Businesses have been taking advantage of many online tools not originally created for business purposes such as blogs, feeds, wikis, forums and more. These help businesses create a community, build relationships and gain trust and credibility. Would you buy a book on this topic?

If so, what do you want from the book that you’re not getting from other books?

Here are some books that cover similar topics:

• Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business: Part I covers social networking landscape. Part II contains seven steps to building community. Part III discusses strategies by group (i.e. blog, e-community, social networks).
• The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly: Emphasis on marketing, part I of book covers theory, and discusses why old media doesn’t work anymore.
• Online Communities: Designing Usability and Supporting Sociability: Focuses on Web design and targets Web designers. May be too technical for the average businessperson. Has an academic and research focus.
• Secrets of Online Persuasion: Captivating the Hearts, Minds and Pocketbooks of Thousands Using Blogs, Podcasts and Other New Media Marketing Tools: New media focus and written with a promotional tone like content on sites with long copy with yellow highlights.

If not, are there any topics you’re interested in surrounding Web, content, writing, and marketing — that no book addresses? I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts. Thanks for any input!

[tags]books,business,marketing,web,internet, Meryl K. Evans[/tags]