All of them or a strong few?

The social media landscape is crowded. Do you really need all of them or just a select few? Which social media platforms should you use to further your business?

Social media creates an unprecedented opportunity to connect your brand with customers. However, without an understanding of these fast-changing mediums or a solid strategy, many organizations simply miss the mark… or don’t know what target to shoot at.

Which social media outlet is best suited for your business?

With so many social media outlets to choose from knowing where to spend valuable marketing resources is critical . If you have minimal time to spend, you’ll most likely choose to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you’re a B2B organization, your emphasis will be on LinkedIn, whereas a direct to consumer focus will primarily utilize Facebook.

Experience and knowledge of your industry, product, and services also determine what platform is best suited for you. This is where hiring a social media expert can be beneficial. They’ll know how to utilize Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram for visually centered services/products – Vimeo, YouTube, and Vine for video based services/products in addition to monitoring your more generalized platforms.

Presence across the board or a strong few?

Quality, not quantity. Social media may seem like a gateway to an infinite number of Internet leads, but spreading yourself and your brand too thin diminishes the quality of the relationship building opportunity social media offers. Social media provides the chance to further establish a brand persona your audience can interact with. Management of few well established, consistent, and engaged platforms is best.

How many is too many?

Depending on your industry and bandwidth, you should consider managing a range between 2 and 5 social media platforms for your business.

Monitor and LISTEN.

Social media is not about posting for the sake of posting. No one likes the person that talks too much. Engaging in social media is about monitoring and listening. That means letting your audience do the talking. By tracking compliments, complaints, and ideas regarding your brand/service/product, you can promptly respond and form relationships with potential and current customers.

ROR

Using social media platforms for business is about building a Return On Relationship. It takes time and patience to build these relationships. This medium is not instantly gratifying, but if executed with realistic expectations, you can see positive results.

Dare to be Square.  Because the only thing you have to fear is… business as usual.

-Joe Square