Entering the world of social media must be a daunting task for managers unfamiliar with the experience of sites like Facebook and Twitter. Like doing business in a foreign country, it feels much better to have a local who can show you around, and keep you from committing too many faux-pas (or at least show you how to clean up afterwards).

Large businesses are bound to have someone who can guide them into the social media world. SMBs, though, may have no such luxury. This is the book for them.

Learn Marketing with Social Media in 7 Days is the latest in a series of books designed to simplify business processes which may appear complex and frightening to the uninitiated. Written by social media guru Linda Coles, the book walks the reader through each of the principal social media sites, from the ubiquitous Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

I consider myself an intermediate social media user, having Facebooked for years but only prodded half-heartedly at Twitter and LinkedIn. This book certainly guides the way efficiently and effectively, taking the reader from basic descriptions of the sites and how they differ from each other to in-depth looks at the strengths and weaknesses of each, without becoming bogged down in the multitudinous applications available.

Day 1 introduces social media and shows the reader how to plan the strategies and goals that will unify their social media presence. Days 2, 3 and 4 look at Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter respectively, day 5 covers online etiquette and preserving reputations, day 6 discusses possible uses of YouTube and day 7 shows how to optimise the user’s own website to maximise the benefits of each of these tools.

Coles does an excellent job of leaving the reader to make their own decisions according to the needs of their own businesses, only chiming in occasionally to provide advice from her own experience, or example companies ranging from the gargantuan Air New Zealand to small businesses like The Wine Vault. Her introduction promises that once the reader has set up profiles on each of the social media pages, they will be able to manage those profiles in 30 minutes a day, and by the end of the book this goal does seem attainable.

With the online world changing so rapidly, it’s hard to know how long a printed book will remain relevant, but at the moment this is certainly a valuable resource, and one I’d recommend for any business owner who is ready to embrace social media.

Learn Marketing with Social Media in 7 Days is available in stores now, and will be on Amazon later this month. You can also go here for more on the author.

Is your business adopting social media? Post your comments below.