Continuous learning has to be in the DNA of every marketing professional. Some digital executives like to brag about how they don’t need books to teach them because they prefer to hone their craft of tapping online resources, but the fact remains stoned that books are immensely useful learning tools that help you unlock the secrets of the trade.
Apart from knowledge, reading books is a hallmark of every intellectual on the face of this planet. Business leaders like Bill Gates are known to read almost 50 books a year. In this article, we highlight some of the books for marketers that can help them understand the evolution of their field and to enable them to conquer it effectively. Here are our top picks:
1. How Brands Become Icons by D.B. Holt
Said to be a masterpiece of D.B Holt, this book tells us about how companies carve out a niche, trigger word of mouth and inspire loyalty. While marketing has evolved in the 15 years since its publication, concepts such as targeting, brand equity and brand loyalty remain focal points of any marketing strategy.
Holt is at his best when illustrating how the rise of brands is powered by a combination of intuition, design and sheer luck, and he makes a point of stressing the importance of myth-building while explaining the three audience levels. Find the book on Amazon here.
2. Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Jonah Berger’s Contagious is one of the books that should be in your library as it is great at educating on how to reshape any brand to magnetize customer interest. Published in over 30 languages, Contagious is perhaps the best explanation of why viral content spreads like wildfire, as the author outlines six principles that govern the popularity of a video, campaign, tweet – whatever the case may be.
3. Outside Insight: Navigating a World Drowning in External Data by Jorn Lyseggen
Entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen’s Outside Insight is packed with meaningful information, fascinating examples of data-driven campaigns run by major brands and political parties as well, and then replete with suggestions for how to restructure your business based on the cutting-edge insights data provides.
Also, it helps marketers better understand a world that is increasingly driven by data. While stepping away from Google Analytics to digest a long treatise about data might not sound like fun, but this timely and cogent work will help you appreciate the opportunities open to brands, as well as the threats posed by mountains of external data. The book is available on Amazon in various forms.
4. Blue Ocean by W. Chan Kim
Jim Anderson, the CEO of SocialFlow is the one who recommends Blue Ocean. He once said that this book is known to be brought up regularly in business and strategy discussions. That’s a sign of relevance if there ever was one! In his words, as follows: “Quit trying to do what everyone else does only a little bit better. And instead, do something entirely new.”
Positioning, branding, creating viral content and using data analytics is the mantra of today and the years to come. Also, marketing is evolving day by day and with customers becoming more aware, the ways to target them have to evolve. These four books for marketers promise to provide plenty of intuition and inspiration.
Also Read: 5 Brands you Didn’t Know were Owned by the Same Company
