Blog Posts

Social Media: Quantity or Quality?

The funny thing about social media is it brings out the competitive side in all of us, especially businesses. When a business sees that @competitor is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and five other social media platforms (SMP), it's almost instinct for a business to puff out their company chest and say, "Oh yeah? Well me too!" and open an account for all of the platforms @competitor is on.

But let's think about this for a minute. Do you really think that @competitor's social media community is engaging with customers and potential customers on ALL of those SMPs? Chances are they are not. Let’s assume you are a consumer that @competitor is targeting. Would you want to see the same message, video or meme on ALL of these platforms? Chances are, no.

Unless you are a multi-billion dollar company who can afford to have a social media staff manage each and every account, and stay on your brand’s message while synchronizing them across each platform, then there really is no reason for you to try to do it all.

Think: Quality (valuable status updates on one or two SMPs) versus quantity (a mish mash of status updates across several SMPs).

Social media is about engaging your audience with your brand using meaningful content. And while it may seem easy to write a 140-character Tweet, or select a TBT (Throw Back Thursday) photo, there’s more than meets the eye. A well-executed social media post ties together your company’s voice, message, and brand into a sweet little visual or statement that makes your target audience…wait for it…react: like, share, retweet, pin, comment, etc.
 
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So where do you go from here? The first step is to identify which SMPs will give you the best opportunities to delivery your brand’s story to the right audience. Then determine which one (or two) will allow you or your social media specialist to deliver meaningful posts that will make your audience react.

One thing to remember about Social Media is it is ‘social.’ Similar to a social gathering, once you arrive at the party, relax, observe and naturally engage.  Treat social media like investments in the stock market. You’ll want to review your analytics regularly, but by all means don’t obsess. At the end of each month, review your analytics and revise your content strategy to improve results.