The Librarian's Nitty-Gritty Guide to Content Marketing

I attended a webinar at work by Laura Solomon a few months ago. I thought it was really informative and wanted to read her new book, The Librarian's Nitty-Gritty Guide to Content Marketing. It was a bit tough to get (there was only one physical copy of the book available in Canada through interlibrary loans when I ordered it). But I think it was well worth the wait!

The Librarian's Nitty-Gritty Guide to Content Marketing goes through all the steps for a good content marketing plan, from the start (identifying your audience, making personas), middle (creating a calendar for your content, creating the actual content), and the end (looking at ways to measure successes and failures, doing it all over again). I admit that a lot of the book was a rehash of most of what was discussed in the webinar. But of course the book went into a lot more detail. It was also super easy to read. I very much recommend it to anyone who is interested in an east-to-read overview of content marketing (not just people working in libraries).

Designing the Digital Experience: How to Use Experience Design Tools & Techniques to Build Websites Customers Love

The same friend at work who lent me Face2Face lent me Designing the Digital Experience. I honestly wish I had read this one first because it feels like the first book; Face2Face builds a lot on the concepts first explored in this book. But very much like Face2Face, Designing the Digital Experience is written in everyday language (or at least explains the jargon it brings up well enough so you're never lost). This book gives you a lot of great points to think about while designing a website, helping you keep your customers' needs and experiences at the forefront of each design choice. I'm very glad I read this book. Hopefully I'll be able to redesign a few websites so they are much better for people to navigate!

Face2Face

A friend at work lent me Face2Face by David Lee King after we attended one of his social media webinars last fall. I've been reading it a little at a time over the last few months and finally finished it a few minutes ago.

Face2Face details how to start listening to and engaging with your customers on social media. It's a really easy-to-read book that is packed full of great advice to get you started. I liked how it really had something for everyone in every chapter, whether you're new to social media or a seasoned pro. Face2Face is written in everyday language so you're never really lost in jargon. While a bit dated (as any book on the internet and specific websites tends to be), I thought it was still highly relevant to the social media of today. I'm now looking forward to reading Designing the Digital Experience, a second book by David Lee King that my same friend lent to me.