Are you monitoring social networks? You won't know if social media is worth your while otherwise.
If you’re wondering if you should be doing social media, you’re asking the wrong question. That’s because you’re not going to get a good answer.
Best I have is “Maybe.”
The question you need to ask: “Who should I be selling to?”
This is Marketing 101. Define your market. Decide who are your customers.
Now you have a target audience. Then you have to ask “Where is the audience?”
That’s when you can choose the tools to spread your message. Social media may account for some of them.
How do you tell?
Here are some ways to figure it out:
- Ask your customers if they are on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social media tool.
- Search for mentions of your business or competitors in the social media.
- See if your competition is using social media.
- Test the networks and see if anyone responds.
What you are looking for is an audience. Are there people willing to listen to what you have to say? And can you learn something from their conversations?
If so, social media would be a good idea for your business.
If you don’t find anything, maybe it’s still a good idea. You have to decide if it’s because your audience isn’t there or if it just haven’t been tried yet. You may be a pioneer. Remember that pioneers tend to get shot full of arrows though.
So let’s assume you have an audience on one of these networks. The key word in that sentence is “one.” I’m going to agree with Rich Brooks when he says to concentrate your efforts. Don’t try to spread your message or engage with every social media tool. Work one or two. I say one. If that works for you, try another.
After all, social media isn’t free. Allocate your resources wisely.
The Takeaway
It’s OK to doubt social media’s usefulness. But take the time to figure out if you can reach an audience that will buy what you’re selling.
