It is no uncommon site to see a blog post with 5 of the best this or 25 amazing thats. Books are no exception to this. Just Google '5 best books for ...' (enter anything) and there will be a host of lists devised by experts, fans and bibliophiles. To this end, putting together a list of the best social media books is a nearly impossible task. It would mean having read every book on social media in existence and taking everyones' preference into account.

Instead we have listed 5 books from some of our social media heroes. These are the leaders we look to for inspiration, when defining our social media presence, and are among some of the most talented marketers to grace the digital, and physical, realms.

So, in no particular order.

1: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy World by Gary Veynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is the ultimate businessman. Born with an entrepreneurial spirit, Gary is a proven investor and advisor in the world of startups, and now an expert on the Fortune 500 world, through his work as CEO of Vaynermedia, a social media marketing agency. Having two bestsellers under his belt doesn't hurt either.

Right Hook is his ode to delivering that knock out shot in the marketing world. He inspires readers to change how they fight in business and how they look to make customers happy. With social media having changed so progressively over the last 10 years he notes that context as well as communication is a winning form; creating great content is as important as creating relevant content.

We love displays and symbols and stuff that quickly and silently tells the world who we are. Better yet, we love visual reminders of who we want to be.

2: The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki & Peg Fitzpatrick

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. He was also the chief evangelist of Apple. Guy is the author of thirteen books. These books are textbooks for the finest academic institutions in the world and have been both New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. His writing focuses on the tactical and practical in order to empower and inspire.

Peg Fitzpatrick is a writer, speaker, positive vibe producer, a social media butterfly and connector. She has built an engaged following on social media of over 1,300,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube. In her writing and social media she will give you ideas for inspiration and the motivation to get it done!

The Art of Social Media is a thorough guide, for beginners and experts alike, to really nail down social media campaigns: from inception to delivery to analysis. It is filled with over 100 tips and insights for readers to expand their online presence across the social media platforms. Their combined knowledge cultivates years of practical experience in social media and marketing.

Sharing good stuff is 90 percent of the battle of getting more followers. Almost everything else is merely optimization. End of discussion.

3: Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype by Jay Baer

Jay Baer is a social media strategy consultant, and founder of the firm Convince & Convert, that works with leading companies and their agencies on social media integration. His Convince & Convert blog is one of the world’s top English-language marketing resources, as was ranked the #3 social media blog in the world. Jay is also the founder of 5 companies and has consulted for more than 700 companies.

Youtility prompts a clear question to marketers: how can you help? In social media marketing you are already vying for attention against the public, against customer's friends and family. To stand out you need to be offering something to them. Jay's premise in Youtility is simple but effective - if you sell something, you make a customer today, but if you genuinely help someone, you create a customer for life.

...stop trying to be amazing and start being useful. I don’t mean this in a Trojan-horse, “infomercial that pretends to be useful but is actually a sales pitch” way. I mean a genuine, “how can we actually help you?” way.

4: Social Media Explained: Untangling the World's Most Misunderstood Business Trend by Mark W. Schaefer

Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognised speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs at one of the top marketing blogs of the world. Mark has worked in global sales, PR, and marketing positions for 30 years and now provides consulting services as Executive Director of U.S.-based Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He specialises in marketing strategy and social media workshops.

Social Media Explained is the book for those who are too busy to spend hours trying the learn the fundamentals of social media marketing. It is heavily backed by the psychological and sociological findings of social media on people and culture, and what makes it work effectively. Schaefer explores this subject in a clear and easy to understand manner, and will make readers ask the right questions about their own marketing plans.

...the social web is simply bringing us back to our marketplace roots where personal connection, immediacy, and word of mouth validation are the most important marketing considerations. We’re returning to the way people have ALWAYS wanted to buy from us – person to person. Humans buy from humans. And now you have the opportunity to humanize your company and join in the commercial renaissance, too.

5: Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break Through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less by Joe Pulizzi

Joe Pulizzi is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, podcaster, father and lover of all things orange. He is the founder of Content Marketing Institute, the leading education and training organisation for content marketing. Joe is the winner of the 2014 John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Content Council. Joe not only writes one of the most influential content marketing blogs in the world, he writes a column for Entrepreneur.com and is a LinkedIn Influencer.

Epic Content Marketing is a bible for all things content. Joe draws on his years of experience to explain how to attract prospects and customers by creating information and content they actually want to engage with. No longer will readers need to interrupt customers with mediocre content and sales messages they don't care about. In short, great, epic content will be rewarded - and the reward is sales!

Content marketing without a loyal audience is not content marketing at all.

To commemorate this article intSchools will be starting a monthly book review to help bring you texts that can massively improve your marketing prowess. Our first review will be shared out on our social media outlets at the end of each month.

The first book we are going to review will be the first on this very list: Gary Vaynerchuk's Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.

Have you read any of the above or have any suggestions you'd like to make? We'd love to hear some comments below.

5 books about social media from OUR inspiration