Social media isn't child's play. In fact, the 30-50 year old crowd is one of the fastest growing demographics on networking sites-and many are logging in to advance their career. No clue where to start? Here. ADVANCE explains how to cast a social media campaign without getting caught in the Net.

Facebook

The Gist: For the 120 million users who log on to the site every day, Facebook is a simple way to connect with and keep tabs on anyone: friends, family, employers (even ADVANCE magazine!). A user's profile can be as professional or personal as desired, with detail options ranging from work information to favorite books.

But it's not just about putting your face out there; it's what you do with the application. Users can leave messages on "walls," join groups, create albums and post links to engaging journal articles or Web sites. "[Users] share photos of their families, but they're also saying, 'here's what we're doing professionally,'" said Deborah Krier, a marketing professional and principal of WWC Events, who leads seminars on using social media.

The Perks: While it's most commonly used for personal business, Facebook is becoming a popular work force application. Hundreds of health care organizations and companies have Facebook pages to keep patients informed and employees connected, according to Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical System. Users can also join groups sponsored by associations like the American Academy of Professional Coders, Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity, National Cancer Registrars Association and American Health Information Management Association. Profile settings let you group friends, such as work, family, book club, swim team, etc., and set different privacy settings so each group only sees certain parts of your profile.

The Catch: Facebook offers a lot of applications, from photo galleries to personality quizzes to "bumper stickers." If you're using the site for career advancement, be smart about what you include; you may be excited to share photos of your trip to Vegas, but your employer won't be thrilled about how they reflect on your facility's image, Krier noted.

Be especially careful if you're on Facebook at work. Dawson Ballard, CCS-P, CPC, coding educator at Take Care Health, Franklin, TN, has a Facebook page, but keeps it separate from work. He has Facebook on his Blackberry, but limits activity to his lunch hour. If you're allowed to go on Facebook at work, stick to career-related activity, such as checking your organization's page for details about your next department meeting.

Always keep privacy issues in mind. It's easy to get caught up in the fun of posting photos and information online, but exposing protected health information will put you in HIPAA hot water.

Twitter

The Gist: Notoriously explained as "You won't get it 'til you try it," Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users post 140-character messages or "tweets." Like Facebook, Twitter can focus on the professional-"Any suggestions for RAC-tracking software?"- or personal-"Taking my cat to the vet." Users connect by "following" each other's tweets. New connections can be made by checking out who's following whom or by searching for keywords. Users can send messages via public tweet, called "@replies," or private "direct" messages.

The Perks: Twitter is currently the most active social media site for health care professionals, according to Bennett, who follows 500 users on Twitter. "It's a very vibrant community," he said.

The quick tweets are comparable to conference chatter; questions, ideas and industry insights are thrown around amid gossip and personal updates. And just like at a conference, participation is critical. "If you want to gain a reputation as someone who's a positive member of the community, you need to proactively go out there and engage with folks and answer questions," Bennett advised.

Use the search tool to find tweets on topics in your area of expertise. If someone has a query, lend your opinion or point them to a helpful Web site. If someone laments an IT problem, explain what your facility did to solve it.

"If you are actively looking for a job, you want to use [Twitter] as basically networking on steroids," Krier said. And tweets don't necessarily have to be work-related. Answering something as silly as "What's your favorite peanut butter?" could start a connection that will come in handy career-wise, Krier noted. The important thing is to communicate regularly; abandoning the site as soon as you land a job will leave your followers hanging and could burn bridges.

The Catch: The constant stream of tweets can get addicting, especially when users are updating 24/7. Krier recommends tweeting once or twice a day to keep an active presence ("People have the attention span of a gnat," she noted). Tweeting every 10 minutes is just excessive, she added.

Browsing through followers can also be distracting. Most Twitter users have open profiles, so there are thousands of users and millions of tweets to peruse, which can quickly consume an entire night-and stymie your productivity, if you're allowed on Twitter at work.

Krier suggested setting a specific amount of time aside for Twitter. Whether it's 15 minutes or an hour a day, stick to the timeframe and pull back if you find yourself getting lost in tweets, especially if they're not related to your career.

