There are three distinct groups when it comes to social media:

1. All-ins. Those who are all ready for it and absolutely love it. They get it. They embrace it. They have turned their businesses upside or around to fully engage in social media.

2. Eh, one other thing. The eh, one other thing crew begrudgingly gives social media a half hug — not a full embrace, but the kind of hug you give when you must give one but aren’t thrilled about it. These are the people who roll their eyes a bit at the arrival of yet another social network. Pinterest met with cheers by the All-ins? Well, the eh, one other thing crew just sighed. These users know they need to get on board, but they kind of wish social media would just roll up and die.But since it won’t, they’ll try to fit it in. Amongst everything else. Eh.

3. Just don’t get it. This group just isn’t sure what all this social media is and why they should care. Facebook scares them because they don’t want all their business out there. They avoid setting up a profile, fearing long-lost schoolmates will suddenly show up at their front doors. They don’t see what’s so big about communicating in 140-character increments. Blogs are just a bunch of people blabbing about their parent issues. This group prefers to do business the old-school way. They want to get new opportunities, but don’t see how time-wasting social networks can help.

Regardless of which group you are in though, if you are a writer who wants to build a career, you must find a way to use social media effectively.

If you are in the third group, you have to take some time to educate yourself about the social media channels out there and get involved. Start off with just one or two. You may find that you like them after all — or at least understand how they can help you be a better writer.

If you are in the second group and have only begrudgingly accepted social media, then analyze your results and see which network is producing the best outcome, based on your goals. Look for ways to tweak this so you get even better results. Improved outcomes will no doubt make you just a little happier about social media.

And if you are in the first group, then you’ve already wrapped your arms around social media. That’s great! But the danger you have is in getting so wrapped up in social media that you forget it is a tool. Social media is not the end game itself. Growing your writing career is. So make sure you use social media to do that. Don’t go overboard.

How do you plan to use social media?