The Reason so Many Brands Take on Every Social Media Platform

When social media first originated, brands were viewed as innovative if they became amongst the first adopters. They would ride the wave until a platform was phased out and move onto the next. Only, the big players never went away, and new platforms entered the landscape. Today, these brands are now swamped with dozens of accounts that need constant attention.

Brands over-extend themselves on every social media channel because they are worried they’ll miss out on potential business if they are not. The have a fear of missing out on activity from Twitter while they are business focusing on Facebook. That’s not always the case. If you are selective about your accounts and focus on deep interactions instead of width of reach, your business could be rewarded instead.

Stay Mindful on Your Audience’s Wants

Not only did brands sign up for too many social media accounts in the beginning days – but so did consumers. Today consumers are focusing their attention on the platforms that best deliver for their nee ds. As a brand, your main focus should be finding where your consumer’s attention is going.

If you’re a photographer, the answer is clear: you need Instagram. Your audience enjoys visuals and wants to see your work. So your business would do better focusing your social media on Instagram instead of Twitter.

If you’re not certain where your audience is spending the majority of their time, there are two ways to find it:

• Your social media analytics
• Your website

The majority of social media platforms have a data tool that can inform you on who is interacting and liking your content. An example, Facebook’s Insights, can give you the age, gender and location of your audience. If your audience is not the group best served to make a buying decision for your business, you might need to try another social media platform.

Your website is a huge asset as well. Looking to see which social avenues sent the most traffic to your website will show you which channels are converting at the highest levels for you. These high conversion channels deserve the majority of your time and attention. You might find that the platform with the most followers or fans is actually lacking any follow-through for your business.

Now is the time to focus on how your social media is working for you. Use data to guide your decisions. The numbers never lie. You just might find that attempting to be everything to everyone is not a winning strategy after all.