DEAR HARRIETTE: I swore off social media about a year ago because I found it to be a distraction, and I really needed to get some work done. I gave myself a year, and now that I am there, I don’t know if I want to go back. I like being disengaged from the chatter, much of which doesn’t seem real. At the same time, I have a new project I’m working on, and social media can be very helpful in getting the word out. Any recommendations for how to balance if I go back in? -- Off Social Media
DEAR OFF SOCIAL MEDIA: You have the ability to choose how to use social media. It makes sense to engage your public for business purposes. Since you have not used social media for a year, your followers will be happy to hear from you, and you can set the parameters for engagement. You can state that you intend to use social media infrequently. You want to keep the peacefulness that you have established in your life, but you also want to keep in touch with them occasionally. Let your people know that you will pop up from time to time to share news about things that you think they may be interested in. Ask for their blessing for your new terms of engagement.
The reason you do this so graciously is that you want your people to support your upcoming project. You cannot come off as selfish, or you will lose people. To use social media, you will need to interact a bit with your people, beyond simply announcing your efforts. But you can limit it. Decide how often per week or month you intend to engage, and stick to it.