The Caffeinated Blog

31 Must-Read Online Marketing and Social Media Books

One of my resolutions for 2009 was to read more.  Not that I don't read enough online, with my 40+ blog subscriptions; but I wanted to start reading more interesting books and then sharing the information I learned with all of you.  So, I've recently started reading Get Content. Get Customers by Newt Barrett and Joe Pulizzi, and I added the Reading List app to my LinkedIn profile in order to start the sharing my reading list with my network.

This got me to thinking about books that other online marketers, PR/communications specialists, and business owners have read and would recommend - so I asked them.  I posted the following question in various marketing and social media groups of which I'm a member on LinkedIn:

What marketing, communications, and social media books are you reading or do you recommend?

I've seen lots of books come out about online marketing and communications in a web 2.0 world, and I just wanted to get your recommendations. What books about this subject are you currently reading, or what would you recommend (for new or experienced marketers, or small business owners)?

The response was great - we're not talking hundreds of responses; but there were about 30 different people who recommended a total of 31 books that they deem must-read for marketers.

So, in no particular order (and grouped for your convenience), here are those 31 books:

General Online Marketing and Communications

Tribes by Seth Godin
Tuned In by Craig Stull, Phil Myers and David Meerman Scott
Rules to Break and Laws to Follow by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers
Join the Conversation by Joseph Jaffe
How to Say It: Marketing with New Media by Lena Claxton and Alison Woo
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
Click Here to Order by Joel Comm
Web 2.0 and beyond: Understanding the new online business models, trends, and technologies by Tom Funk
Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz
Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions by Tim Ash
Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik
Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss
BUY-OLOGY by Martin Lindstrom

Email Marketing

Sign Me Up: A Marketer's Guide to Email Newlsetters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales by by Matt Blumberg, Tami Forman, and Stephanie A. Miller
Email Marketing: An Hour a Day by Jeanniey Mullen, David Daniels, and David Gilmour
Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin

Social Media

The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott (this one was a particularly popular recommendation)
Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations by Clay Shirky
Click: What Millions of People are Doing Online and Why it Matters by Bill Tancer
Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide by Amy Shuen
The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media by Paul Gillin
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business by Jeff Howe
Marketing to the Social Web by Larry Weber
Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
Social Media Marketing: An Hour A Day by Dave Evans

Content Marketing

Killer Web Content: Make the Sale, Deliver the Service, Build the Brand by Gerry McGovern
Get Content. Get Customers. by Newt Barrett and Joe Pulizzi

What books are on your must-read list?

Are We Playing Twitter Tit for Tat?

I've been noticing a phenomenon over recent months - something that was inevitable, but is alarming nevertheless.  I call it Twitter Tit for Tat, and I don't like it one bit.

I see people talk about using tools like Friend or Follow to "clean out their Twitter accounts" - unfollowing people who aren't following them.  I see people follow me, and then unfollow me within 24 hours if I haven't followed them back. 

I've seen lots of comparisons between networking and conversing on Twitter, and networking and conversing in an offline, "real life" setting - "If someone isn't listening to me in real life, I won't talk or listen to them; so why wouldn't it be the same thing with Twitter?"  That's a valid, logical point; but talking on Twitter is not actually the same as talking face-to-face. 

Really? Surely not!

I know, it seems like a "duh" sort of thing for me to say; but my point is that if we make this comparison, then we start playing the Twitter Tit for Tat game.  Twitter becomes less about sharing valuable information and more about collecting followers (which, unfortunately, it has already).  I follow you, you follow me.  You don't/unfollow me, I'll unfollow you.

I don't like playing that game.  Sure, I monitor unfollows; but mainly for my own improvement.  I look at what I said and how I can improve, then I look at each unfollow to determine the value that each person brings to the conversation.  If I still find value, I continue to follow.  I do not automatically unfollow anyone who doesn't follow me. 

I'm not in the game of collecting followers for the sake of collecting followers.  That sort of practice completely misses the point of Twitter.  I encourage you to please STOP obsessing over your follower count and who's following who - and START thinking about quality over quantity.

Tweeting In President Obama

Photo Credit: primplan

Living in the Washington, DC area, I've been feeling the excitement build for weeks.  Now that Inauguration Day is upon us, it's reached a fever pitch - and I'm not even going anywhere near the huge crowds on the National Mall.  I'm experiencing it all through my social networks who are there amongst it all.

