Have you ever signed up to a social media platform and wondered will I ever use this? Or are you inundated with the amount of social media activity you have and are looking to cut down?
Choosing the platforms you need to own when trying to make an impact online can be challenging. However there are a few social networking platforms that you have to own.
Users commonly engage new platforms in the hope of diversifying their online presence but in fact only a few platforms truly matter. Utilizing each of these platforms effectively and simultaneously will help you grow your overall online presence.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ form part of most users online array of SNS. With each of these platforms serving a different purpose establishing and maintaining them is key.
The Importance Of Social Media Management
Engaging social media correctly has many benefits for you or your organisation. Increased brand recognition, conversion rates and better customer experiences are some of the many gains according to Forbes.
The more important thing to worry about are the negative impacts incorrect usage can lead to. Your social media accounts are a initial point of contact between you and your audience, display yourself well.
This is an ongoing cycle as attracting people to your page is not enough. Keeping them returning is a vital factor in success, boring content or cluttered designs are not attractive.
Any failure to engage social media properly risks damaging the relationships between you and your stakeholders. In most instances social media is a public relations tool waiting to be utilized, don’t ignore the benefits.
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Why Do These Platforms Matter More Than Others
Currently there is an abundance of social platforms to choose from when listing yourself online. Some platforms such as Instagram and Snap chat lack formality and limit your scale of content to exclusively visual mediums.
However it’s good to harness platforms niche platforms that only cater to a specific audience. Niche platforms allow greater targeting but can lack in reach, have lower sharing capabilities and may not give all the functions of the big platforms.
As discussed there is no social media platform you should not have that you are prepared to fully engage. However there is a baseline. Consensus is that your social media portfolio should contain these four platforms:
- Google+
Each platform offers a different purpose for you or your organisation. All of these platforms differ in attitude, content and volume of use.
This is the most popular SNS with over a billion registered accounts and growing. Registering is a must but standing out is both harder and more important.
With the bulk scale of content moving through Facebook daily being fresh and interesting is key. This channel will enable you to advertise without making it look like advertisement.
It goes hand-in-hand with Facebook and serves as environment for you to engage with the wider community. Twitter allows you to post more times throughout the day and content can be shared with Facebook.
A properly engaged Twitter account can have users following your every word throughout the day. The only question you have to ask yourself is how can I make this relevant to me or my organisation?
Both Facebook and Twitter have relaxed attitudes and most users engage for humorous, personal or entertainment purposes. This is where LinkedIn comes in.
It’s a professional platform designed to give the world a deeper look at into your behind the scenes. It is a virtual resume that allows you to interact with members of your professional network.
The importance of LinkedIn lies in the fact that your page is often requested by employers and potential clients. It’s your nuts and bolts. Correctly utilize it and you’ll have employers coming to you.
Google+
Again like LinkedIn, Google+, has a formal attitude but is great for B2B and internal interactions. Google + is the centre of Google’s social system, it allows you to fully utilize all of their services.
Properly managing Google+ will enable you to increase your communication and relationship management. Don’t let this be your weak link.
What Does It Mean To Own Your Social Property
Owning a social media account means you’re part of the spreading online community. If you’re not engaging and are seeing users turned away from your page or account you’re doing it wrong.
Social platforms are designed to grow and in turn so should your usage. Communicating with your audience is a key goal of social media. Owning your page doesn’t just mean getting them to like your page or connect with you.
User ship can be increased by creating a positive experience and giving them reason to return. For platforms such as Facebook and Twitter you can easily monitor your user ship though comments and likes.
For LinkedIn and Google+, your ownership is valued by the diversity of your network. What your peers say about is also highly important as getting good referrals on these platforms is key.
How To Own Your Social Space
Choose your platforms correctly, monitor activity and stay active is the view of Steven Herman managing partner at 18th Floor. He paints a clear picture of what healthy social media use looks like.
Don’t abandon your accounts. Keep your content renewed regularly but most importantly make sure your audience knows when to check for new content.
He also comments that keeping themes consistent across platforms increases engagement. “Use a classy and professional picture,” he says along with make it personal.
Suit your page to you and your customer, make it reflect you but give the audience plenty of entertainment and subscriber only information. This begins to reflect the message of Jen Cannock, experienced marketer, who argues give them a reason to return.
She suggests for organisations to have an email list for all networks. A Facebook newsletter or email sign up is a friendly reminder for users to come back to your page.
Emma O’Neill, content creator at Spark Page, preaches to businesses not to put too many of your social media “eggs” in one basket. Diversification is key here as she like many other authors agree you need more than one platform.
If networks shut down or decline in usage than having other well built up networks will come in handy. Her example of this is MySpace’s downfall from being the largest SNS on the planet. It can happen but your main drive for diversification is being able to cater to multiple audiences.
How To Tell If You’re Really Owning It?
What is described as owning your account is an intangible property. It is something you come up with yourself.
There are many indicators along the way such as shares, likes and conversion rates. However one suggested method of measuring your ownership is to set goals.
Aim to achieve a certain amount of likes or comments on a post. Think of what you’re trying to achieve with your SNS.
Am I trying to sell a product or spread awareness about an issue. Determine for your business what level activity you need to succeed and try and reach it.
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