What if I told you that you didn’t need to have your business on Facebook?
Most companies would freak out over this. It’s understandable too, because Facebook has over a billion users and is one of the largest social networks out there. But like anything, just because there is a crowd rushing to adopt something, it does not mean for a second that the average business user should too. Social media usage and adoption by end users does not mean that every social network is the most important one to be on. Here are five reasons why:
1. Time and Bandwidth. Time is money, and bandwidth is energy. If one were to go through all the social networks out there they would never finish posting, engaging, or planning for content. There’s only so much to do on social media until other business activities must take the forefront. While using Instagram may be tempting for one’s business or brand, actually starting an account and posting photos daily to gain customers may not be a very prudent activity on its own. It’s important to calculate time and effort before anything else.
2. Cost: Hiring someone is prohibitively expensive, and hiring a consultant is even greater than that. Consider the costs of bringing someone in to take care of all the necessary social networks and there may be no budget for anything else. Stick to what works, where the audience is, and the amount of time allotted for just marketing activities alone.
3. Audience. Where is your audience? If one a business to business entity, spending time on Facebook may not be the right place when most of the industry is having conversations in specialized invite-only LinkedIn groups. Speaking to an empty room is a waste of time, so why do that online? Figure out who the audience is, then tailor content to match what that audience is looking for, whether it’s short-form tweets, longer-formed status updates, engaging video, or images.
4. Usability. Believe it or not social networks can be difficult to use. Facebook changes what feels like on a daily basis, Google is always toying with YouTube and Google+, and so consider the usability factor when exploring the usefulness of social networks to a marketing campaign or presence. If building a presence on the platform is difficult, consider how much more difficult it may be for the audience as well.
5. Brand Saturation. While being everywhere does assist with search-engine optimization, it also saturates one’s brand. If exclusivity is part of the name, then online presence ought to play into the go-to-market strategy as well. Just as Lamborghini dealerships aren’t found everywhere, if the brand is also catering to a specific niche of users, then the brand ought to be on those social networks only as well.
In the meantime, how are you telling your story over social media? Are you deploying any of these tactics? Share in the comments below!