There are plenty of social media platforms on the market, but choosing which platforms to utilize can have a lasting impact on your business and personal promotion. With rumors of Instagram incorporating live video streaming and Twitter’s surprise decision to shut down Vine, the six-second video capture app it acquired just four years ago, the social media platforms you choose to implement into your marketing strategy matter.
AS THE MARKETING DIRECTOR FOR A TENUREDSTAFFING AGENCY
As the marketing director for a tenured staffing agency, I wouldn’t recommend being on every social media platform. Be cautious before joining in on the market’s newest and most popular trend (i.e. Vine). However, it is important not to limit yourself or your business to just one platform’s user demographic reach. One platform may deliver substantial results for one industry, but then have no correlation to a different audience.
THE ONE CONSISTENT MISTAKE I SEE WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIA MEDIA MARKETING
The one consistent mistake I see when it comes to social media marketing is broadly using social media platforms that fail to support your underlying agenda. When I began my career, social media management was imperative to our firm’s marketing strategy. Little did I know, my employer, who has been in business much longer than the term social media has even existed, had a social media account for numerous social media platforms available to the public. Tumblr, Vine… you name it, we had an unattended account with little branding and content.
While restructuring our social media accounts, the decision to create a Pinterest account was something I couldn’t get behind. I tried to understand why Pinterest should be implemented into our strategy in the first place. Where did this fit into our overall objective? And how would this platform distribute our industry insight, showcase our job openings, and communicate effectively with customers/clients while attracting new business through increased brand awareness? Trying to promote employment services to users looking to pin recipes or gift ideas was far from ideal.
Subsequently, I came to the conclusion that our organization was too quick to chime in on what was “in” at the time. Because of this, our social media strategy was being partially ignored and spread too thin to maintain it successfully. This realization was my first of many lessons in social media marketing: You should only utilize social media platforms that will allow you to market towards a tailored audience that supports your organization’s overall strategy, while at the same time providing mutual communication and beneficial information.
Source: Forbes