To avoid misguided jaunts, limit your followers to a number you're comfortable with, Bennett advised. You may want to start off following 50 people, and then work your way up to 500 or 1,000 people as you learn tools to help manage connections.

LinkedIn

The Gist: Dubbed the "professional" social networking site (even Fortune 500 executives are on it), LinkedIn lets users set up a profile that focuses on work experience and skills. Details include current employment, past jobs and special skills, and other users can post recommendations-basically an online version of references.

LinkedIn fosters networking through "connections." Users can search for colleagues to join their professional network or link up through groups. Once a connection is established, users can view their colleague's profile and browse their connections to find other professional hook-ups.

The Perks: If you're unemployed or self-employed, LinkedIn is a convenient way to track down work. Ballard has been on LinkedIn for 2 years and has scored contracts through the connections he made. Now the job offers come to him. "It's a great opportunity to network with recruiters if you're looking for new job opportunities," he said. "You can find it all there."

Ballard spends about 30 minutes a day on the site, checking which of his colleagues made new connections and scrolling through his groups' member lists to find people he might want to connect with.

LinkedIn takes much of the grunt work out of networking, Krier said. Leveraging the "6 degrees of separation" concept, the site tells you when you're closely connected to someone. For example, if you know someone who knows the HIM director at a hospital you just applied to, a "2nd" symbol will display next to the HIM director's name. The mutual friend might just be your foot in the door.

The site also helps keep track of colleagues as they move up the career ladder. Bennett, who called LinkedIn the "Rolodex of the business world," said it automatically updates contact information when a user changes their work number or address.

The Catch: The ease of browsing connections and investigating degrees of separation can eat up hours of time without much to show for it. Be selective in what you post, which groups you join and who you connect with. Ballard limited his work details to coding experience and only connects with people who are in the health care field. That way, he doesn't waste time answering irrelevant questions or rejecting job offers outside the coding industry. Ballard admits it can get overwhelming, so it's important to have a plan of action going in.

Blogs

The Gist: From big names like the Mayo Clinic to local spots like Texas Harris Methodist Hospital, Fort Worth, hospitals are launching blogs to promote their organization and spread the word about relevant issues. Physicians, nurses and other staff often contribute by posting the latest lowdown at the facility. Many health care professionals have also branched off and created their own blogs, where they share experiences and expound opinions on topics related to their industry.

The Perks: While it's great to lend a voice to your facility or organization's blog, those who really want to get ahead should build their own blog, according to Bennett. "If you're trying to let people know who you are, what your abilities are and what your capabilities are, then [blogging] is the number 1 thing you should be doing," he said.

Blogs can also serve as a "home base" for your social media exploits. If Facebook fades or Twitter crashes, the blog will still retain information you want colleagues or potential employers to know about your career. "By having a blog with your own domain, you have a place that's completely your own that you have total control over," Bennett explained.

Use your blog to share accomplishments, Krier said. It may catch a future employer's eye. "Maybe you wrote an article that was published in one of the medical publications. You want to tell the world about that," she advised. "Whether you're looking for a job or not, you want people to know, hey look, I'm out there."

The Catch: Blogs are out there for all to read, so establish a clear focus before you start posting. "You really need to sit down and say to yourself, 'What is the goal of my blog?'" Bennett advised.

If it's for career advancement, stick to ideas, trends and issues related to your industry, such as commenting on the latest health care legislation handed down from your state. It's fine-and often encouraged-to include personal stories, but be careful about spinning off into irrelevant subject matter, like spewing about your daily trip to Starbucks before work. Think of it as a portfolio; Bennett said blogs give him a feel for potential hires. "I get a much better sense of that individual than what I could get out of your typical interview with a typical two-page resume," he said.

As an added tip, be sure to include a disclaimer on your blog that explains it's your personal opinion. That avoids unwanted negative attention from employers and gives you freedom to explore more issues. But, as always, keep any personal or identifying information about patients under wraps.

Cheryl McEvoy is an assistant editor with ADVANCE.