Written by: Jessi Beyer, Guest Writer Brainz Magazine
In today’s day and age, social media is somewhat of the holy grail for entrepreneurs. Facebook ads are one of the most accessible advertising mediums on the internet, and your social media following can be leveraged for partnerships, publicity opportunities, and sales. Perhaps most importantly, the brand you create on social media forms the basis of your community, and through that, the message that you want to share with the world.
Because of its importance, hundreds of books are dedicated to growing your following, building your brand, and advertising successfully through social media. How, though, does one begin to determine which book will actually help them achieve their social media goals Trial and error will certainly take too long, so let me start you out with five social media books that you should absolutely add to your 2020 “to-read” list.
While the title is certainly catchy, the content lives up to the hype. Brendan Kane worked behind the scenes in social media and marketing for years before he decided to truly grow his platform. His goal was to reach one million Facebook followers as quickly as possible, and he did so in 30 days, with approximately $10,000 in ad spend.
While Brendan’s book does contain more case studies of his clients than are potentially necessary, he does a great job of explaining the reasoning behind having a large social media following, the strategy behind creating viral content, and the basics of low-cost advertising. Most importantly, if you follow the ad targeting strategies Brendan shares, you could cut your current “cost per page like” by 90%.
Sabri Suby’s book is a general guide to funnel building and marketing. Still, the section on advertising is worth reading the whole book for. His overarching message is that you should use a free opt-in to add people to your email list, up-sell them on the “thank you” page, and nurture those who don’t buy through an email drip campaign. It’s not revolutionary content, but he goes into detail about coming up with your opt-in, learning about your audience, and designing your landing pages and email campaign.
For social media specifically, he shares a few tips and tricks that can completely revolutionize how you’re currently running ads to a free opt-in. For example, he discusses the importance of making your ad look like a news article instead of an offer and the steps to creating the perfect headline for your ad and offer.
At the time of writing, Brittany Hennessy’s book is a best-seller on Amazon with nearly 150 five-star reviews. Brittany also has over 16,300 Instagram followers and was named to Talking Influence's 2018 Top Industry Player list, so she certainly knows her stuff.
Brittany’s overall message is that you have to put in the work, and she does a great job of both breaking down stereotypes about being an influencer and of providing actionable strategies for growing your audience. Her book also dives into managing life with a large social media following, including strategy for pitching brands and setting your sponsored post pricing. Overall, Influencer is a great beginning-to-end guide for building an influencer-level audience on social media.
I’ll be honest, most of the social media work I’ve done has been on Facebook and Instagram, but it’s important to not overlook the powerhouse that YouTube can be for your brand and business, as well. Sean Cannell and Benji Travis are both YouTube experts with a decade of experience, but one of my favorite parts of their book is the inclusion of tips from over a hundred different YouTube creators, as well.
In this book, the two main things you’re going to learn are about growing your audience and monetizing your audience. YouTube is great for creators, musicians, speakers, and those with a message to share, so if your business falls into one of those categories and you’d like to make an income and an impact sharing that message, then definitely pick up Sean and Benji’s book.
The first thing that drew me to Chelsea Peitz’s book was her cover. It stood out in its simplicity. It wasn’t overwhelmingly shiny or colorful, like so many other social media marketing books. While her book is dedicated to helping realtors figure out what to post on their social media, the strategies and concepts can absolutely be extrapolated to other industries.
Chelsea walks you through how to build your brand, your content, and your reach, and she also includes some tools, a content planner, and an FAQ section to further your learning. If you’re looking for solid social media content creation and growth strategies and don’t mind being a little bit creative in your translation from real estate-focused tips to tips you can use in your industry, then Chelsea’s book is a must-read. Plus, her book is free on Kindle Unlimited!
While these are certainly not all the good social media books on the market, these five will give you a solid foundation for creating content, using advertising successfully, and expanding into other social media platforms. Now, the only challenge is deciding which to read first.
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Jessi Beyer, Guest Writer Brainz Magazine
Jessi Beyer is a speaker, #1 best-selling author, and mental health advocate. She is on a mission to help aspiring authors write, publish, and market their first best-selling book. Jessi has been featured in dozens of media outlets, including Best Company, Thrive Global, and Elite Daily, and has spoken to thousands of people through groups like Leadercast NOW, Fairygodboss, and the WomenTech Global Conference. Outside of her professional life, she is a K9 search and rescue handler and a proud pet mom.
