I don’t claim to have all the answers, and I’d by lying if I said I came up with all this on my own. I want to offer you some helpful resources to help you in your quest to transform your company into a social business.
These are my sources of inspiration. Hopefully they become yours as you carry out social business in your organization.
BOOKS
- The Now Revolution, by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund. While the gist of the book plays heavily on the visible interactions for businesses, it aptly points out that change must come from within. It’s not a manual, it won’t have all the answers, but it will cause you and your company to think. I found that it helps you think about the bigger picture, building autonomy into social initiatives and how to scale your efforts across the entire organization.
- Social Media ROI, by Olivier Blanchard. If you know that social media KPIs should be business KPIs, but aren’t sure on which ones, this book breaks down a few different models for measuring ROI in social media. It is possible to attribute revenue and many other relevant business outcomes from social media well beyond the like and follow.
- Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman. This isn’t about social business per se, but it is about empowerment and growing successful teams through empowerment. I read this and found its points perfectly applicable to current and aspiring social media managers and marketing leaders.
- The Speed of Trust, by Stephen Covey. This is an excellent book that helps you achieve bigger and better results by developing authentic relationships with co-workers. This is key because once you have trust, nobody has to flaunt their know-how and they can actually focus on driving results.
- Linchpin, by Seth Godin. Not specifically about social media, but about the shift from the industrial economy to the knowledge economy. The advice packed in this is great for any marketing leader who wants to focus on the big outcomes, not the minutia. I ultimately believe that community managers need to be Linchpins to succeed.
- Resonate, by Nancy Duarte. This is a great book (but I think the workshop is better) on how to clearly, intentionally and thoughtfully engage your audience into your ideas. While the intent is presentations, it is applicable to content creation, email and even regular business conversations. I guarantee that you won’t look at presentations the same again.
BLOGS
- SideraWorks Blog – This isn’t your typical company blog. Social business thought leaders Matt Ridings and Amber Naslund have a social business consultancy and they are very open about their ideals, processes and advice.
- Spredfast Blog – This social media analytics company is shifting their discussion to be ahead of the pack by sharing insights, case studies and data on the proliferation of social business. Great insights and nuggets are found there.
- Community Manager Blog – While not specifically about social business, this blog has become one of the best for fellow community and social media managers to use to learn from each other. Building a social business requires a tacit understanding of building communities … inside and out.
- Web Strategy – Jeremiah Owyang has been beating the drum for disruptive technology, high-level business strategy and often publishes useful data and case studies on the practical uses of social media (and social business).
- Convince & Convert – A multi-author blog by Jay Baer, which covers a lot of case studies and practical examples of social media for growing companies. His newsletter is also worth subscribing to where he drops relevant social media news right into your inbox.
- Occam’s Razor – Avinash Kaushik publishes very insightful posts describing new measurement practices and suggestions to help you ask the bigger questions and measure it. A successful social business program is one that you can reasonably acquire some form of measurement.
- Duarte Blog – Learn from Nancy Duarte and team on delivering amazing presentations. See, I sucked heavily at presentations and I failed to present my ideas clearly. Learn the Duarte presentation method and rock your next deck like Vegas Blackjack dealer.
This post is a part of my Social Business Explained blog series for social media professionals and community managers so they can create sustainable social businesses.
There are plenty more resources out there — and if you have one, share it in the comments below. I like to listen to many people, than come up with my conclusion blended with my experience. These resources are helpful for you to build out your social business program.
Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC; Maggie Osterberg
