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Social Summer Media Reads to Grow Your Biz
When looking for books to peruse this summer, why not try out some titles about social media? There’s lots of social media platforms and lots of books about them. Here’s also some great news:summer reading isn’t just for kids anymore! Some bookstores and many public libraries offer patrons of all ages incentives (read: prizes) to sign up and participate in a Summer Reading Challenge.So,after signing up the kids or grandkids and yourself, you can curl up in a bed, hammock, lounge chair, or sofa, and open the pages to a book that can help you grow your biz.
Since there’s lots of books about social media to choose from, I sifted through a couple of academic and public library collections, and searched reviews on sources like Amazon to provide a reading list based on five popular platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. (Pinterest and Twitter are honorable mentions.) These reads will provide you with the info that you need to open a new account, increase exposure to your biz, and attract new clients.
Facebook’s one of the oldest but probably the most famous social media platforms, depicted in books and film. Invented by Mark Zuckerberg and a few other Harvard college students in 2004. Originally known as FaceMash since the site consisted of comparing fellow female students (disturbing, I know). Eventually, the social media platform morphed into TheFacebook, and finally, they grew up and the platform graduated to Facebook.
Facebook for Beginners In Easy Steps by David Crookes
Besides authoring books about Facebook, David Crookes is a journalist and producer specializing in the subjects of gaming, history, science, and technology. In Facebook for Beginners, Crookes provides a hands-on source that shows new and returning “Facebookers” the ins-and-outs of using Facebook. Everything you wanna know about the basics of Facebook, Crookes has you covered. There’s a useful table of contents and a great index in the back.
A helpful tip I learned from this book: You can broadcast videos through Facebook Live. This was a great tool to use during the pandemic.
Instagram, also known as Insta or ‘Gram, launched in October 2010. It’s owned by Meta, the parent company that also owns Facebook. I’ve been using Insta since July 2016 and after reading this book, I feel like I’ve barely scratched this social media surface.
Instastyle by Tezza
I love what Tezza writes on the dedication page to her sister, Sophie Rose: “You were the sun, I was the storm, and together we made the perfect day.” Three words define her mission and the book’s overall theme: curate, create, and elevate.Tezza emphasizes that influencers need a mission statement.
Although published in 2018, the content of this book’s still current and relevant. It’s a great source for newbies and experts alike. There are tips on showing your story and influencing others through photography,captions,and hashtags. Also, there’s a fabulous index if you are searching for a topic. I liked this book so much; I followed her handle @tezzamb, sent her a message exclaiming how much I enjoyed the book (#fangirling), and am seriously considering purchasing a title for my home collection.
A fun tip I learned from this book: Place hashtags in the first comment post right after you write your blurb. It makes your content look cleaner.
This understated social media platform’s the oldest on this list. Launched in May of 2003, LinkedIn’s almost 20 years old, and associated with finding a job. However, it’s also a great platform to build your biz, brand, and profile. It’s also fun to lurk on other people’s profiles and see who’s been looking at your page.
Recently, LinkedIn changed the look to resemble Facebook, as participants can post the following emojis: celebrate, curious, insightful, like, love, or support. If you wanna get more out of the LinkedIn platform, you can become a subscriber to LinkedIn Premium.
Unlike Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn does not encourage connections just for the sake of connections. To keep connections authentic, LinkedIn shows counts of 500 or more as 500+.
LinkedIn For Dummies by Joel Elad
The title of the book may be off-putting, but the content contains great information. The Table of Contents contains six parts to the book, plus an index. Joel Elad makes LinkedIn a platform that I wanna use more often.
A helpful tip from this book: Draft a summary in a Word Document or Google Docs before submitting it to your profile.
TikTok
TikTok’s the newest kid on the social media block. Originally released in 2016 by ByteDance, this platform’s now more popular than Google, so if you wanna reach a wide audience, TikTok’s the way to go. Here’s a book created for both adults and teens:
Make a TikTok Every Day by Dave Jorgenson
According to Dave Jorgenson, “It just takes 15 seconds to make a 15-second TikTok.” If you’re new to TikTok and wanna take the plunge, the author provides 365 ideas for creating TikTok videos. There are interviews with well-known influencers, and the themes range from animals to visual effects.
A helpful tip from the book: One of the prompts is called #AnimalNoise. If you have pets at home or if you see animals in the wild, feel free to record their noises. Audio’s also important in TikTok.
YouTube
This social media platform’s older than Twitter but younger than LinkedIn and Facebook. They’re still going strong in 2022 with over 2.6 billion users! Founded in San Bruno, California in 2005, by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley, the current CEO is Susan Wojcicki.
The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue by Derral Eves
This book received many positive reviews from readers on Amazon. Derral Eves generated over 6 billion views and assisted many others to grow millions of followers. He uses a formula that’s been proven to work.
A useful online tip: To start making money on YouTube, you need at least 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months.