As I watch Barack and Michelle Obama climb into their fortified limo on CNN, I'm watching a barrage of tweets coming in from people who are on the Mall, next to the Washington Monument, on the Metro heading to Smithsonian station, etc.  I'm looking at the photos that people have posted on Flickr - and watching as the number of items in their Inauguration 2009 group album increase by the second.  I'm checking out the various websites offering live streaming video of the inauguration.

In the weeks following the election, there was a debate about how social media changed this election.  Some people thought it did, others weren't so sure; but you can't deny one thing - social media certainly has changed this inauguration.  So much has happened since the last inauguration in 2005, and now we don't don't have to rely on the news networks to watch this one - we can experience it through social media.

This inauguration is historic in so many ways - and we're all lucky enough to be a part of it, whether we're at home, sitting in an office, or in the crowds on the Mall.

Using Facebook for Business: What I've Learned and Resources to Help You

According to a study released this week by interactive marketing agency Rosetta, 59% of 100 top retailers are now using Facebook.  I think that's pretty impressive, and goes to show that Facebook can be used as part of a well-targeted social media strategy. 

I've recently started learning the in's and out's of Facebook fan pages, and you may be thinking about how you might be able to leverage one for your business.  Here's what I've learned so far:

• The most effective Facebook fan pages are updated on a regular basis with new content. 
• If there's actually evidence that the page administrator is visiting regularly and interacting with the community, via discussions and what not, the more engaged fans will be (check out the Wall on Dell's page).
• Facebook pages work best when their less about "me me me" and more about "you you you" (in other words, the customer).  Best Buy does a good job of this with interactive apps that offer value to the fans (like the Cozi and Tripr apps).

These are the main, overarching lessons I've learned about using Facebook for marketing and community building.  There are lots of more technical things that I'm learning little by little, and I'd like to share a few resources that I've been referencing:

• Nick O'Neill's All Facebook blog keeps you up-to-date on the latest with Facebook, offering news, opinion, insight, and analysis.
• Justin Smith's Inside Facebook blog has Facebook tips especially for developers and marketers.
• Mari Smith's Why Facebook? blog also has excellent advice for Facebook marketers and business users.

I also scoured Amazon for some books that were about using Facebook for business, including developing apps for Facebook pages:

I hope at least one of these resources will help you in some way as you build your Facebook presence.  If 59% of top retailers can do it, so can you!

Are You Cross-Promoting Your Social Media Pages?

So, you've started posting on your blog (or have been posting for some time), and you've set up the Twitter account, the Facebook profile (and fan page), the LinkedIn profile, the Slideshare page, and even started a Squidoo lens.  Time to start watching the reader, followers, and connections start rolling in.

Not quite.  Do people even know you're on all of these sites?  Further more, do your various network friends know you have a blog?

A social media strategy consisting of all these pages set up on all of these sites is a fragmented strategy - and cross-promotion is the glue with which you can put all the pieces together. 

Cross-promotion in social media is not difficult at all.  Many social media sites have developed easy ways for you to promote your presence on other sites through links, apps, and plugins.  They've provided you with the tools - all you have to do is use them.

Here are a few social media cross-promotion ideas to help you get started:

• Promotion on your blog.  This should be a no-brainer.  Make it easy for your blog readers to connect with you on other social media sites by providing visible links directly to your various profiles (Follow Me on Twitter, Connect With Me on LinkedIn, etc.).  Many sites have ready-made badges you can use for this purpose.
• Promotion on Facebook.  Facebook has a variety of apps so you can plug in your blog feed, Twitter stream, Slideshare presentations, and Flickr photos to your profile or business page.  Even easier than that, you can add a Posted Items box to your profile page with links to your blog and other social media pages (like your Twitter page and your Squidoo lens).
• Promotion on LinkedIn.  Again, apps save the day!  Add your blog feed, Twitter feed, and Slideshare presentations to your LinkedIn profile using LinkedIn applications.
• Promotion on Squidoo.  If you have a Squidoo lens, there are endless ways you can add links to your website, blog, and other social media profiles.  You can also add modules for your videos, photos, and Slideshare presentations.  Soon (according to Squidoo), you'll be able to connect your lens with your Facebook page via Facebook Connect.

