforms and get better at crafting the right content for your brand.

#1 Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World

by Gary Vaynerchuk

Coming from a man, that raised to the top through innovative approach to social media and currently works with thousands of start-ups, small businesses, celebrities, and Fortune 500 companies, this book is your bible. It provides practical advice, guidance and implications of social media marketing strategies in the rapid online environment.  Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook combines elements of Vaynerchuk’s previous books Crush It! and The Thank You Economy, offering its readers actionable tips on how to crush it on social media. He advocates the art of storytelling and shows how to adapt your content to specific social media platforms, being one of the first people, who popularised the concept of content nativity.

#2 Contagious: Why Things Catch On

by Jonah Berger

Ever wonder why some online content goes viral and some posts just plop and die the natural death? What is it that makes content worthy of the incredible power of viral word-of-mouth? If you want your idea or product to spread then this book will help you to do that. The author lays down six principles of content contagiousness, namely:
1. Social Currency
2. Triggers
3. Emotion
4. Public
5. Practical Value
6. Stories

“By “contagious”, I mean likely to spread. To diffuse from person to person via word of mouth and social influence. To be talked about, shared, or imitated by consumers, coworkers, and constituents” writes Jonah Berger. Having your content go viral can be many marketers’ dream, and using the elements of contagiousness when crafting your next piece of content will help achieve your goal.

#3 Connected: How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel Think And Do

by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler

Christakis and Fowler describe the power of networks and their influence on various parts of our lives such as health, quality of relationships, politics, economy, emotion, and the digital world. We are unconsciously influenced by people around us. A social media manager should know the power of connectedness and how quickly an idea can spread through the crowd and influence people’s lives.

#4 Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

by Ann Handley

The soul of every social media marketing is the ability to write excellent copy. If you are seeking attention from your audience, you need to create valuable content, be different and rise above the noise. No matter if you are new to writing or a veteran, you can still take away a lot of things from this book that will inspire you to write your best piece.

#5 The Art of Social Media: Power Tips For Power Users

by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

Guy Kawasaki popularly known as the former chief evangelist of Apple and a marketing strategist, joined forces with Peg Fitzpatrick to produce The Art of Social Media. The book provides a variety of processes and tools that companies can use to leverage their social media efforts. The book covers topics from how to perfect your posts, how to interact with your audience, and how to gather more followers.

#6 Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (and Other Social Network)

by Dave Kerpen

Given the amount of content shared on social media networks, it ca be challenging to create outstanding content and most importantly one that is being liked by your audience. Dave Kerpen helps you capitalize on the power of WOM marketing to grow your business. The author puts emphasis on delivering valuable, exciting content while listening to your customers and prospects, and engaging them in order to spread the word.

#7 Thinking Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

Understanding human behaviour is essential to improve your social media and create a lasting impression. Kahneman, a Nobel prize winner for his work on decision-making, explains how people go about decision making and why they engage in particular behaviour. If you want to persuade your customers by bringing up rational arguments, you might be missing on a very important aspect of decision making which is intuitive thinking. Kahneman explains how both intuitive and rational thinking works together to persuade your audience.

#8 Purple Cow

by Seth Godin

The marketing icon Seth Godin envisioned Purple Cow to be the hands on guide to making a brand remarkable through innovation. He argues that the traditional way of marketing through advertising and distribution has become obsolete and that innovative ways of marketing are required to cut through the clutter of products and advertising. Godin believes that we are in a post advertising era where word of mouth works more effectively than plain advertising. And thanks to social media platforms reviews about products and services spread more quickly. As a social media manager, one needs to understand how to stand out in the crowded world of mass advertising and make their products and services more likeable and shared.

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