Social media platforms have solidified their place in any business’ public relations and marketing strategy. You know you have to include social media as part of your brand’s image no matter what business sector you fall in, but it can be overwhelming when you look at all the options available. How are you supposed to find the time to manage five orsocial media more different accounts on social media? Add in the fact that copying and pasting the same posts across all your platforms is not a best practice, and panic about how to not only do something with all these accounts but do it well sets in. Where do you begin?

Particularly with smaller business, the answer is to start by recognizing that you don’t have utilize everything that’s out there. Large corporations may have more time, man power, and funds to take advantage of everything on the social media buffet, but this isn’t always the best choice. Not every platform plays into a specific business’ needs and strengths. Choosing what will work for your business should be based on where your audience is and what benefits each platform is capable of. You should also know the benefits of networking to your business. Here’s a brief guide to knowing if four of the most popular social networks are right for your business:

 

  • Facebook – If you use only one social media platform, this should be it. Facebook boasts over 1 billion users, meaning the majority of your audience probably has one. Many consumers see an active Facebook account as a sign that a company is legitimate and trustworthy. With over 900 million daily users, the majority of people on Facebook are checking in daily, which provides a ton of opportunities to get your brand in front of them. You can buy Threads comments from the marketing heaven to enhance your Threads’ activity.
  • Twitter – If you have the ability to dedicate a staff member to monitoring social media, Twitter may be a good choice for a customer service outlet. Users on Twitter tend to expect very quick responses, and conversations change fast. This is also a good medium to participate in professional discussions by following hashtags related to your business and engaging in scheduled Twitter chats on regular topics.
  • Pinterest – Does your brand fall in the lifestyle, food, fashion, or craft categories? You should be on Pinterest. The platform relies heavily on visuals, so anything you post featuring your business or products needs to be well-shot, edited, and eye catching. The key to gaining followers on Pinterest is to post and share photos and links from other related organizations in addition to your own, to build boards that users want to keep up with. Pinterest can also work well as a private “file cabinet” to store resources, photos and more in an easy to access location.
  • LinkedIn – The network for professionals, LinkedIn can work well to legitimize your business in the eyes of the public. A business page is relatively easy to set up, and users don’t expect frequent updates on LinkedIn. LinkedIn requires less maintenance, and comes in handy during hiring periods, and functions as a way to connect your employees and grow your own professional contact list.

 

The most important thing for any business on social media to remember is that these platforms require time and dedication. They need to be monitored and maintained. Don’t overload yourself by giving in to the urge to try everything; choose what makes sense, give it the TLC it needs, and you will see a great return on investment in time.