Books › Social Media Manager roadmap
Best books for Social Media Managers
Why content spreads, how people are persuaded and a view from a practitioner on social content. The build set covers platform marketing, habit and engagement, content planning, communicating results and an honest look at how media systems get manipulated. The lead set moves from tactics to how brands grow, how social networks shape behaviour and leading a team.
11 books in 3 stages, about 3,210 pages (80 hours of reading). The notes are ours, with no ratings or sales claims.
How to choose your books
A short method, so you read the right book for where you are instead of the longest list.
Find your stage
Getting started · 3 books
Why content spreads and persuades: virality, influence and a practitioner's playbook.
Jump to this stage ↓Doing the job · 5 books
Running channels: social marketing, engagement, planning content, reporting results and the manipulation risks of the media ecosystem.
Jump to this stage ↓Senior and leading · 3 books
Strategy and people: how brands grow, how networks shape behaviour and how to lead a team.
Jump to this stage ↓
If you are unsure, start one stage lower than you think. Books in a later stage assume the working knowledge the earlier ones give you.
Begin with one book
Our starting pick
Contagious: Why Things Catch On
by Jonah Berger · 2013
It explains why some content is shared and some is ignored. That gives you a working checklist for your next post.
See the book ↓Then pick by your situation
Choose the next book by the problem in front of you, not by its place in the list.
If you need a clear, platform-by-platform view of social marketing
read Social Media Marketing (doing the job)
If you are planning content, not just posting it
read Content Strategy for the Web (doing the job)
If you are asked to explain performance with data
read Storytelling with Data (doing the job)
Set a time budget
| Stage | Books | Pages | Reading | At 3 hrs a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started | 3 | 730 | 18 hrs | 6 wks |
| Doing the job | 5 | 1,540 | 39 hrs | 13 wks |
| Senior and leading | 3 | 940 | 24 hrs | 8 wks |
| All 3 stages | 11 | 3,210 | 80 hrs | 27 wks |
Treat this as a ceiling, not a target. Read one book at a time, apply it, then move on; read reference-style books in sections.
Judge any book before you buy it
Age
This list runs from 1984 (Influence) to 2020 (The Hype Machine). Older books earn their place by teaching principles that do not change. For tools and platforms, buy the latest edition.
Level
Check the stage before the title. A book from a later stage will make sense only once you have faced the problems it solves.
Format
Some books suit reading start to finish; others work as references. Read the reference-style ones in sections, when a problem calls for them.
Fit
Ask what you will do differently the week after you finish. If you cannot answer, the book is for a different moment. Come back to it when the situation arrives.
Getting started
Why content spreads and persuades: virality, influence and a practitioner's playbook.
Start hereContagious: Why Things Catch On
by Jonah Berger · 2013
~240 pages~6 hrs to read
Research-based look at why people pass ideas, products and content along, built around six repeatable principles. Useful when you start planning campaigns and need a checklist for shareability.
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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini · 1984
~290 pages~7 hrs to read
Covers the principles of persuasion, such as reciprocity, social proof and scarcity, with the research behind them. Helps you see why offers and copy work, and where they cross into manipulation.
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Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World
by Gary Vaynerchuk · 2013
~200 pages~5 hrs to read
Argues that brands should give value several times before asking for a sale, and that content should fit each platform. Dated on platform details, but the posting discipline still holds.
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Doing the job
Running channels: social marketing, engagement, planning content, reporting results and the manipulation risks of the media ecosystem.
Social Media Marketing
by Tracy L. Tuten, Michael R. Solomon · 2017
~460 pages~12 hrs to read
A textbook-style walkthrough of strategy, platforms, content, community and measurement. Use it as a reference to fill gaps on the parts of the job you have not yet done.
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Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
by Nir Eyal · 2014
~240 pages~6 hrs to read
Describes a trigger, action, reward and investment model of habit-forming products. Read it to understand why audiences return to a series or a feed, and to think about retention.
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Content Strategy for the Web
by Kristina Halvorson, Melissa Rach · 2012
~200 pages~5 hrs to read
Explains how to audit content, set goals, define voice and run a content workflow. Relevant when your calendar needs to follow a plan, not a mood.
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Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals
by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic · 2015
~290 pages~7 hrs to read
Teaches how to choose the right chart, remove clutter and build a narrative around numbers. Useful for turning monthly social metrics into a report that gets read.
View book →Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator
by Ryan Holiday · 2012
~350 pages~9 hrs to read
An insider account of how online outlets chase clicks and how stories get amplified and distorted. Helps you recognise how virality and news cycles work before a post or a crisis tests you.
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Senior and leading
Strategy and people: how brands grow, how networks shape behaviour and how to lead a team.
How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know
by Byron Sharp · 2010
~230 pages~6 hrs to read
An evidence-based argument about reach, mental and physical availability and why brands grow by acquiring many light buyers. A strong counterweight for senior marketers setting strategy and defending broad reach.
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The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health, and How We Must Adapt
by Sinan Aral · 2020
~420 pages~11 hrs to read
Research-based look by an MIT scientist at how social platforms spread information, influence behaviour and shape markets. Gives senior social leads a grounded view of what the platforms do and where they are headed.
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The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You
by Julie Zhuo · 2019
~290 pages~7 hrs to read
A plain-spoken guide to the first years of managing: one-on-ones, feedback, hiring and growing a team. Written from tech, but the habits carry over to a marketing team.
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Frequently asked questions
Which book should a Social Media Manager read first?
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. It explains why some content is shared and some is ignored. That gives you a working checklist for your next post.
Do I need to read all 11 books?
No. The list is a menu, not a syllabus. Find your stage (getting started: 3, doing the job: 5, senior and leading: 3), begin with one book (we suggest Contagious: Why Things Catch On), then pick the next book by the problem you are facing at work. Come back to the others when the situation they cover arrives.
How long does it take to read these books?
All 11 books add up to about 3,210 pages, roughly 80 hours at 1.5 minutes a page. At three hours a week that is about 27 weeks; at six hours a week, about 13. The list is meant to be read over time, one book at a time, not in one run.
Are these books up to date?
They range from 1984 (Influence) to 2020 (The Hype Machine). Older titles are included because they teach principles that have not changed; for tools and platforms, we favour recent editions. Check the edition before you buy.
Related reading
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