How to choose your the right social media for your business

In the wonderful world of social media marketing it is easy to get lost. You will hear from people, “You need to be on every social media platform.” Every social media platform? Good luck keeping up with that!It's better to use social media platforms you understand and that help you create conversations with your audience.  I use Twitter, LinkedIn, Coroflot and this blog you are reading now to reach my professional network. I prefer to stay away from Facebook, as I have used the application since it was only available to college students and I view it as my personal networking that I like to keep to just friends. Marketing strategist and Public Speaker, David Meerman Scott gives an excellent reasoning himself as to why he doesn’t use LinkedIn.

What social media is right for your brand? Here are some considerations:

Know your audience and what social media they use. Is your audience on Facebook? Are they tweeting or checking in via foursquare? Do they like to read blogs full of industry tips? Do they watch how to videos or enjoy a good viral video in general? Find out where they are and speak to them. You’re using social media to engage your audience, so make sure you are choosing relevant places to make a connection.

Figure out how much time and effort you want to spend on social media. Are you prepared to commit to a blog if you start one? Will you keep up Facebook posting or answer to people writing on your wall? Social media is not a set it and forget it type of marketing solution. Creating a social media presence and not keeping up with it is just as disengaging as not having a presence at all. Scope out the time you will need to put into your social media, if it is too much consider hiring someone to work on and build your social media brand.

Don’t use social media as a channel to just talk about your products and services. Social Media Marketing is about reaching out to your audience and having conversations with your customers. By having constantly inundating your network with a one-way conversation about your products and services you will lose your audience. Smart marketers and business people know that no one cares about your products and services but you. Sounds harsh, but it is true. What consumers do care about is how your product or service is going to better them. Creating blogs that offer solutions to your customers’ problems, creating polls and/or contests via Facebook and offering specials via twitter to your loyal followers are some great ways to connect and create clientele.

Use social media to create networks. Engaging with customers and moving them along your sales process should be your number one priority, but networking via social media marketing should be another goal taken into consideration. Networking via LinkedIn, Corflot and Twitter has helped me connect with some great designers, marketers and companies that I probably wouldn’t have found on my own.

According to comScore, an average person spends 14% of their time online on social media sites and those number are rising. With that being said it's time to come up with a social media strategy. Where will your brand be found?