Download the executive summary of the guide "Grow Your Business Using Social Media 2009" by Philip van Zyl. Ten step process to planning a business social media strategy roadmap. Tips galore. The full guide is available from this blog for download http://GetSocialMedia.net/guide

1. getsocialmedia.net
grow your business
using social media
– a step by step guide –
JuLY 2009
BY PhiLiP van ZYL
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Copyright 2009, Philip van Zyl, GetSocialMedia.net

2. getsocialmedia.net
letter from the author……
Welcome.
If you are a business owner, this guide is written for you. It is also for those who work in new
media teams or marketing departments, and for individuals who are their own brand. The
principles and step by step process in this guide will help you to use the power of social media to
grow your business.
It does not matter if you live in Barcelona, Tokyo, Boston, Rio, Brisbane, Moscow, London,
Canterbury, Dublin, Singapore or Cape Town. Or anywhere else for that matter. This step-by-step
guide will shepherd you along the quick and proven path to successful social media engagement,
customised for you and your business needs.
I have cut straight to the good stuff. You’ll find links to the software I use, as well as to a bunch
of excellent alternative sites, platforms and software. Almost all of these are free. There are tips
in here that you won’t find anywhere else in one place.
If you received this guide from a friend or colleague and you would like to pass it on, please pass
on this link to the original guide and an area where you can sign up for further information &
resources. http://www.getsocialmedia.net/guide
The ten steps in this guide will give you the solid foundation you need. From there you can
weave your unique magic and express your creativity as the individual you are. After all, it’s your
business.
I suggest you don’t skip any parts of the guide. Every part links to the others and forms one road
map.
Here’s to your social media success!
Philip van Zyl
Social Media explorer and navigator
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/philipvanzyl
retweet this
Click here to post this on twitter
Copyright Statement: All content © 2009 by Philip van Zyl - Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative
Commons License, Attribution – Noncommercial - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported, http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ (This means you can share it freely with your friends, but not resell it). Please refer colleagues
and friends to this link to download the report for themselves: http://getsocialmedia.net/guide.
Grow Your Business Using Page 2 of 4
Social Media (A Guide) 2009. www.getsocialmedia.net © 2009 Philip van Zyl

3. getsocialmedia.net
table of contents
executive summary........................................................................................................4
about this guide............................................................................................................5
mindset........................................................................................................................6
part 1 - understanding social media.......................................................................7
what is social media really?
are all social media the same?
part 2 – social media and my business..................................................................9
how can my business benefit from social media?
how do I align my social media goals with my business goals?
why is my website optimisation so important for social media?
the ten steps to social media success............................................................................12
step 1 – define your company goal.
step 2 – define your website goal and specific call to action.
step 3 – listen to what individuals are saying and where they are saying it.
step 4 – map and list how it is being said and who the influencers are .
step 5 – decide on your social media presence and register accounts online.
step 6 – select your posting and tracking platforms.
step 7 – define all metrics – clearly, and measurably.
step 8 – listen, engage and grow your network.
step 9 - use diverse social marketing strategies.
step 10 – measure, adjust, listen, engage.
part 3 – your social future.....................................................................................28
outsourcing.
advertising on social media.
think laterally.
my social media roadmap.............................................................................................30
resources....................................................................................................................40
Grow Your Business Using Page 3 of 4
Social Media (A Guide) 2009. www.getsocialmedia.net © 2009 Philip van Zyl

4. getsocialmedia.net
executive summary
This free guide contains the principles and processes for business owners, marketing departments
and media teams to build their brand and to grow their businesses, using the power of social media.
The focus of the guide is on understanding social media and getting started efficiently and
effectively, and then streamlining your online activity into those areas where you are most effective.
More than just a theoretical look at the social media landscape, it offers the practical step by
step process to get a social media strategy in place right away, and monitor its ongoing success.
Most people are aware of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, but aren’t sure how to use
them in a business environment. This guide explores the relative merits of many different social
media sites – and explains how to use them for business benefit.
It defines social media for non-experts and includes a step-by-step guide to successful social
media engagement, including a list of helpful resources, software and sites.
Engaging with social media successfully requires a shift in some key principles of selling
and marketing online. It requires businesses to embrace the concept of entering a two-way
conversation with customers through multiple channels, rather than one-way communication
through traditional marketing tools such as advertising.
Social media doesn’t need to be hard work. This is a guide to engaging customers and
stakeholders online in a rewarding, productive and enjoyable way.
It explains how businesses can benefit from a carefully considered social media strategy –
beginning with the recognition that companies and their products are already being discussed
online. The guide shows how you can start to listen to and participate in these discussions, and
build trust with your existing and prospective customers.
The ten practical steps in the second half of this guide are a step by step roadmap to social
media success for businesses and brands. They include tips on defining a company’s social
media goals and linking them to other business goals.
These ten steps are used in conjunction with the “social media roadmap” document at the end
of the guide, where the guide user’s actual strategy is mapped, recorded and designed by them.
The majority of social media strategies are built around a “main” website or blog. The importance
of optimising this “main” site is emphasised and the process explained. This optimisation is
done for both social media links as well as Google and other search engine ranking success. The
report also explains what you want your prospective customers to do once they get to your site.
It includes tips for the most effective way to post new content online, and to monitor content
posted online by others – including a guide to selecting the most relevant material from the huge
volume added to the internet every day.
Should you or your company be a blogger? This guide will help you decide. And if you do decide
to enter the blogosphere, it gives you some excellent tips on how to be successful.
The whole social media environment is changing fast. The biggest and the most successful businesses
in the world are getting involved. Isn’t it time you found out what it could do for you and your business?
The full guide is available to download now. Click here http://GetSocialMedia.Net/guide
Grow Your Business Using Page 4 of 4
Social Media (A Guide) 2009. www.getsocialmedia.net ©2009 Philip van Zyl