Is the clock running out on your social media use?

Introduction: Marketing Through Social Networking Without the Insanity

Social networking: you know you oughtta do it. But the time it takes is enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the most productive solos. How can you do all this networking/Twitter/Facebook stuff and still run your business?

We’re looking at this topic in depth in our “Ten Rules to Successfully Manage Your Time in Social Networking Activities” series. Previously, we’ve looked at how to set real, realistic goals for your social networking marketing efforts, and then yesterday we looked at creating a workable plan to dive into social networking based on those goals.

Today, we’re going to look at how to minimize the less-productive aspects of social networking — the personal, the inane, and the useless. In other words: how to draw boundaries between your personal and professional lives in your social networking activities.

#3: Separate the Personal and the Professional

A real concern for solos and other professionals implementing social networking tactics into their marketing plans is the revelation of too much personal information. We all need to be concerned about privacy and safety on the Internet these days, especially when it’s so damn easy to blurt too much private info in the heat of a moment, or to make a mistake and hit “send all” or blast a general tweet when we really meant to direct-message another user.

Reasonable minds will differ. Penelope Trunk, for instance, regularly crosses what most of us would consider the “TMI” line in her tweets (a miscarriage of an unwanted pregnancy in the middle of a business meeting, for a recent example). She’s obviously comfortable with that approach; she knows the consequences (including a great deal of blog traffic, although a significant portion would seem to be solely for the purpose of criticizing her for doing so, judging from the comments).

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the digital equivalent of “bad press is better than no press.” My reputation matters to me, and so does my privacy – especially the privacy of those I love. You’re not going to find me tweeting about embarrassing things my daughter does or says unless she’s totally OK with it, because that’s her story to tell — not mine. You won’t find me blogging about why I’m getting divorced — it’s not just my story but also my ex-husband’s, and I’m not going to put it out there on my own.

(NB: That said, with my ex’s consent, I think I’m about to get a mention in a Washington Times piece on how the recession impacts couples seeking divorce — but the point is, I talked to him first, we carefully delimited the bounds of the interview, and we were both on board with my participation.)

But beyond safety and privacy concerns, there’s a significant time-management aspect to this issue. How does this relate to managing your time effectively on Twitter and Facebook? Simple: concentrate on the professional, and you can eliminate a large percentage of the non-productive aspects of social networking.

However, it’s not quite that simple. Drawing a hard and fast black line between the personal and professional could produce social networking that’s … well, not very social. So, where do you draw the line?

My answer is this: aim for being personable without crossing the line into the overly personal. I routinely say “no thanks” to the invitations to join the latest Facebook game or take the most recent stupid test. I don’t need to know what Twilight character I’m going to marry, thanks.

I do try to let my personality shine through all my writing, whether 140 characters in Twitter, a short status update on Facebook, or a blog post. But that doesn’t mean I need to share every bad or minor good thing that happens. Do y’all really want to know about the toothache that bugged me for days last week? Or the amazing cuteness that is my daughter’s cat? That’s why I restrict those “cute kitty” posts and tweets to my personal Twitter account.

(Full disclosure: I did screw up last week and cross-tweet under the wrong account a link to a “how to drive your cat crazy” machine. Let this be an object lesson: make sure you’re using the right account if you’ve got Tweetdeck set up for multiple accounts.)

Don’t fret too much about this one. Just get a separate Twitter account, and keep your business marketing efforts restricted to the account that’s tied to your professional brand. Some folks also use Facebook for personal networking and LinkedIn for professional efforts. You may want to consider that, as an alternative to using Facebook in a more restricted way, if you really want to play Vampire Mafia Gardening. (I may have gotten that game’s name wrong…)

Bottom line: be personable – not overly personal. That’s my advice. If your boundaries are set elsewhere, and you have no filters, and you’ve thought this thing through very carefully, well – be my guest. But expect the consequences, and don’t get all indignant when people start calling you out on it, or frustrated when you’re spending too much time on these sites without comparable results.