so-much-social-media-so-little-time

What is it about social media that can make a small business owner feel overwhelm just at the mention of it? Yesterday I was speaking with a friend about how much I’m loving using Snapchat. Although we were talking over the phone, I could tell what she was thinking and I could feel her stress building up a little as she thought about her business.

“Is that going to work for my market? I’m juggling Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, I don't think I can add another one!” Can you relate? Should you sign up for another social media platform? And where do you find the time for all them all?

Tips for adding another social media platform

Pre-planning

Just for a moment, set aside your thoughts of what social media you want be on, and sign up for new social platforms when they emerge, even if you’re not interested in that particular platform right now. This is so you can secure your name. Whether it’s your company name or your personal name if you’re branding yourself, you want to match your website and social media platforms to create a consistent brand. You might have no desire to be on the latest social media platform, but it’s a good idea to register for it now before it gets mainstream. This avoids the issue of having to settle for JaneSmith876 rather than ‘Jane Smith’ if you change your mind later and want to have a presence there.

 

Which social media platforms should I be on?

You often hear that you should look at what makes sense for the product or service you’re selling. Is your product visual? Go for Instagram. Are you selling services B2B (business to business)? Go for LinkedIn or Twitter. However it's also a good idea to look at where your customers hang out and what makes sense for you. Although I don't have a physical product to show off in a visually appealing way, I love using Instagram and my ideal client hangs out there, so I make it work for me.

Find the happy medium between what works for your product/service, what you enjoy doing, and where your current and ideal customers hang out. If you enjoy your social media platform, you’ll naturally be more active and consistent with it. You’ll also be able to get your message across in a more authentic way which will resonate with your customers. Consistency and authenticity equals win/win in social media, for both you and your followers.

Juggling a number of different social media platforms

Before you start on your path with your new social media platform, you’ll want to get into a good rhythm and be consistent with the platforms you’re on at the moment, especially if those platforms are working well for you.

Once you feel like you have that first, or first couple of platforms running smoothly, you can add another platform. To build your presence on your new account, start promoting it from your already established social media. Begin with your strongest presence and promote it from there and so on down the line. For example, if your Facebook business page is active and doing well, let your Facebook fans know that you're also on Instagram. Then let your Instagram followers know that you're also on Snapchat and so on, so that each social media platform is feeding into the other, and helping each other grow.

Software for Scheduling your Social Media

So now juggling it all. Of course you don't want to be tied to your laptop and phone 24/7, trying to remember what you're going to post where and when. You can save a massive amount of time and take the burden off your brain, by using social media scheduling software or an app. There's a variety of different options to either post for you or alert you when to post. Some of these include Plann (awesome for planning your Instagram gallery), TailwindBuffer, Meet Edgar and Zoho. Some of the software platforms offer a free trial, my suggestion is take full advantage of the free trials so you can see if the software suits you before you commit to it. Remember also that Facebook has it's own scheduler that you can also use. It's not as fancy as the paid software that does this but it's free and it works great.

Have any questions on juggling your social media? Ask away, I'd love to hear from you.

Social Media for Entrepreneurs