Do You Need to Be on All Social Media Platforms?
With so many social media platforms out there — and new ones rising in popularity all the time — it can be tough for any business owner to keep up. You’re probably wondering, “Do I really need to be on all of these social media platforms?”
The short answer: Yes, you should be on all social media platforms. But before you stress out about that answer, remember that this is in general terms. The reality is that you should be on each of the major social media platforms, while some of the niche ones might not be appropriate for your brand. Furthermore, you don’t need to hop on every single new social media platform before you know it’s not going to be a flash in the pan and then fizzle out (anyone out there remember Snapchat?).
Finally, just because you have an account on all the major social media apps, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to invest time and energy into maintaining an equal presence on each one of them.
Getting Started On Social Media
Start with just setting up a profile and filling out the entire bio section. That’s a minimal first step. You should populate your feed with some content as soon as possible, but just having a presence on the platform is better than nothing at all.
It doesn’t make sense not to have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at the very least. Some of the niche platforms, such as YouTube, are great options if they’re relevant to you. But don’t stress out if you don’t feel as if you have the time for them. YouTube might be extremely popular, but not every business is going to benefit from starting a video channel.
Some business owners think they won’t benefit from a certain platform. After all, each platform is different — not only in the way you use it but also in the demographics it is popular with. By completely neglecting a presence on any of the major platforms, you are potentially cutting off a portion of your potential customer base.
Here’s a look at the distinct characteristics of some of the major platforms:
Facebook: The biggest of all social media platforms, Facebook is the one that’s used by pretty much every demographic and is appropriate for every type of media, whether you’re sharing pictures, video, text or hyperlinks. It’s a great platform for brand awareness and lead generation.
Instagram: Instagram is a visual-based platform — it’s all about photos and videos. You can include text in the caption, but remember that Instagram is about visuals supported by text, NOT text supported by visuals. It’s primarily used by a younger demographic (Millennials and Gen Z) and is great for brand awareness.
Twitter: The opposite of Instagram, Twitter is the platform where text is most important. You have the option of sharing photos and videos with your tweets, but those aren’t the focus. Everything you say must be contained within 280 characters. It’s a great platform for businesses that need a sense of immediacy, such as promoting news, announcements, specials, important updates, and so forth. It’s fast info that people want to consume in real-time.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is similar to Facebook in that it lends itself to a wide variety of media, but it’s all about business-to-business relationships. Therefore, it’s great for networking and lead generation. Everyone who is on LinkedIn is there to do business, so it’s a little more professional and a little less personal compared with Facebook.
Tailoring Your Content For The Platform
Because the platforms are all so different, you’re not sharing the same content to each platform. You have to tailor it in small ways. This can be time-consuming and frustrating for businesses that are already stretched thin, especially in their marketing efforts. Why spend a bunch of time creating an infographic for Instagram if your customer base doesn’t primarily use Instagram?
That’s a fair point. Don’t feel compelled to give each platform the same focus. Each platform comes with analytics that will provide insight into how each of your posts is doing. Take time to measure your campaigns and assess what works and what doesn’t work. If you’re not having success on Twitter, you might need to develop better content. You also might feel compelled to spend less time worrying about Twitter and focusing on the platforms that bring you more success.
That doesn’t mean you should delete your account on those platforms you’re not using as often. Consider these scenarios where it benefits you to have a presence on all the major platforms:
You have a dissatisfied customer who is frustrated about their experience with your business. They tweet about it. They very likely will tag you in the tweet. If they don’t, somebody who replies or retweets will do it. At some point, whether it’s because you’re tagged by the original poster or a replier, you’ll get a notification, and you’ll have the opportunity to jump into the Twitterstorm to do some PR and set things right. If you didn’t have that Twitter account, this negativity could spread on Twitter without any way for you to know about it. You would have no way of knowing you’re up against a PR nightmare, and you’d have no way of jumping into the conversation.
You have a happy customer who really likes your product. They take a selfie of themselves patronizing your establishment and want to tag you on Instagram. Even if you don’t use your Instagram account all that often, having that presence means your customer is able to tag you and direct some new followers your way. It’s a free and easy brand awareness opportunity you would otherwise miss out on.
Somebody wants to contact your business with a question. While some generations would call or try to send an email, younger people will be more inclined to send a direct message over social media. If this customer is a frequent user of Twitter, but you don’t have a Twitter account, they might not be motivated to look up another means of contact. You’ve just lost out on a potential customer. You should make it as easy as possible for people to find and contact you!
Will any of these missed opportunities on social media alone destroy your business? Of course not. But the last thing you want is to see your brand suffer a death by a thousand paper cuts. Having a presence on each social media platform, even if you are more active on some platforms compared with others, is an easy way to ensure you are always available to a potential customer who wants to learn more about you.