By now, the majority of people have heard about social media. I seem to see three different types of people: those who are very energetic in it and regularly sing its admires, those who have maybe set up a few profiles and have delicately dipped their toe into the world and those who haven't yet taken the plunge due to confusion or even a bit of fear.

One thing that appears common among the majority of them is the anxiety that there is just not enough time to keep up with all of it. There are so many items already on our daily to-do lists that social media can seem like a real time-suck.

By its very nature, social media can be time-consuming in the beginning. You require getting familiar with the platforms and tools and how they work, not to mention the time necessary to truly 'build relationships.' Add to this its seductive qualities of being both extremely fun and a great way to delay. How do you take benefit of these tools to benefit your business without wasting all your time?

The key is to be careful. Here's what to do: Pick a couple of networks--for me it is Twitter and Face book--and think on those. It's impossible to be everywhere and not only that--you don't require being everywhere, which must come as some relief.

Now because social media is part of what I do in my business, I try several of the new tools that come along, checking them out to see how they work and how they could benefit me or my clients. I don't explore most social networks in depth unless they suddenly gain a good amount of rant around them. I like to keep track of those occurrences along with a whole host of information through RSS feeds, Google Alerts and Twitter.

But even I have to have limits! While tempting, I do not have Twitter open all day in a desktop application. I check in a few times and treat it as a break from doing other work. For the others networks I experiment and try to have set goals. The key is to shun participating in low-priority topics and conversations, just as you would in your lives offline.

*Are You Benefiting?*

There are certain questions you want to ask yourself when contributing in social media:

* Is this helping establish a good standing or improve it?

* Are the sites I am spending time on linked to my niche? Does my target market hang out there?

* Is this rising awareness of my brand?

* Am I learning new things which will result in enriching my business?

* Am I building useful relationships?

* Am I seeing traffic to my website or blog as a result of my contribution?

It is also significant to remember that positive activities, such as chatting with someone on Twitter, do not always give you a direct advantage. However, it is the relationship you are building which can pay off in the future.

*How Do I Know Which Tools are Right for me?*

You will of course find yourself spending more time on the social media sites which interest you the most. But here are some questions to think:

* What are people doing there? Are they looking for jobs, discussing video games, setting up joint ventures? Is that focus significant to you? Do you enjoy spending time there?

* Who are the people there? Business owners, employees, hopeful entrepreneurs? Are they people you can learn from?

* What is the talk about? Are you getting value from the conversation? Are the discussions appropriate to what you do?

*How to Set Limits*

* First and foremost, stop feeling guilty.

* Set a timer. I know this sounds funny, but for some people this works really well. If you find yourself frequently getting sucked in, tell yourself you will only spend X amount of minutes on Face book or Twitter or whichever site you are using. Stick to it!

* Have a plan. It may sound strange to plan out a 'social' activity. But you must make a decision how social media is going to fit into your overall marketing or business picture. Making a few comments on Face book and your favorite blogs must only take a few minutes. Drop in on Twitter, listen, share a link and respond to others. Make sure to give more than you take.

*It's Not for Everyone*

If you aren't seeing social media activities as being precious because you are too busy, then maybe--surprise!--it's not for you. Maybe you already have plenty of clients, and your business is happily growing. Don't waste your time. Social Media is just one of several things you can spend your time on, and unless you see a good return on your time spent you perhaps are better off doing something else. People can and will slice out the time for social media IF they find a reason to. If you think your business will profit from understanding how to use these new tools of client communication, networking and marketing, it may be a good idea to get your feet wet. But finally it will be up to you to make a decision what is best.