Should brands be on all social networks?
Social media is now a communication channel that is just as important—if not more so—than any other. When we want to learn more about a particular brand, one of the first things we do is a quick search for it on Facebook or Instagram. While in the past it was a choice whether or not to have a digital presence, today that is no longer the case.
However, should brands be present on all social media platforms? Does it make sense for a brand to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter? What criteria should we consider when making this selection? Should we communicate the same way regardless of the network?
Here are a few suggestions that may help with this selection process:
• Understand the audience we’re communicating with – Before we begin analyzing the pros and cons of each social media platform, it’s essential to understand our audience. If we don’t know who we’re communicating with, we’ll never be able to choose the right communication channels.
• If we’re on social media, we have to engage—One of the most common mistakes in this entire process is choosing to have a presence on a particular platform but maintaining very little or no activity at all. That’s the wrong choice. Not only is it a waste of time, but it also conveys the image of a careless organization that doesn’t care about the impression it makes on its audience.
• Communicate differently on each social media platform – If we want to have a presence on various social media platforms, we must adapt to each one. It makes no sense to communicate the same way on Instagram and Facebook. If you don’t have enough time or resources to be on all the platforms you’d like, the best option is to prioritize the ones that are most important for your brand.
• What is the purpose of being on a particular social media platform?—Beyond how we communicate, we should set goals for our presence on social media, whether they are commercial or reputational. In some cases, LinkedIn may serve more reputational goals, while Facebook may have a more commercial purpose, for example.
These are just a few suggestions that might help you choose the social networks where your brand should have a presence. However, for that choice to be the right one, it’s essential that you know your audience very well and define your goals for each social media platform.