Should I Use Social Media?

should i use social media?

There are many social media options today, from the big players like Facebook and Twitter, to smaller, niche sites. Generally the goal of social media is to draw visitors to your website so you can sell a product or service.

Many people seem to view social media as the next gimmick to achieve easy success. In the early days of the internet, the gimmick was keywords - just stuff a few hundred keywords in your pages, even if they weren't relevant to your content, in order to drive traffic to your site.

Then it was links. Rather than trying to encourage legitimate links, which requires worthwhile content on your site, as well as time and effort to obtain the links, those searching for easy answers pay for hundreds of links to their sites.

Some approach social media the same way. Just set up a Facebook page or Twitter account, it's very easy to do, and you're on your way to success.

But, wait a minute, the "social" in social media implies that you are going to be social. You know - interact with people. That requires a time commitment. Medium to large corporations can afford to hire someone to focus on social media, but that may not be feasible for smaller businesses.

There are ways you can minimize the time you spend on social media, but it will still require a time commitment. Software, such as TweetDeck is available that allows you to post messages to multiple accounts simultaneously, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Another thing to consider is how many people will actually see and/or read your posts. The average Facebook member has 130 friends (2011). I know people that are approaching 5,000 friends. On my personal Facebook page, I have just under 200 "friends" but I have most of those people turned off so their posts do not show up in my news feed. I'd say I actively follow about 25 people. The same consideration goes for Twitter.

It's a little naïve to think that just because someone "likes" your Facebook page or follows you on Twitter, that they are going to pay close attention to what you post there.

So, am I saying not to use social media? No, as with everything, I want my clients to have a realistic view of what social media requires and what it can do for you. I know people it has worked well for and others that have not found it useful.

First I recommend taking a good look at your own website. That's where you're trying to drive traffic to, right? In my opinion, it's important to have your website where it needs to be, before you worry about social media. Do you have content that will attract and keep people's attention? Is the site fresh and frequently updated? Is the design modern and attractive? Is it easy to navigate? If not, I would work on improving your site before worrying about social media.

 

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