If you’re looking for a solid book on how any small-to-midsized business or solopreneur can get started and leverage social media, look no further. Shama Hyder Kabani’s The Zen of Social Media Marketing is what you’ve been waiting for.

For transparency’s sake, let me say that Shama and I have been friends for a few years now. However, I was as surprised as anyone to find myself quoted early on in the book. I’d like to think that won’t cloud my judgment, and this is just a great effort to explain social media marketing from someone who just gets it.

I read the book on my flight back from SXSW, the annual interactive conference in Austin, Texas. Already my copy is dog eared and has plenty of note-taking in the margins. Although I consider myself experienced when it comes to social media marketing, I was still saying, “I’ve got to do that,” over and over again.

You’ll find great information on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and online video. In addition, Shama talks about how to leverage this with your Web site (a must in her opinion…and mine) and blog. There’s also some good advice on how to behave in social media, and how to create a social media policy for your organization.

As with any social media book, there’s always the concern that the book will be dated before the ink is dry. Shama has addressed that by creating the Zen of Social Media site where readers of the book can access updated information regularly.

Whether you’re just getting started, or you already have a Twitter account and Facebook fan page for your business, you’ll learn a lot by picking up a copy of The Zen of Social Media Marketing.

Rich Brooks
Social Media Marketer