How Much Social Media Is Enough?

The age old question in virtually any situation is, “How much is enough?”

The classic Goldilocks response of “Just right.” gives a quick and pithy retort but does leave one asking for more.

Personally, I always err on the side of moderation when advising on developing a social media program.   

Rushing in and using all the tools at once is a tough trick to pull off and be effective let alone maintaining any sense of quality.  Particularly, for small or mid-sized businesses where resources (e.g., time and money) are scarce.

You’re very quickly confronted with the old quality versus quantity conundrum.

I’ll always argue for quality.  (That’s the clue to those who favor quantity to stop reading now.)

You don’t have to use all the social media tools at once and especially not at the beginning of your social media program.

When deciding what your social media footprint should be, start with one social media app like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

One exception (There’s always one!) is if you decide to start with a blog then I’d recommend adding a social media app to be able to broadcast your content.

Then once you’ve begun, continually evaluate your results and consider if any of your social media channels should be replaced.  What works today may not work tomorrow. (Anyone remember myspace as they now style themselves?)

Make sure that your social app selection is appropriate for your audience.  As an example, Facebook works well with retail consumers but I believe the jury’s still out on how effective it can be with business-to-business (B2B) situations particularly with small and mid-sized businesses.

Also, don’t use all the tools all at once.  It’ll be difficult to maintain a consistent level of commitment and quality.

Clients are always asking me about new tools that have come out and should they use them.  To be honest, half the time I haven’t even heard of these tools myself!   By the time I’ve learned something about them, they’re gone.

My point, do as I do stick with a limited number of social media apps and master them.  Yes, as I’ve already said, continually evaluate them but don’t go rushing into new apps until you know what you’re getting yourself into.  (Remember the old joke about how you can tell who the pioneers are?  The ones with the arrows in their backs?  Enough said.)

Finally, remember that it’s all about your content and how you get it out to your followers and people who could be your followers.  Post frequently and regularly.  Don’t keep people guessing about when you’ll post next or where will it be.

My parting words on this subject are there is such a thing as too much social media!

Don’t let it happen to you!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have.  I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

Remember!

I work with social media for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me.  Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.

My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.

Stay well!