A new startup wanted to know: How many social media platforms should you be using for your business?
“Should I be on all the major social media platforms when starting out my business?”
Being Prepared
Social media is now such an important part of doing business that it is usually one of the first things in people’s mind. Often that comes not for getting your message out there or building your brand, but more for marketing.
So it’s critical that you get this bit right and set up your marketing plan for social media. It’s no different to how you would before these types of platforms even existed (yes I was alive pre-facebook).
That plan certainly shouldn’t say anything like “post 20 times a day on all social platforms” but there are some important things you should be planning and doing.
View full report by ‘we are social’ here >>
Register your account handles
Firstly before you make a single post on any social platform go and register your business name with them all. That way you secure your profile/account/handle name for future use. This is regardless of whether you intend to use them or not.
Make sure you spend a good bit of time on this and keep a note of what all the usernames are. You may need them a few months or years down the line.
It is also important that try to get matching usernames. It’s not the end of the world but it makes life so much easier for you later on plus it helps people remember.
There’s plenty of social media name checker tools out there to help you with this so have a search on google for one that suits you. Just remember to find all the platforms you would ever likely use and secure your account name.
Master your pillar platform
This is such an important part of social media that people don’t do. Everyone tends to try and smash posts out in all platforms. If I’m honest most of their accounts end up looking like sh*t. Why? Because you are only one person trying to, get clients, fulfil orders, provide services as well as probably run 3 or even 4 social media accounts.
I’ll break it to you now… You’re not super[woman/man].
Pick one platform ideally the one where you’re ideal customers are most active and really learn it inside and out. This will form your pillar platform and be the place where you branch out to other platforms with links etc.
You may be a real Facebook fan and be on it far too much every day BUT using it for business is very different compared to using it personally.
Get organised
Just randomly throwing out content whenever you have a spare minute is not going to get you the reach that you are looking for. It’s more likely to have the opposite effect of your self-esteem as it won’t gain much interaction which will leave you disheartened.
That’s where planning comes in. I know, I know, I am always banging on about good planning and preparation but it truly works if you can dedicate the time to it.
The best way is to simply grab a weekly planner and start looking at all the major events that happen throughout the year. Look for things like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, Black Friday, Boxing Day Sales, etc.
Now think about how you could leverage your marketing effort on or leading up to those events. Soon you’ll have a planner brimming with ideas.
The next thing you should really consider doing is getting yourself an online social media scheduler. These tools help you plan, organise and curate your posts ahead of time.
I personally love SmarterQueue, it really ticks all of my boxes when it comes to scheduling, categorising and using evergreen posts. This helps you keep your content flowing out onto your favourite platforms.
There is so much more I could share with you so if you are interested then feel free to get in touch.
