The simple answer – only the ones that are going to make a difference to your organisation.

With so many social networks out there it is easy to get caught up in a number of them, spread yourself thinly and not achieve the results you want. Wasting valuable time and money. I’ve seen this a number of times with organisations dipping their toes into the ‘social media ocean’. Setting up a number of social media channels because it’s what everyone else is doing or what they think they should be doing and then being disheartened when ‘social media just doesn’t work’.

If you have attended one of my strategy workshops or training sessions you will be fairly familiar with the conversation prism in the image above.  It’s an oldie but a goodie.  A visual map of the social media landscape developed back in 2008 by @briansolis. Not only does it inject some colour into my presentations, it also does a great job of demonstrating how vast the social media landscape is and the importance of having a strategy in place. 

So with that in mind here are a few things to think about with regards to your social media marketing:

  • Ask yourself the big question – WHY?  No… really…go on ask yourself why you are actually doing some of the things you are doing and are they actually effective?
  • Where are your target audience getting their information and interacting?
  • Have you got a strategy in place or are you just winging it?
  • How much time do you have to dedicate to social media realistically?
  • Is there anyone or maybe a few people that can help you to reach your audience – strategic partners / online influencers?
  • Is your activity linked to your business objectives?  
  • How are you measuring success?
  • In fact, you may want to be looking at what does success looks like to you?

As with anything, you get out what you put in, but it is important to understand where you should be dedicating your time and ensuring you are getting the best return.