Social media continues to play an increasingly important role in the marketing of a small business today. No longer is it deemed enough to only have a website for your business. You now MUST engage with your clients, provide interesting and valuable content, and build a brand that clients are happy to recommend to others.

As a result of the way a business now needs to market itself, the frequent changes to the existing social media platforms, and the arrival of new ones, there are an increasing number of social media books being published each year.
The Small Business Trends editorial team has sifted through volumes of social media books and picked out a list of 10 that we believe will help you stay on top of your social media marketing game.

For this reason the various social media platforms available to do this are continually changing as they compete to be the platform of choice. This means that business owners have a need to regularly revisit and amend their social media marketing strategy.

Likeable Social Media, Revised and Expanded: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Amazing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and More
by Dave Kerpen (@DaveKerpen)

Despite the fact that we are now in 2015 and social media has been available to small business for more than a decade, some businesses still fail to get what it is all about, and continue to blast clients with impersonal information.
Through his experience working as the CEO of a company which has helped thousands of companies get to grips with their digital marketing, Kerpen provides all the specifics and practical steps on how to interact with your customers, to become more likeable, and to build a trusted personal relationship.
Regardless of your ability to use social media to its full potential, in this book you will find all the information you need to ensure that your business is properly engaging with its customers.
Social Media Optimization For Dummies
by Ric Shreves (@ricoflan)

The variety of social media platforms available for marketing purposes can sometimes seem overwhelming, especially if you are relatively new to the concept.
If you are looking to drive more traffic to your website and increase your customer base, the book will teach you how to do exactly that. It will also advise you on how best to establish your brand through engaging with your clients using social media.
This book is targeted towards those who understand that social media is the way forward, but who need help to determine which of the various platforms is the most suitable for their purpose.

Work Smarter with Social Media: A Guide to Managing Evernote, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Your Email
by Alexandra Samuel (@awsamuel)

This has been written in an easy-to-read style, and is aimed at anyone already using, or wanting to use social media, but without it to take up all of their time.
The book focuses on the amount of data that we receive each day via social media, and the time we spend reading and responding to it.
Through the use of this book, you will learn about the available resources that enable you to filter out the most important content from the least important, and how to make a bigger impact from your own online presence in a far more productive way.

Color Your Message: The Art of Digital Marketing and Social Media
by Lisa Caprelli (@BusinessExpShow) and Brian Gaps
Whether you are a well-established business or just starting out, “Color Your Message” is packed with useful information to help you compete for today’s Internet focused customers.
The reality for many of these businesses is actually the fact that they have failed to keep up to date with the ever changing marketing methods.
The author aims to bring today’s business owners up to date with modern marketing methods, and explains that many businesses believe they are still suffering the effects of a slow economy.

YouthNation: Building Remarkable Brands in a Youth-Driven Culture
by Matt Britton (@MattyB)
If you are not yet aware that the marketing methods required for engaging the youth of today are very different from what they were twenty years ago, you will after reading this.
“Youth Nation” describes the mind-set of the 80 million American citizens born between 1982 and 1998, and what they expect from a brand.
These potential clients are currently aged between 18 and 34 and you need to understand them to get your branding and marketing right.

Social Media 247: Everything You Need to Know to Leverage Social Media for Business Success
by Andrew Chow (@IdeasAndrew)

Whatever the size of your business or organization, if you are looking to implement or refine your social media strategy, then this book is specifically aimed at you.
Customer loyalty and brand ambassadors are goals that need to be achieved to become a successful business.
Discussed within these pages are the steps that any business needs to know and understand when planning, implementing and reviewing the success and costs of their social media marketing strategies.

Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business (Ultimate Series)
by Ted Prodromou (@tedprodromou)

Whether you are a novice or an expert in the use of LinkedIn, you are certain to learn something from Ted Prodromou who is an authority on the site.
This book contains something for everyone and will fill the beginner full of confidence and the more advanced user will undoubtedly learn new techniques to improve their business or personal profile.
As we are told so often, a great profile on LinkedIn is a must for any business or professional, and this book will guide you through the necessary steps to achieve such a profile.

The Definitive Guide to Social CRM: Maximizing Customer Relationships with Social Media to Gain Market Insights, Customers, and Profits
by Barton Goldenberg (@BGoldenbergISM)

This book is a must read for any business owner or entrepreneur wanting to become more in tune with customers through the use of social media.
Goldenberg gives out useable advice on the software available, the day-to-day management of your CRM, and how to understand the needs of your customers through listening and harvesting information from your social media platforms.
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about how to accurately gauge your customers and potential customers to give them more of what they want, you must give Goldenberg’s outlook a chance.
Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars
by Mitch Meyerson (@MitchMeyerson)

Through a series of chapters from a variety of successful online marketers, Meyerson provides a host of strategies and tactics which will enable you to obtain new clients, and to better influence the ones you already have.
Whether your business is using online marketing on a regular basis or just getting started, it’s important for you to take the time to study these strategies as blueprints and inspiration.

Whether you are looking for information on developing your brand, increasing traffic to your website using SEO or pay-per-click, or just want guidance on how to gain leverage from the various platforms, the tips and mistakes to avoid are provided throughout the book.

Twitter Power 3.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
by Joel Comm (@joelcomm)

Described are the differences between Twitter and the other forms of social media, and the importance of Twitter when marketing your brand. Readers will also learn how to create a sound Twitter marketing strategy, and which metrics to use when measuring its success.
This is the third edition of this book which has again been updated to include the latest and best strategies to get the most out of Twitter for your business.
If you favor the use of Twitter in your business, or simply want to understand what it may be able to do for you, reading this book should be of great benefit.

This is obviously not meant to be a definitive guide to the best social media books published. There are so many published that it is impossible to review them all, and we each have our own preference as to which platform we feel is best suited to us and our business.
However, we hope that it will serve as a useful list of what we have found interesting, and which you may find useful to put on your reading list.