I'm sure there are a hundred different ways to cross-promote your social media pages, especially from other sites not mentioned here (FriendFeed, Plaxo, Ning communities).  These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg - and I'm sure you'll come up with way more!

What Are Your Marketing Resolutions for 2009?

As we sit on the brink of another new year, we perform that time-honored, nearly obligatory tradition of listing our resolutions.  Yeah, I know that the tradition of making resolutions is matched by our tradition of breaking them; but it's still a wonderful opportunity to take stock of the past 365 days and think of all the ways to change for the better (personally and professionally) over the next 365 days.

In terms of technology and online marketing, we saw social media skyrocket in popularity.  More and more businesses began launching presences on various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as their own corporate blogs.  In 2009, social media is in a position to really come into its own (think search marketing about 3 years ago), and we should see more companies using it as part of their online marketing and customer engagement strategies.

I polled my friends on LinkedIn and Twitter to find out what their marketing resolutions for 2009 are.  I think that these go to show that social media and content marketing are on the dockets for many marketers in 2009.

My Top 10 Marketing & Social Media Videos of 2008

2008 has been a wild ride of a year, hasn't it?  Social media has really started coming into its own, and everyone wanted to create something "viral" (including those of us in online marketing).  So, as 2008 comes to a close, I'd like to reflect back on some of the viral videos that caught my attention in the marketing and social media sphere.

Saving a Sinking Website (and the CEO Who's Sinking It)

I've just finished reading a post from marketing consultant Mayra Ruiz at the Marketing Misfit blog.  It seems she's in a quandary regarding a client of hers whose CEO is slowly (but inadvertantly) killing his business by sinking every online marketing effort she and the company's marketing manager have made - and is thisclose to killing their website completely and going back to a "brochureware" approach, complete with an entirely offline marketing strategy.  Read Mayra's post here to get the full picture.

The whole story saddens me and has brought up some painful memories of frustrating attempts at explaining web 2.0 and content marketing to bottom-line focused C-levels.  It amazes me how many CEOs can have such "pie in the sky" aspirations while still having such a narrow-minded view of sales and marketing.  I could go on a long rant here, but I won't.  Instead, I want to address some of the points of contention that she brought up.

Here are some particularly mind-boggling reasons the CEO came up with for killing their website budget (which Mayra listed in her post), followed by my own commentary:

• Most people only visit the site once or twice.  Why, dear readers, do you think that is?  Because there's nothing of value offered on the site.  It seems to me that the CEO has the mindset that his product in all its feature-laden glory should be valuable enough for his visitors.  Now, I haven't seen the website myself, so I don't know how the product is described; but none of his prospective customers are going to care enough about his product to visit the site more than a couple of times.
• Most of those people don’t covert to actual leads, just general traffic vs. actual qualified leads.  Again, I haven't seen the website myself and don't have any clue to the marketing copy (features vs. benefits-driven).  It's obvious, though, that there is no value proposition enough to pull visitors through the conversion funnel.  Or the traffic is really untargeted.
• No point in adding new content all the time - there are plenty of other places on the web to get research, data.  What would you like to bet that a good chunk of those "other places" are their competitors?  Why doesn't the CEO want his website to be one of those go-to places for research and data related to his product?  Why doesn't he want his company to be an authority in its industry?  They have an incredible opportunity to build trust and authority around their product through content - they just have to create an effective content marketing strategy and stick with it.
• Most people just want to learn about the product(s) and don’t have time for the “extra” stuff.  How did he make this assumption?  From his prospects and customers?  No, they don't.  Prospects have to go through the research phase of the buying funnel - they're looking for the what, when, where, why, and how and gathering as much information as they can (all that "extra stuff") in order to draw up a well-researched short-list of options.  It's imperative to provide them with all of this information to give them the full 360 view, impart valuable knowledge, and instill trust in their own product.
• Website seems to be more trouble than it’s worth; constant upkeep and maintenance incurring costs...and perhaps that money could be allocated to other marketing activities like direct mailings, magazine advertisements and trade shows.  Offline marketing activities are all well and good; but this is the 21st century.  Prospects expect a website - no matter how many mailers you send out, how large your print ad is, or how much you spend on your double-decker state-of-the-art trade show display.  Offline marketing efforts won't be nearly as effective on their own without a tandem online strategy to help keep your sales leads warm.  Kill your website, and I guarantee you'll be killing your new business.

