Looking for advice in all the wrong places….
Due to the nature of my work, I spend a great deal of time every day on social media! And because I’m also an entrepreneur, I often drop by various business and entrepreneurial groups to read up on what’s new, to network and share.
Biz owners and management often turn to these groups during their growth stages, when they’re in the process of building their business and need advice on different things from others who have been there. It can be a great way to connect (my absolute favourite word!) and find support.
Not surprisingly, social media and online marketing are some of the hottest topics in these groups. Everyone running a biz wants to promote it in as many ways as they can. And as you might have seen, there are always well-meaning people ready to share their experiences and opinions on the best ways to approach social marketing. Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs. While I love the spirit in which this help is being given, I have some concerns.
There are 3 common questions I see being asked the most in these types of groups, and I apparently have enough to say about all of them to turn this into a series, so let’s start with the first one today. I’m sharing the one I see most often, followed by common responses. I’ve added my own tips at the end, as a strategist who has been in the digital marketing field for 13+ years:
“What are the best social media platforms to post on?”
This question is almost guaranteed to result in a long thread full of comments like: “TikTok!! My daughter got 10,000 views yesterday!!” or “Instagram is the best, you HAVE to do Reels every day!” or “Stay away from Twitter!!”
Ok, well… Twitter IS currently a touchy subject so in the current context, some experts are even advising that – a blog post for another day, perhaps!
My take: The platform that works best for another business is of course the one they are inclined to tell everyone else to use. But that doesn’t make it solid advice. This is where the importance of strategy comes in. There is no one-size-fits-all ideal solution that works for every business.
I saw an article recently accusing LinkedIn of being “cringe”, and yet some of my best opportunities have come to me there over the years. Cringe or not it’s bringing me clients, and if I took that article’s sentiment to heart, who knows what I’d be missing out on. I don’t though, because my strategy there has worked.
Here is the key piece I hope you can take away from reading this:
Every business has:
- different goals
- different audiences
- different priorities
- a different brand voice
- many other things that make it unique
Every social platform also has its own unique:
- set of demographics
- algorithms (which are regularly updated)
- new features rolling out frequently
- updates to existing features
- best practices
- policies
- culture
That’s a whole lot of variables, and I’m only touching on the basics, here!
Be wary of following the same path of another business. Taking that advice and running with it might seem like the “quick and easy” solution, but could end up costing you more time and trouble in the long run. They might have had some success with something they tried, but will it keep working after the next algorithm update? Luck and strategy are two very different things.
As I mentioned above, there are more common questions, responses and takes I want to share. I really feel like each of these is worth a close look and a conversation. If I can help one person with these I will sleep like a baby!
Stay tuned for part 2 on this coming soon – you won’t miss it if you join my “I hate spam and super long boring newsletters every bit as much as you do” email list, where the messages are short, to the point and always offer at least one valuable tip. Sometimes even a free download! Sign up here and I pledge to never annoy you.