Three reasons why you should be selective with the social media platforms you choose to promote your business on.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest…
The online world is awash with mediums you can utilise for free to maintain an online presence for your business.
Nonetheless, while the allure of having your “face” on as many platforms as possible may be too great, the consequences of not knowing your online limits may be greater.
1.All for one and one for none!
If a business selects to create pages and profiles on each and every social media site available, they run the risk of not having the time or resources to curate them properly.
More often than not, businesses use the same content for each and every platform. While this reaches a variety of users, according to experts, automated and generic messages are seen a “crap” by the wider audience.
Point in case: photos are great on Instagram and Facebook. However, the Facebook page should come with a snappy status, while the Instagram pic should have hashtags (and no advertising collateral used as picture posts. It’s just plain rude).
The best option is to trial several platforms and see what works best for your business. Make sure you appropriate each post to suit the audience you are targeting and ditch the automated post – the audience is on to you.
2. No followers, bad reputation.
If you know you’re going to get more followers, other than your staff, immediate family and loyal customers, then by all means your business should be utilising that specific platform. However, if this isn’t the case, then it is best to stick to platforms that suit your business a little better.
For example, a business that deals with the production of paper may not be a hit on Instagram, unless you painstakingly create origami from your product for each and every post. Boxes of paper are just not visually stimulating enough.
This translates to a low follower count which has a knock-on effect. In particular, Instagram has a follow-by-popularity trend. Accounts with larger followings tend to accumulate even more followers because their “brand” is seen as worthy and reliable. Not big enough an audience and you run the risk of being considered a “brand is not worth looking in to.” This may be detrimental to your reputation. As stated, not many followers equals not worth following. Buying followers? Too easy to track.
3. Desperation station
The more the merrier, right? No! Having a presence on every single platform smacks of desperation and can leave audiences often wondering why you need to propagate your brand so much. Unless you’re a global entity, there is no reason for a small business to have Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr…unless you really have something to say that is translatable to all mediums. Choose wisely.