Do you find yourself struggling to decide which social media platform your business should be on?
With the ever-changing landscape of the digital world, it can be difficult for entrepreneurs and startups to navigate through all the different options.
Each platform has different rules and norms that need to be understood in order for businesses to know if it is a good fit or not.
As trying them out can take up valuable time and resources, understanding exactly what needs to be done before venturing into uncharted waters is key.
In this blog post, we will explore why it might not make sense to try and be everywhere at once – especially when starting out with limited resources. We will also look at how setting strategic goals could help you reach desired outcomes faster without getting spread too thin.
Identify Who You Want To Target
Are you trying to reach a broader audience by utilizing social media platforms?
First, you have to identify who you want to target to ensure you are selecting the right platform for your message.
Different social media platforms are designed to appeal to different types of people for different reasons. Make sure that whoever you want to target is actually using whichever platform or platforms you choose.
For example, Instagram is popular among younger generations looking for visually appealing content, while Facebook caters to a broader age range and allows for more long-form content.
Twitter used to be great for quick updates and interacting with followers. However, if you are not already on there, it likely does not make sense to start a new account now.
LinkedIn focuses on professional networking. And TikTok is the most popular platform with younger users.
Knowing your audience and their preferences will help you choose the social media platform best-suited to your needs.
Do an Audit of your Available Resources
How much time, effort, and resources do you want to put into the world of social media for your business?
What makes sense for you? This depends on whether you want social media to be a critical part of your sales funnel or simply something that shows that your business is active.
Also, will you hire a team, outsource, or do everything yourself? Understand your own personal content creation skills.
Do you have the budget to pay for ads? Or will you rely on organic marketing?
In today’s digital age, social media platforms have become an integral part of everyday life. This is why many people expect to find businesses and brands on social media.
If you have no accounts at all or accounts that haven’t been updated in months, it’s likely that consumers will think your business has closed.
However, with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to choose the right social media platform for your business or personal brand. It’s important to evaluate your resources and assess the time investment necessary for each platform to make an informed decision.
Some platforms may require more time and effort to maintain than others. For example, YouTube requires film equipment, editing software, and hours of filming and editing. With TikTok, users are expected to just open their phone camera and go.
As such, it’s crucial to consider your goals and priorities before selecting a social media platform.
Whether you’re looking to connect with new audiences or promote your products and services, there’s a social media platform out there that can help you accomplish your goals.
Take the time to research and analyze your options to ensure that you choose the right social media platform for your needs.
Who Will Actually Be Creating Content?
There is no denying that those who work in social media have a bad reputation. People consider it easy, frivolous, and even a waste of time, despite the fact that influencers can become incredibly wealthy.
Also, correctly harnessing social media’s power can be the differentiator that makes an entire enterprise profitable.
While of course, it’s harder to be a brain surgeon or soldier, there is no denying that generating social media content requires skills. This can include:
- Charismatic Speaking
- On Camera Acting
- Filming
- Directing
- Audio and visual editing
- Graphic Design
- Photo Editing
- Scripting
- Copywriting
This is why it is genuinely impossible to be on every social platform for most small businesses. To do all of this (and more) and be present on every platform would require multiple teams.
In traditional media, someone is only an actor, only a producer, only an editor, etc. Modern content creators wear many of these hats.
If cultivating a web presence is your only job, it makes sense that you would tackle many of these tasks yourself. However, if you already run a business, you may not have the time to do all of these things yourself. Or to learn to do so.
As for who will be creating this content for you and posting it on various social media platforms, it depends on the size of your business and your budget.
Some businesses have a dedicated team of social media managers, while others outsource the job to freelancers or marketing agencies.
It all depends on your budget, time available, and overall interest.
It also depends on what you want to create. Written content is easy to pass off to others to do for you. However, if you want to build a reputation personally online via short or long-form videos, you will have to physically appear on camera.
Which Social Media Platform Should You Start On? A Helpful Example
In this section, we will talk about a hypothetical creative to help you understand how to apply these principles to your own social media strategy.
A new author has self-published a YA fantasy book and wants to use social media to advertise. They have no budget and will be doing everything themselves.
What is the right choice for them? Which social media platform makes the most sense?
Well, as they have no budget, and will be relying on organic growth, the smartest thing for them to do is find out where their ideal customer is active. They want to promote their book to a community of people who are more likely to buy it.
On TikTok, the reading community, known as Booktok, has become incredibly influential. TikTok also has an incredibly low bar to entry. All you need is a working smartphone and 30 seconds.
Again, this is just one example. However, it shows the importance of following your audience and intentionally joining a community.
Many people who want to get started on social media as part of a marketing strategy will to try to be on every site at once, or just pick one or two at random.
You don’t want to do that. Go where your audience is. Be realistic about the money, time, and skill investment you can make. While you can compete with casual content on TikTok, on many other platforms you just can’t.
Less is More: Here’s Why
In today’s digital age, there seems to be a social media platform for every interest. From Facebook to TikTok, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of being on every platform.
However, while it may seem like a good idea to have a presence on all of them, it can actually be harmful. Managing multiple accounts can be overwhelming and can lead to burnout.
Additionally, each platform has its own rules and algorithm for success, making it challenging to develop a cohesive strategy across them all.
Instead, it’s better to choose a few platforms that align with your brand and audience and focus on building a strong presence and community there. Quality over quantity should always be the goal when it comes to social media.
In addition, if you are posting constantly on every platform, it can make your online presence seem annoying to potential clients and partners. Even worse, they may think you are a spammer.
You Need To Track Progress and Results
Many people think that social media success is achieved by just posting as much as possible. If you make enough content, followers will just show up, right?
This is wrong. Fewer more strategic posts that are carefully monitored are way better than just posting on Facebook all day.
As a savvy business owner, you know that monitoring your activity is a crucial step in ensuring your return on investment. With the rise of social media platforms, businesses are presented with countless opportunities to reach their audience.
However, it’s important to have a strategy in place for monitoring your social media activity to see what’s working and what’s not.
By using tools such as analytics and tracking software, you can gain valuable insights into how your audience is interacting with your content and adjust your strategies accordingly.
If you are new to the social media game and handling everything yourself, this is one of the biggest reasons that it may be a good idea to start out on just one platform.
While you are learning the ropes especially, it’s a lot less difficult to keep track of and build a strategy for just one platform.
Don’t leave your success to chance, take control of your social media presence and watch the returns roll in.
Final Thoughts on if you Need to be on Every Social Media Platform
Social media marketing is an important tool for any business looking to spread brand awareness and build customer relationships.
It can, however, be a time-consuming task, especially when you feel the need to be on every platform available. Therefore, it is important for businesses to understand that maintaining an active presence on all social media platforms may not necessarily deliver the highest return in terms of investment.
Instead, they should focus on the platforms where their target audience spends most of their time. All this said, one thing you must keep in mind when creating your social media plan is never to lose your focus and stay focused on your objectives.
Now it’s time for you to take action – do some research into what platforms suit your target market best and start building your social presence today!
What do you think? Comment below.
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