Jonathan Betts also wrote an excellent, thorough response to Mayra's predicament on his blog, The Bettsonian, which covers the CEO's reluctance to invest in a viable marketing plan and branding strategy. 

All in all, it seems to me like the CEO is not really in tune with his audience, has a lack of understanding of online marketing in general (not just web 2.0), and does not want to put the time and effort into a content marketing strategy to not only generate leads, but nurture them through the sales process.  Perhaps if he were to see successful examples of blogs or other content used by either his competitors in his space, or comparable non-competitive products, he might be saved from the primordial goo of web 1.0. 

What would you do in this situation?  Leave a comment with your thoughts and help a fellow marketer out!

Online Video Primer Part 1: Why Use Online Video for Marketing?

Today's guest post is from Adam Helweh of Secret Sushi Creative.  It's the first a series of posts Adam is contributing about online video.

Put a hand up if you have ever watched a video online. Ok, keep it up if you have sent someone else a link to a video online. I bet there is a good chance that your hand is still up. Ok, now keep you hand up if you have ever uploaded a video online. Although you might still have your hand up, you might be surprised at the number of people who have not taken advantage of the increasingly easy and powerful medium that is online video.

Starting with this article I plan to provide a little insight into online video, some of the many tools used to create videos, which services to consider, and some of the ways to reach viewers. This series of articles should be especially useful for those who put their hand down on my last question; but even if you have uploaded a video before I hope you might still learn something.

Online video is only a few years old and has been gaining popularity faster than almost any digital medium. Previously those who wished to distribute video online had very limited choices. Since the debut of Youtube in mid 2007, things have exploded. Recent numbers by ComScore show Youtube's parent company Google, accounts for 63% of the US search market share. What is most interesting is that 25% of the searches on Google are Youtube video searches.  Considering that 2.7 billion searches were generated by Google last month, that is a lot of people looking for videos - 621 Million to be exact!

The numbers say a lot, but here are a few other reasons to consider doing more than watching online video:

• Inexpensive tools & software have made producing videos easier than ever (we will discuss this in part two)
• Almost all online video services are free (more about this in part three)
• Online videos can become "viral" and are easy to share with a dozen friends or 1,000 potential customers (covered in part four)
• Online video is easily measured. Most services provide statistics on views, visitor demographics, and other valuable information (also covered  in part four)

Video has always been one of the most powerful ways to communicate. Whether it is a how-to, show & tell, or "watch my kid!" video, getting it online and in front of friends, family, and customers is easier than ever.

Want to know more?  Subscribe to The Caffeinated Blog to receive future posts about online video marketing.

Adam Helweh is the principal of Secret Sushi Creative, a new media marketing and design company located in the Silicon Valley. Adam has been involved with the creation of digital media for 10 years and currently advises clients on social & new media marketing strategies for their businesses. He also enjoys the show Lost, his cat Tiger, and of course sushi! You can contact him at adam (at) secretsushi.com.

How Would You Explain Twitter to Your Mother (or Father, or Grandparents)?

My parents own an antique business in Elgin, TX.  They have a booth at a local antiques mall, they sell at various antiques fairs and markets throughout the year, and they have an online shop through a platform called Ruby Lane.  And they could be doing so much more.

How would you explain Twitter to these women?

I've been thinking about the many ways Twitter could help their business.  My mom loves to talk, and she could converse with antiques enthusiasts from all over the world.  They could tweet about new items they've added, or special discounts they're offering.  They could offer help and advice for people who want to get into the antiques business.

Would they do it?  Hmmm...that's another story.

While I'm sure they would be more than open to the concept, I'm not sure they would really get it.  While I was thinking of how they could use it, I was also thinking about how I would explain it to them.  My initial thought was to them it was a bit like instant messaging, but with a group of people that you follow.  I think it's a good start, but I think I would need to be physically there to show them how it works (and how they can make it work to their advantage).

So, how would you explain Twitter your parents (or someone who isn't quite up to speed with the world of web 2.0)?