Whenever we answer a question about social media, we find that our answer often includes the words “It depends.” That’s not on purpose–we’d love to have a straight answer on many things. However, there are many different strategies for success on social media that can vary based on the social media platforms being used, your abilities, and how much time you have available to devote to social media.
Social media platforms in particular vary in terms of usage and user demographics. Nowadays, it isn’t always necessary or practical to be on every platform, because they can differ wildly, and your target audience might not even use that platform. For example, Twitter heavily focuses on current events and short-form commentary on what is immediately going on, while Instagram heavily focuses on visual content including photos and videos. Social media advice can therefore also vary depending on what social media platforms you’re using, because different strategies will work better for different platforms.
Your abilities can also change the effectiveness of the social media advice being provided. If you’re just starting out on social media or trying a new platform for the first time, it might be tempting to dive in and devote all your time and energy to finding success on that platform. However, as a business owner or organization leader, that’s likely not practical, and it’s often not necessary. Social media strategies should be sustainable, and if you’re new, you probably won’t be experimenting right away with a platform’s more complicated features that we might be advising others on, and that’s okay!
Another factor to consider is the time you have available–it’s all well and good to recommend consistent posting strategies and emphasize all the different ways you can take social media to the next level. But if you have limited time on your hands, certain aspects might be more important to focus on than others. For example, if you’re running everything for your business by yourself, it’s probably not practical to recommend that you post daily on social media. Not only will you likely not have time, but even if you do, it’s likely that those posts might not be as thoughtful and purposeful as 3-4 weekly posts that you have more time to devote to.
These are just a few examples of factors that can alter what the best recommendation for social media might be for you, but there are many more out there. That’s why it’s important to take these factors into consideration when hearing any social media advice–including our own!–and why we rarely have a simple answer when asked about social media.
Wreath Writing & Marketing Services 