Five Star Ratings, Good Reader Reviews, and Many Thumbs-up: The Best Social Media Books Ever

Introduction

What are the best social media books of all time? This article draws upon a wealth of resources where others have suggested the best books published on the subjects of social media and Web 2.0. In doing so, the author has attempted to present a comprehensive list of the best books out there for those who want to learn more about social media and Web 2.0 to advance not just their education, but their online presence and ultimately, their career.

If you have a title that you would like to see added to a subsequent version of this article – or if you are an author who would like to see his or her work considered for inclusion in this list, please email me at dwyld@selu.edu.

The List

Here is the list – presented in alphabetical order.

A

• The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways To Use Social Media to Drive Social Change by Jennifer Aaker

• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

• Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

Cover via Amazon

B

• The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund

• The Social Media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out by Christopher Barger

• The Executive’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy: How Social Networks Are Radically Transforming Your Business by Mike Barlow and David B. Thomas

• Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava

• Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000 by Pete Blackshaw

• Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization by Olivier Blanchard

• The B2B Social Media Book: Become a Marketing Superstar by Generating Leads with Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and More by Kipp Bodnar and Jeffrey L. Cohen

• Social Media Strategies For Small Businesses by Phil Bowyer

• The Social Organization: How to Use Social Media to Tap the Collective Genius of Your Customers and Employees by Anthony J. Bradley

• The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

• Smart Business, Social Business: A Playbook for Social Media in your Organization by Michael Brito

• Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Cover via Amazon

C

• The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr

• United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media by Dave Carroll

• Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (New Rules Social Media) by C.C. Chapman

• The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media by Marcia Conner

Cover via Amazon

D-E

• Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature by Mark Earls

• Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media by Liana Evans

F

• No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers

Cover via Amazon

G

• Social Marketing to the Business Customer: Listen to Your B2B Market, Generate Major Account Leads, and Build Client Relationships by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman

• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

• Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync? by Seth Godin

Cover via Amazon

H

• Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman

• The Social Media Survival Guide: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

• Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday

• The Age of Conversation by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan

• Fascinate: Unlocking the Secret Triggers of Influence, Persuasion, and Captivation by Sally Hogshead

• Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business by Jeff Howe

• The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt

I-J

• What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

• Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel  

• Brand Like a Rock Star: Lessons from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Make Your Business Rich and Famous by Steve Jones

• The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management by Jane Jordan-Meier

Cover via Amazon

K

• The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue by Shama Kabani

• Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki

• The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture by Andrew Keen

• Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks) by Dave Kerpen

• Accelerate!: Move Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing by Arnie Kuenn

• Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue by Jim F. Kukral

Cover via Amazon

L

• Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (Que Biz-Tech) by Kyle Lacy

• Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0 by Sarah Lacy

• Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi

• Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies [Expanded and Revised Edition] by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

• The Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger

M

• 30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn, and Facebook by Gail Martin

• Real-Time Marketing and PR by David Meerman-Scott

• The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott

• The Social Customer: How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers by Adam Metz

• Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules by Mike Moran

N-O-P

• Measure What Matters by Katie D. Paine

• Pre-Commerce: How Companies and Customers Are Transforming Business Together by Bob Pearson

• Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements by Robbin Phillips

• The New Age of Innovation: Driving Co-created Value Through Global Networks by C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan

Cover via Amazon

Q

• Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business by Erik Qualman

R

• Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold

• Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide to Creating Passionate Customers to Your Brand by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi

S

• The Tao of Twitter: Changing your life and business 140 characters at a time by Mark Schaefer

• Return on Influence by Mark Schaefer

• Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing: An Unofficial, Practical Guide to Selling & Developing B2B Business on LinkedIn by Neal Schaffer

• Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success by Dan Schawbel

• The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly [3rd Edition] by David Meerman Scott

• Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky

• The New Relationship Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal, Profitable Network Using the Social Web by Mari Smith

• The Social Media Management Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Social Media Working in your Business by Nick Smith and Robert Wollan with Catherine Zhou

• Engage! The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build,  Cultivate and Measure Success in the New Web. Revised and Updated by Brian Solis

• The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution by Brian Solis

• The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet by Daniel J. Solove

• Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition by Michael A. Stelzner

• The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki   

T

• Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott

• Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

• The Executive’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy: How Social Networks Are Radically Transforming Your Business by David B. Thomas and Mike Barlow

• HeadStrong: The Keys To A Confident And Positive Attitude During Job Search by Tim Tyrell-Smith

U-V

• The Conversation Manager: The Power of the Modern Consumer/The End of the Traditional Advertiser by Steven Van Belleghem

• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

W

• Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age by Duncan J. Watts

• The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg

• The NEW Elevator Pitch by Chris Westfall

• Social Media Boot Camp: Wiki of Strategy by Mark M. Whelan

XYZ

• Hierarchy of Contagiousness by Dan Zarrella

• The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarrella

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About the Author

David C. Wyld (dwyld@selu.edu) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Business News 24/7, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.org), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding.

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