Because Dyvantity is not only about inspiration but also about making things happen, here’s a selection of the best business/marketing books to succeed when it comes to communicating in the Web 2.0 era. Most of these books justify the new marketing strategies (among which community management) and urge corporation to interact with their customer and actually take them into account.
Personality not Included – Rohit Bhargava
Personality not Included is by far my favorite book about the challenges that companies face in our modern world. Rohit Bhargava argues that faceless companies are no longer successful and gives us a guide to give authenticity back to brands. His diagnosis is actually reinforced by the growing strength of consumers in the online world: customers, that can now easily interact with companies, can no longer stand the silence of corporations.
A lot of great examples are given in the book: Zappos, Moleskine, Microsoft and many more cases help the author to make his point. The end of Personality not Included is an actual practical guide to get your brand’s authenticity back trough the UAT filter (Unique, Athentic and Talkative).”
The moment that organisations lose their personality is when their employees become “people” rather than individuals…
Purple Cow – Seth Godin
I don’t think I really need to introduce Seth Godin to most of you… and if I have too, I would say he is basically the most influential marketing writer in the Web 2.0 era. In Purle Cow, the author urges company to stand out from the competition. Following the traditional rules of marketing doesn’t work anymore according to Seth Godin. Making average product for average people doesn’t pay off anymore. People are so overwhelmed with information that they stop paying attention to most media messages.
In a web 2.0 world where any Internet user can easily block ads, Seth Godin urges companies to innovate and stand out by targeting a market niche in order to spread your ideas to the customers who are most likely to buy your product.
Cows, after you’ve seen one or two or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow though…now that would be something.
Linchpin – Seth Godin
Linchin is another great book from Seth Godin. Yet, this one is different… it’s not about marketing a product or service, but more about marketing yourself… The author analyses our modern world of work, where workers are just another cog in a huge machine, and urges his readers to stand out and create. Linchpin is a plea to fight the resistance, to quiet the lizard brain in everyone of us. Your resistance works hard to make sure we don’t do anything remarkable or become indispensable. according to Seth Godin, it’s our responsibility to fight it.
Networking, giving gift, being an artist… this is how we need to stand out to do great work and become indispensable doing our job. If you need motivation when it comes to getting things done, Linchpin is definitely a must-have in your bookshelf.
We can’t profitably get more average. We can’t get more homogenized, more obedient, or cheaper. We can’t get faster either. It is our desire to be treated like individuals that will end this cycle. Our passion for contribution and possibility, the passion we’ve drowned out in school and the corporate world – that’s the only way out.