Recently, I had been tasked with writing a blog post, on three books I felt everyone must read in his or her lifetime, yet I couldn’t find the strength to put my pen to paper. There were too many books that I’ve read in my life that I believed to be brilliant and to narrow it down to just three would not just be difficult, I found it to be somewhat cruel.
However, I fought through it, ran through several pens and notepads and whittled down my list to my top three. I will warn you, some of these books have a marketing focus. The simple answer would to be to add something from Walt Whitman or Ernest Hemingway, but those should be and most likely already are on everyone’s list. I love my career and I love books about my industry. Obviously you are interested in certain aspects of marketing as well or you wouldn’t be reading a blog post on a marketing agency’s website now would you?
Grouped: How Small Groups of Friends Are the Key To Influence on the Social Web by Paul Adams
The internet is changing. It’s moving from its current structure of pages and documents and towards a new format built around people. The reason for this sudden change is simple, we have always been social beings, the web is just now catching up and it will affect how business strategies are created and marketing and advertising campaigns are developed.
This book focuses on research provided by universities and technology companies on how brands should attempt to focus on small social circles rather than large influential individuals since these social circles influence us much more than we care to realize. Get ready to have your mind blown.
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
You more than likely have seen the TED talk Simon gave in September of 2009. If you haven’t, you might be one of the last ones left with over 40 views and it is now the third most watched TED talk of all time. There are three main lessons to take a way from Start With Why:
- If you want to inspire others, always communicate your why first.
- Excited employees are the best resource for any business.
- You don’t need sleazy sales tactics when you start with why.
I hope you’re ready for some inspiration.
The Business of Choice: Marketing to Consumers Instincts by Matthew Wilcox
This brilliant piece of work by Matthew Wilcox dives into the human psyche of making choices. Matthew’s understanding of the science of decision making and his experience in marketing makes for an incredibly useful tool. This not only teaches marketers how to better relate to your customers, but it also allows consumers to see the behind-the-scenes thought process used by brands in their everyday life.
Whether you chose to read this book or not is your decision. Or is it?
We’d love to hear your top three book recommendations. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and try to narrow down your list in the comments.
