Marketing through social media can feel like sailing the vast digital ocean. For small business owners, entrepreneurs and managers, the question of whether to dock at every social media port is a complex one. Some say to drop anchor across every major platform, while others advise a more selective approach. Here's our take on navigating these waters.
The short answer? No, your business doesn't need a presence on every social media platform. Your business needs what your strategy dictates. Unless your marketing strategy requires casting a wide net, consider the concept that using all social media platforms might actually be more harmful than helpful.
Finding Your Audience
Identifying where your ideal customers are most concentrated is key. For instance, if you're running a senior centre in Tampa, Snapchat's and even Instagram’s youthful demographic might not be your target audience. Conversely, if your plumbing business is marketing to homeowners, a platform like Facebook could be your sweet spot. It's essential to align your social media strategy with who you're targeting, what you're selling, and where those customers are most accessible. This is essential to narrow down to keep your marketing costs affordable and drive results where they are most effective for your growth.
Staying Within Your Bandwidth
Consider the resource allocation within your business, especially the time and manpower dedicated to social media efforts. If yours is a small company, wearing multiple marketing hats is often necessary, but spreading yourself too thin can lead to a dip in content quality. Quality content is what leads a page to more engagement and visibility online. A dip in valuable content for your audience will always lead to downward trending insights.
Attempting to maintain profiles on Facebook, X, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok may force your social media manager to resort to cross-posting the same content, which isn't a sustainable strategy either. Each platform is unique and requires different calls to action and different types of content overall; there is no one-size-fits-all option to post across social media.
A focused approach and the dedication of your time to creating high-quality content for two or three platforms trumps mediocre efforts across multiple platforms. This ensures the content stays engaging for your largest audience pool, ultimately nurturing a stronger community for your brand. Consider putting more of your time into strategy and planning; it will cultivate more engagement where it really matters.
Maximizing Your ROI
Monitoring the return on investment (ROI) from each platform can help steer your marketing strategy. Consistent content creation across various platforms incurs both time and monetary costs. If Platforms A & B yield a high lead conversion rate, eliciting significant customer spending, then it might warrant more attention and investment compared to lesser-performing Platforms C and D.
ROI extends beyond mere profits; it's about the value you get back from the time and resources you invest. Recognize when a platform isn't yielding a fruitful return and reallocate those efforts to a platform that contributes more significantly to your company's growth.
But What About When a Platform is Down?
Occasionally a platform malfunctions: Cue the dark day in 2021 where our social media managers felt lost at sea when Facebook and Instagram both went down on the same day, or the recent event of Tuesday, March 5th where Meta was down once again from 8:30 am – 10:00 am MST.
If the platform goes down, how can you reach your audience? Well, the great thing about a platform going down is it’s all hands on deck to get it running again. After all, they are a business as well, and when no one is online to view content, there is no profit going into their pockets. The incident on March 5th lasted less than 2 hours, making no significant impact on the daily campaigns of the vast majority of businesses. Even if the outage lasted a full day, the community you’ve build on that platform is unlikely to panic and immediately start a new account elsewhere.
The depth of your social media presence should always be strategic, focusing on channels that offer the most value for your business. Take the time to assess which platforms align best with your audience, manage your resources wisely, and invest in platforms that enhance your ROI. A well-charted social media plan, tailored to your business objectives and capabilities, will likely weather the digital tides more successfully than an all-out blitz across every available channel.
Try not to focus on the “what ifs” and instead, focus on the norm of your everyday business practices. Put your efforts and money into what will continuously benefit your business over time. Your audience will respond to those genuine efforts!
Diversify
Another great way to avoid the panic of a platform shut down is to tailor your marketing strategy and efforts the same way you do your finances, diversify! Not necessarily diversify with platforms, but rather other channels of communication and connection. Remember that just because something exists doesn’t mean it’s right for your business, your goals, or your budget. Here are some great options to diversify your marketing efforts for channels outside of social media: Radio, network marketing, tradeshows, public signage, moveable media (bus signage), vehicle decals, sponsorships, event partnerships, and so much more. Book a strategy session in a CINCH, and we can sort out the fluff to find the best plan for you! www.cinchcomm.com/book-a-meeting
