by Lauren Shapiro*

LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook…Oh My! Don’t forget about MySpace (still alive and kickin’) and newer sites like Plaxo, Squiddo and MeetUp who are yet to make social media history – there are just too many sites to keep up with, too many people to network with, and too much time spent working on each site rather than letting the site work for you. 

Even sites like hootsuite.com have emerged as a one-stop-shop for social media tycoons, providing one URL to access “the big three” (i.e., LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) along with Ping, WordPress, and Foursquare, among others. Convenient, yes… but what are these sites? Do we even care? More importantly, should we care and how do we manage it all without becoming overloaded?

Social media is evolving at warp speed, faster than we humans can comprehend. According to Nielsen, time spent on social networking sites is up 82 percent from last year. And five and a half hours a month are spent on these social networks. Tracy Turner notes in a Dispatch article, “The average Facebook user spends 55 minutes per day on the site.”

The key is to stay away from the fads and invest long term on sites that are going to yield the greatest number of participants, which have staying power and will give your brand and your message the greatest reach. At the same time, keep in mind that niche sites can also provide forums to target your efforts to individuals who share similar interests.

Spreading yourself too thin across many sites is less effective than choosing two or three sites and being an active participant while building credibility. According to an MSNBC article by Eve Tahmincioglu, “It’s not going to help your career if you have a bunch of profiles, or pages on a bunch of sites, and no time to check all the connections and news happening every day. It’s better to focus your efforts and build a solid network on one site.”

Getting involved in social media is necessary to compete and thrive in today’s business world. Almost every organization is using social media to interact with constituents whether to market new products or look for potential new hires. Interview a few sites, but limit the number you  immerse yourself in so as not to become overwhelmed. 

Here are a few choices provided by MSNBC.

Image Courtesy of MSNBC

What social media sites have you found to be the most helpful in your PR and marketing efforts? How many sites do you actively participate in professionally and/or personally? How have they helped you expand your scope or are they just adding to the feeling of being overloaded?Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

***

*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now work as the supervisor of BurrellesLuce Express client services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce