Tim Allik in a slightly out-of-focus shot taken at the NEDMA breakfast meeting in Boston

To steal from Mark Twain, Social media is like the weather. Everybody is talking about it, but no one is doing a thing about it. Granted, some companies – including Topaz Partners’ clients Language Weaver and the Scuderi Group – are implementing and using social media programs and seeing positive, tangible results. But many more firms are not using social media as part of their public relations and marketing programs. Or if they are, they’re not quite certain why they are doing it and what it’s doing for them.

All too often, it’s all or nothing when it comes to social media. On the one hand, many companies seem to be reluctant to touch social media with a ten foot pole, fearful that it is too difficult to measure results and therefore impossible to justify. On the other, there is a certain mindset – an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality – that seems commonplace among eager and enthusiastic social media practioners who tend not to take into account important issues like opportunity costs and time management when it comes to developing social media programs. Specifically, they don’t factor in the high price of distraction when it comes to everyday life.

In my new role as director of social media programs at Topaz, I had the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on how companies can best use social media yesterday in downtown Boston at a breakfast sponsored by the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA). One of my primary messages was the focus and strategic thinking should be the cornerstones of any social media program. It’s paradoxical in a way, because social media itself is the antithesis of focus. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the human mind is incapable of simultaneously Twittering, Facebooking, blogging, podcasting – and actually concentrating – at the same time. Something has to give. All too often, it’s the work at hand – the bread and butter – that suffers. Therein lies the opportunity cost.

It is essential that we recognize the overarching importance of preserving focus when it comes to initiating social media programs. Does everyone at your company need to be on Twitter? Probably not. Should your CEO maintain a blog? Maybe, but he or she may just as well find that it’s better to save time for other activities. And that’s OK.

Unquestionably, there are some people at your company who probably can and should devote time and resources to social media. But before they do, you should identify why they are doing it, who they are trying to reach, what they are trying to communicate to those people, and in the end – what, exactly, you are trying to achieve.

The good news is that social media has matured to the extent that we know what works, what brings measurable results, and what offers the best bang for the buck. Granted, throwing everything up on the social media wall and seeing what sticks can be fun. But more often than not, it’s a waste of time. And frankly, it’s very distracting.

Focus people. Focus.

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Technorati Tags: NEDMA, public relations, Social Media, Tim Allik, Topaz Partners, web 2.0

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