post by Stephanie Nelson
I’ve been asked a lot recently, particularly by older business owners, whether or not a business HAS to be on social media. For me, the short answer to this question is yes. And yes, there is a longer answer.
The longer answer is that no business owner should spend time or money on any outlet that doesn’t behoove his or her business. Whether it’s social media, print publications, direct mail, or any other marketing/advertising venue, if your audience isn’t there, your business shouldn’t be, either. If you own a tech company, would you advertise in a fitness magazine on the off-chance that a C Suite-level manager might also be a fitness fanatic? Probably not. So why would you take any other view of the time and money you spend on social media?
There are a lot of different social media outlets. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube. And that’s just scraping the surface of the most popular ones around. But if you look at each of them individually, their demographics and userships are VASTLY different. You may find that your audience is on two or three, but if you take the time to research who is using each outlet (or work with a consultant to help you), you’ll quickly be able to weed out where you need to be and which outlets would be a waste of your time. Whatever you do, do not fall into the trap of jumping on an outlet just because it’s the new hot thing out there. Make sure it’ll work for you before jumping in!
So you tell us…What are your tactics for deciding where you’re going to advertise/market your business?
