By Guest Blogger Bonnie Koenig, author of Going Global for the Greater Good: Succeeding as a Nonprofit in the International Community

LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, blogs, Twitter… and the Social Media options continue to change and proliferate, as do the demands on our time.  How’s a small business owner to manage?

I received my first invitation to join LinkedIn at least six months before I finally took the plunge.  I’m a babyboomer and a ‘medium level’ adapter when it comes to technology.  I stand back and observe for awhile trying to assess the benefits vis a vis my time commitment.  But it is certainly getting harder and harder for us ‘older folks’ to stand back, and for our younger peers to balance their time…I certainly haven’t completely figured this out (any additional ideas from Life at Avenue Z blog readers would be appreciated!) but here are some considerations I look at that might also be useful to others:

1. What’s your business personality?
   Determine what the ‘personality’ or forte of your business is in this area.  Do you want to be seen as a first adapter when it comes to technology?  A trend setter that your clients can turn to for advice on new Social Media ?  Or is it enough for you to have a general awareness of new technological trends so you can hold your own in a conversation and perhaps provide some general opinions from your own experience?  Deciding the type of advice you want to provide and how you want to be viewed can help guide you as to how fast and how deep you need to engage, from a business perspective, in new forms of social media.
2. What is the profile of your client and potential client base?
   Are they early adapters who will want to see that you have that common characteristic and knowledge or do they come later to the change scale and won’t mind that you do as well?
3. Do you really have something to say that the world wants to hear on a regular basis, and are you able/willing to allocate the time to keep it of high quality?
   Some people do…Beth is a good example of this.  She’s a good and creative writer in tune to the world around her and what others may relate to.  But we can also think of examples of people who blog and twitter way too much – you don’t want to be one of those!  If you’re considering a blog, you may want to have a small impartial advisory group take a look at a first few posts and give you some perspectives.
4. Do a small cost-benefit analysis -  Consider the time you put into Social Media (learning and engaging) the same way as you would other cost-benefits to your limited time.
   For example, if you are considering a speaking engagement, you’ll look at the costs (travel expenses and your time) vis a vis the benefits (who might be in the audience – potential clients, helpful colleagues, etc..) to determine if you should go.  Your time investment in Social Media can have some similar considerations.  Who will I be networking with on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…(fill in the blank) that I want to engage with for business purposes?  How much do I have to engage to get the benefits?  What time can I allocate?  Are there other ways to engage with this group?
5. Social media as a business media – Although the lines between social media  and the business world are starting to blur, there are still distinctions, and you may want to take them into consideration vis a vis your own time management.
   Although it is fun to spend a lot of time on blogs and twittering with friends and colleagues on non-business subjects, you can draw some lines virtually by thinking about how you might draw the lines non-virtually.   If you would allocate the time to get up and talk to colleagues at the ‘water cooler’, you can then feel free to  allocate an equivalent amount of time engaging in social media.  But where your boss (if you had one!) would be about to throw you a nasty look for loitering a bit too long, perhaps it’s also time to pull yourself away from the social media.

Social Media is certainly here to stay and we can all use some help navigating the ever-changing terrain.  So let the dialogue continue!

Bonnie Koenig is a consultant working with non-profit organizations on developing their strategic thinking and international programs.  She has worked with local, national and international organizations in  countries around the world.  She is the author of Going Global for the Greater Good: Succeeding as a Nonprofit in the International Community, published by Wiley/Jossey Bass. Visit Going International for more information. She lives (and travels) with her husband, two teenagers, and dog and two cats (who don’t always get to go on trips).