Let’s face it – it sometimes feels like a tangled world wide web. It can be daunting to try to keep up with the ever-changing social media technologies and platforms. Just look at Brian Solis’ Conversation Prism:

Blog platforms, social networking sites, video and picture sites – oh my!

How many of you have used… or better yet, even visited… all of those sites? On top of that, you’re probably thinking to yourself, how on earth am I supposed to use these various tools – and learn all of the nuances for each – to engage people on behalf of my company? And, on top of that, how do I keep up with the ever-changing landscape?

Todd Defren expresses it best in his Flummoxed Marketer blog post: “In the past few months we’ve been forced to get up to speed on Twitter’s Promoted Tweets, Facebook’s web-wide ‘Like’ concept, Google Buzz, Foursquare and geolocation, and iPad vs. iPhone app development — including Augmented Reality and QR codes.  ENOUGH, ALREADY!”

But, the magic of social media is that you certainly don’t need to use all of them (nor should you even think about that as an option)! And, while it may seem overwhelming, it’s important to remember who you are talking to and to develop a social media strategy.

We often turn to Forrester’s POST method to stay focused. POST stands for People, Objectives, Strategy, Technology. It helps to analyze who you are talking to, where they are online (and what they are doing there!) and what technologies make the most sense to engage with those audiences.

So, don’t be afraid. It’s a tangled world-wide web, but it’s a fun one! Give POST a try and find your place in the Conversation Prism.