Top 4 Books for Developing a Community Strategy

A deliberate strategy for community engagement is no longer a "nice-to-have" for businesses. But with so many places that people live online (and off), how do you know where to start? The following list of books features our top four picks for developing a community marketing strategy for entrepreneurs.

As the resident community manager here at Doyenz, I like to think about it in terms of gardening. You have to sow the seeds and watch them grow with constant attention to protect your young plants against the elements or pesky weeds. 

To create a positive community presence, start by adding value to existing discussions, sharing interesting content, making social media introductions, making referrals and listening intently to the needs and desires of the community. These books provide great starting points and can be used to expand on the topic we have started here. And please feel free to reach out to me with any community or marketing related questions at mjahner@doyenz.com.

1. Tribes: Seth Godin - A unique depiction of what makes tribes so important and how all communities are looking for a voice to lead them. Leaders of tribes today "All have in common the desire to change things, the ability to connect a tribe, and the willingness to lead."
    
2. Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards: Patrick O'Keefe - The topics range from posting guidelines to settling online arguments amongst your community. "Administrators have to lead these communities, deal with difficult users, and choose moderators. Legal constraints, spammers, and technical issues can turn the excitement of running an online community into chaos. With the right guidance, however, running forums can be a pleasure."
    
3. The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself: John Jantsch - Referrals are important to any business and building a community that creates a constant flow of referrals takes time. "The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the 'Customer Referral Cycle' – the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer."
    
4. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web: Tamar Weinberg - This book helps you join the community discussion as well as understand how the social web works. "Many consumers today use the Web as a voice. The New Community Rules demonstrates how you can join the conversation, contribute to the community, and bring people to your product or service."

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