That being said, I’m one of the biggest offenders of succumbing to BSO (Bright Shiny Objects) syndrome. I’m always chasing down rabbit holes, all in the name of research. I do learn a lot of good stuff, but it sometimes results in wasted time and missed deadlines. Not good.

So, here are some of my strategies for staying on track:

I allow myself some “play time” to catch up with friends and family members on Facebook, twitter and the like. Usually I combine this with watching tv or on my lunch hour. Last week  I had a long, fun chat with a high school friend and caught up with my cousin’s wife on Facebook.

During work hours I have a post-it of objectives next to my monitor that has a cryptic list of marketing objectives. As a consultant to self-published authors, my primary objective is to establish my expertise in online marketing and self publishing. So most of the comments I make are related to those topics. I automatically send a tweet to Twitter and post to my wall on Facebook when I update my blog. My blog is also on my LinkedIn profile. I comment on my friends’ status, and pass on articles that I find interesting. I also have Google Alerts relating to marketing and publishing that gives me plenty to comment on and write about.

Does this take hours every day? No, for the most part I spend about half an hour to an hour a day on social networking sites and checking the feeds for my alerts in Google Reader. Can it be done is less? Absolutely. I spend more time because I enjoy it! And, it’s my business to spend time doing this.

I’ll be presenting a talk “Social Media Marketing in 15 Minutes a Day,” on March 25 at EduCyber in Wheat Ridge, CO (my day job.) You can sign up at EduCyber’s web site. I’ll also be presenting that talk at CIPA College in Denver on March 27. CIPA is the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. The college runs from March 26-27. It’s everything you want to know about self publishing. Check it out!

There’s a few things wrong with selling this way.

1. It’s old-style selling. Nobody on Facebook or any other social site wants to be sold on anything.

2. It’s really annoying when you tweet or post that 6 times a day.

3. It’s really easy for the rest of us to hide you on Facebook or unfollow you on Twitter because that’s all you post.

People buy to solve a problem they have. If you have a solution to their problem and they know and trust you, they will buy your book or service. No pain, no sale.

I was on vacation in Cabo a few years ago and went to a time share pitch to get a discount coupon book for my hotel. On the surface, a guaranteed vacation every year might be a great deal. Except I wanted to buy a house, not a time share. No pain, no sale.

Rather than pitch everyone you can, look for people who really need your book or service. Work on establishing your expertise. Then, surprise! There won’t be any selling involved. People will line up to buy.

It’s a fun way to sell.

I’m really a social person. But sometimes when I’m on Facebook or Twitter I just don’t feel like chatting.

So, I lurk. Now lurking can be defined as “to stay hidden, ready to attack” according to Webster’s New World Dictionary. (Am I the only person left who still has a dictionary on her desk?) Anyway, I do the hidden part mostly. I would only attack if somebody tried to steal my coffee.

You learn a lot when you lurk. You can follow up on tempting links and be the proverbial fly on the wall if there’s an interesting exchange. I tend to do a lot of research on internet marketing this way. And, sometimes I just eavesdrop. I suspect a lot of people do.

Chris Brogan wrote about “social listening” a couple of years ago. He took the process a step further by suggesting ways that information can come to you, by using tools like Google Alerts, Technorati, and Twitter’s search feature. I’m always surprised when I talk to authors who don’t continue to monitor what’s new in their field after their book comes out. Aside from tracking when you or your book is mentioned, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on what’s new in your field. Who knows? This sort of monitoring could lead to additional articles you can write or products to create to add to your book sales.

Some simple steps to try:

1. Google Alerts are easy to set up to get info on your topic delivered to your mailbox.

2. Follow gurus in your field on Twitter. Use the search feature to find them, then follow them.

3. As an added step, if you like their tweets, check out their blogs and subscribe.

Happy lurking!

For once, I feel I am in the middle of the new “latest thing.” (I am not an early adaptor. I’m still excited about getting an iPod shuffle last Christmas.)

I’ve wondered for a while whether it was such a great idea to be on so many social media sites that I never visit most of them. What’s the point of having all of these “friends” that I’ve collected and never made an effort to get to know? Do they even know who I am? Or care? I doubt it.

On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed several online conversations with people I actually know on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’m now in the habit of logging in to one or the other during my work day to see what conversations are going on, adding my 2 cents when I want to, starting my own threads. It’s become an added conversation in the day. (And when you work in an office with only 3 other people, your conversations can be someone limited.)

20th century marketing emphasized getting your message out to masses of people. This was a one-way conversation. New marketing via social networks emphasizes a two-way conversation where people actually communicate. One of the common concerns business people and authors voice is where do you find the time to communicate with all of these people on these networks?

Answer: don’t try to have so many conversations.

Wow, is that simple or what?

If you only pick one or two places to hang out, you’ll actually have the time to get to know some of these online “friends” and maybe they’ll become friends without the quote marks. They, in turn, will get to know you and what you do. If they like what you do, they will recommend you to others. You will get calls, and hopefully, business.

That’s not so hard, is it?