With new social media platforms constantly coming on the scene there is a certain amount of pressure to “keep up.” The desire to ensure your business is cutting edge and utilizing all social media sites for digital marketing can be strong, especially if your potential customers are young and technology pioneers. How do you know when to jump in and when to stand back? Read on for tips on navigating through the good, the bad, and the fleeting in all things social media.
Find a Balance
In order to navigate which social media sites will benefit your business most, get to know your target audience. Are they an all-ages crowd? Urban families? College grads? Discover what platforms YOUR people are using, and assess whether they may aid you in your outreach.
Part of maintaining a good balance is periodically assessing how the social media platforms you are already using are working and which ones are not worth the fuss. However, it’s also important to gauge how newer platforms may be able to work better or supplement what you’re already using.
It is a good practice to allocate some budget and resources toward testing a new platform if it serves your target audience and has a large enough user base of that audience to justify the investment. Test it out for 30 days and compare the results to your existing social platforms. Make decisions accordingly.
Grow With What You Know
It’s not always just about keeping up with the newest apps; the social networks you already use are constantly changing as well. As they innovate, you’ll need to take note of the changes and adjust your outreach methods accordingly. Twitter’s Periscope, Facebook Live, and Instagram Stories are relatively new features that offer live streaming and timed photos that mimic Snapchat’s original platform. These new aspects of the already popular apps offer tools to show your audience a behind-the-scenes or real-time look at your business.
The social media sites with the most staying power appear to be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. Utilizing new features on these platforms is definitely a good place to start and the easiest to scale up or turn off.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Don’t get stuck in a rut when it comes to using social media channels for your business. If you haven’t explored new options in a year, it may be time to expand your horizons and find out what’s out there! There are a few that we are finding interesting and innovative right now.
Quora is a social media network that gathers community consensus on answers to submitted questions. It allows tech and digital pros to talk about the industry and engage their curiosities. Quick Fire Social is an up-and-coming social media platform that focuses on growing outreach via automated posts and updates as well as one-stop page management. Masquerade (MSQRD) provides live selfie filter animations, allowing users to change the way they look and share it with friends through text or other social media sites.
The Bottom Line
Social media is always evolving, and with it, comes pressure to constantly adapt. The most important things are to keep your audience happy and enthusiastic on whichever platform you are using and to make sure that you are expanding your brand through a variety of channels.
