As an individual or business which of the various social networks should we use and to what extent? I have only mentioned LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter in the title but there are many more social networks. These 3 however appear to be the fastest growing and most popular at this time. It all depends on WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHY and WHEN? In this article I look at these various aspects and the questions that arise?
WHAT – What is it that you are doing as a business or individual? What is your mission and vision? For what reason and purpose does the business or individual exist? Don’t we need to understand what we are doing before we can start to figure out how to go about it? What do the user trends say about the various social networks?
WHO – Who are you trying to engage with? Who will manage the engagement? Who will ensure that everything is inline with overall strategy? If you are trying to engage with teenagers should you not choose a medium or platform that is suited to them? Who is your target market as a business?
HOW – How are you going to engage with your target market, potential or current customers, suppliers or partners? How are you going to communicate with them? How good are the systems and business processes within the organisation? How mature is the individual or organisation in terms of understanding social media?
WHY – Why would you would to engage on such a platform? Why would LinkedIn be better than Facebook? Or why would Twitter be better to communicating on specific matters? Is this consistent with our social media strategy? Do we have a social media strategy?
WHEN – When do you need to engage with other parties? Is this a long term or short term thing? How urgent and important is the information that needs to be communicated?
I am of the view that these basic questions need to be considered in considering social media. Even sophisticated things have their origins in basic considerations. Should social media be any different? BTM
