Tips for novices to navigate the vast social media world

Social media has become a marketing vehicle that small-business owners or managers of nonprofits simply can’t ignore. From talking to readers of this column, I know there are many of you who feel like deer in the headlights when it comes to getting started with social media. Yes, it seems none of us have time — especially in Hawaii.

I understand that with the business, social and family commitments that we all have, there never seem enough hours in the day.

However, that does not excuse us from getting started.

My colleague Rob Kay and I spoke to Jennifer Barrett, a social media trainer, on some of the most frequently asked questions she gets from social media newbies.

There are so many social media platforms out there. How do I know if I should be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or elsewhere?

To figure out where you need to be, you need to start with who you’re trying to reach and determine where they spend their time online. Do a little sleuthing to find out. The simplest way is to ask them. Ask them at events, during meetings, via your email newsletter or anywhere else you come in contact with them. You can also utilize resources such as the Pew Research Internet Project (www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/social-media-update-2013) and Forrester’s Social Technographics data (empowered.forrester.com/ tool_consumer.html).

Am I better off hiring someone else to do this?

You have three options: 1) Do it yourself, which requires a significant commitment of time and effort on your part; 2) Hire someone to help you develop a strategy and train you to implement it; or 3) Hire someone to develop a strategy and implement it for you.

Determining which option is best for you depends upon your willingness to learn, ability to dedicate time to getting it done, and available budget.

How do I measure success?

To measure success, you have to start by articulating your goals. Ask yourself: Who are you trying to reach and for what purpose? What do you already know about them, what can you learn? How do you want to engage, inform or influence them? A short-term goal might include growing a list of prospects, and a longer-term goal might be converting those leads into customers. Mature social networks like Facebook and Twitter provide free sophisticated analytics that can help you measure the number of people reached, identify potential leads and even track conversions of leads into customers.

Can you recommend some places to go to online, or should I hire a trainer?

You can find a variety of online training courses, as well as one-to-one or small-group training classes offered in person or via Web conferencing.

Check out learning platforms like Lynda.com and network-specific experts like Jon Loomer (Facebook), Viveka von Rosen (LinkedIn), James Wedmore (YouTube), Melanie Duncan (Pinterest) and many others who can be found via a quick Web search.

Free and affordable in-person offerings are available via your local Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaii Small Business Development Center, the new Patsy T. Mink Center for Business & Leadership, Pacific New Media at the University of Hawaii, Social Media Club of Hawaii and other formal and informal networks that provide professional development opportunities for their members. A quick search on LinkedIn and Meetup.com can help you find the latter.

How much is hiring an outside consultant or a trainer going to cost me?

Pricing can range widely here. Social media management can range from as little as a few hundred to as much as a few thousand dollars per month. Factors influencing the price point include the service provider’s skill level, experience with your business or sector, number of social networks involved, amount of content to be generated, complexity of your needs and goals, activity level on your social profiles and other considerations.

Mike Meyer, formerly Internet general manager at Oceanic Time Warner Cable, is now chief information officer at Honolulu Community College. Reach him at mmeyer@hawaii.edu.