What We Mean By “All or Nothing”
While researching the material for this post, we came across two different angles that were being used to approach the idea of “all or nothing” in regards to social media:
- All or nothing participation / interaction / activity
- All or nothing when signing up for different sites
We’re going to be tackling both of these today and approaching both situations with a goal of outlining the benefits of moderation.
Moderation in All Things, And All Things in Moderation
Some people believe that when it comes to social media, you have to go all in or you mind as well not even bother. We respectfully disagree. Diving headfirst into anything and over-extending your resources is a recipe for disaster, and we don’t recommend that anyone take that sort of approach to their social media use. Everything we do online as businesses and as individuals has the potential to reflect back upon us…what kind of impression would you be making if / when you can’t keep up with the pace you have set for yourself? One of the cardinal sins of social media use is inconsistency, and little is more inconsistent than sporadic posting and general neglect / inactivity.
How many different sites should you sign up for?
There is no absolute answer here, but we think that there is a happy medium for many businesses that lies anywhere between 3 and 6 accounts (on separate social media and networking sites).
Of course Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn should be considered if you have not yet signed up for them. A lot of different messages and types of networking opportunities flow throughout each of these sites, and each one gives businesses multiple opportunities to connect with a lot of different people they might not have been able to connect with on another site.
Infographic: The Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet
Click to see a larger version — Click here to see the original post by Flowtown
In general, how active should you be?
Volume and timing of posts is very important, there’s no getting around it.
There is a fine line between posting frequently enough to be considered current and posting so much that you are spamming the heck out of anyone connected to you. We’ve all accidentally posted something twice in a row, but that’s a lot different then tweeting the same thing every hour on the hour for two days straight. Don’t be that person.
Providing you’re minding your manners and not being outrageously obnoxious with your posting, you should be okay to share a few stories every day with the people you are connected to via social media. On the flip side, make sure to spend just as much (if not more) time reading and interacting with posts other than your own. Comment on other people’s Facebook posts, dole out some likes for deserving posts and comments, and maybe retweet a few interesting things one of your followers posted today, or even just give a shout-out to your new followers and friends. Share the love and you’re going to have a much more rewarding social media experience.
What Does Active in Social Media Really Look Like?
This video does a very good job of describing the behind-the-scenes work that goes into an “active” social media presence. We think this is a great opportunity for businesses to understand that there is a lot more work involved in maintaining a single profile than just posting to it, and from this learn why fewer accounts can sometimes be better than having a dozen or more.
The moral of the story is…
…that a little bit of a good thing can be just the right amount. If you only sign up for a handful or social media and networking sites and develop an activity schedule that you can maintain for the long haul you are going to make a much better impression than someone who tries to sign up for every site under the sun and post to all of them multiple times a day every day forever and ever (yes, a massive exaggeration but you see our point).
Why the “or Nothing” Approach Isn’t An Option
Social media isn’t something that anyone has the luxury of ignoring any longer. And it is not only because social media has become a very strong tool for customer service and situation resolution; with the continuing significance of social signals in SEO businesses need to get their heads in the game now more than ever. When they choose to abstain from social media, businesses are running the risk that they have customers out there trying to reach them through social media channels but the businesses doesn’t even know to answer their calls for action.
Comments
Do you think that social media should be an all or nothing activity? Why or why not?
