Heard it? The term social media, that is. For the unknowing, social media and its oft associated terms, such as wikis, blogs, Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and so on, can be intimidating and confusing for people not familiar with these words and terms.

Here’s a simple definition: Social media is best understood as technology that is first, online, and second, is interactive. More and more you are seeing less and less on the Web where you are merely a passive reader or viewer.

Now, you have the ability to talk back. You can review the books you’ve read on Amazon. You can rate and comment on videos on Youtube. You can even post your own video response. You don’t like what a news reporter writes? Many news sites allow you to write back and publicly post your comments.

For many of us, especially those in the communications fields, there’s a tendency to jump into the social media fray and attempt exploit the hell out of it. I remember viewing one person’s online profile somewhere. He had every way to contact him listed, including his Myspace page, Skype number, Facebook page, Twitter page, LinkedIn profile, website, blog and so on.

This is overboard. I recommend more judicious use of social media. Used effectively, social media can be very effective for communications. Used without critical thought, though, and social media can be expensive in terms of spending vast amounts of time on something that doesn’t show a significant return.

Here are five strategies for approaching the use of social media in ways that are less time intensive and more effective for communications.

1. Think of social media as one strategy among many. Social media’s newness doesn’t inherently make it more superior as another ingredient in the marketing mix. Just as a strategy embracing display advertising, of which one tactic could be roadside billboards, is part of the mix, social media should also be considered among many other strategies.
2. Consider your audience. Embrace social media if your target audience also embraces social media. This is basic targeting. If a Huffington Post writer loves your company’s blog but your top-level constituents aren’t reading the blog, your use of a blog isn’t being as effective as it could be. Many people still don’t use computers, and if they do, there’s no guarantee your audience will embrace your social media efforts.
3. Reside somewhere between early adopters and the early majority. Being too hungry as an early adopter can be risky (and incredibly rewarding), as many innovations, especially those with quickly advancing technologies, fail to catch on. The much-hyped Second Life is a case in point. Major buzz ultimately couldn’t salvage this once pinnacle of social media. There’s a valid return-on-investment reason to wait to embrace the latest online trend: time. Social media is not inherently expensive, but the time investment is immense. Test the waters before jumping into them.
4. Monitor the innovators. I take a three-part stance toward new social media hype. I typically recommend, 1. watching what the innovators are doing, until I am 2. seeing the utility of a social media outlet/technology for my purposes, and then am 3. Finding a way to effectively use it to meet communication objectives. It took me months to see the usefulness of Twitter. Twitter may be a helpful technology in part because its hype is being played out in the numbers of users joining. This is as opposed to Plurk.
5. Use what works (well). If your goal is higher views of your DIY video clip, loading the video into an online video engine few people know about simply because the engine is cooler and more robust than Youtube’s, your priorities may be askew. Youtube remains (one of) the most visited video sites so including it as part of your online media should be considered.

There are many other considerations about using social media. More and more of our lives are moving online, but our experience will likely never be entirely digital. Our level of hype, therefore, should keep this in mind.