How to Determine the Social Networks Your Business Should Use

Small businesses are constantly questioning their social presence, and I don’t blame them. Social media can be complex, time-consuming and it’s constantly evolving. To be successful on social, you need to be a constant student.
That’s something that is difficult for any size company, so it proves especially challenging for small businesses. Yet small biz is stretching itself thin: the average B2B small business has a presence on six social networks. The average number of social networks for B2B businesses in general? Also six.
What does this mean? Small businesses aren’t scaling their social presence to fit their capabilities. And sometimes, they suffer.
In order to avoid social burn out, each move needs to be well thought-out. When establishing or expanding your social presence, there are five important things to consider when you ask yourself “What social networks should my business be on?”:

Demographics of the network

Who is using the network and more importantly, are they your target audience?

Tone/premise of the network

Does the network fit with your brand? Product-based companies tend to find Pinterest and Instagram to be a great fit, whereas service-based companies love LinkedIn. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find success if, for example, you’re a service-oriented company on Instagram. It just means you might need to be more creative with your approach. Which brings us to our next point…

Your capacity to maintain a presence

What does a presence on the network entail—in general, and specific to your company? Consider the demands it will require of your staff, and if they have the extra hours to manage an additional network.

Your current social skills

Simply put: are you doing a good job? Are you proud of your company’s social presence on all networks, or are you feeling kind of “meh” about it? If you aren’t sure you’re killing’ it, don’t add a new network. Instead, focus on the ones you already have before expanding.

The harm it would do your company to NOT be there

If you continued on without a presence on the network in question, would it actually cause your company harm or change perception of your brand in any way? Answering this question can help kill the urge to look before you leap—or force you to realize that your presence is required.
It’s easy to see social media as a “free” way to connect with your audience, but that is never the case. In the words of our friends at Convince & Convert, “Social media isn’t inexpensive. It’s just different expensive.”
It takes time and resources to develop a strong presence, so evaluate each platform before making a move.
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