With more than 3.48 billion people utilizing social media, using these tools to promote your business seems like a no-brainer. Since the creation of Facebook, a number of new social platforms have popped up. Some have gained superstar popularity, some have burned brightly only to fizzle out or be absorbed by a larger platform, while some limped out of the gate only to be lost in the dust of the more popular networks.

As each new platform is introduced, it becomes a new way for people to interact and another platform for businesses to use to reach their audiences. With more than 40% of digital consumers using social networks to research products and brands, it is tempting to create accounts on every platform so you can reach as many people as possible. The reality is, your business shouldn’t be on every social network and, in some cases, it shouldn’t be on social media at all.

Before adopting a new platform or even maintaining a current one, companies need to start with their business goals and objectives and move their way down to marketing strategies that help fulfill the business goals and reach the target audiences. This then leads to the tactics used to reach those people.

Some businesses may find social media isn’t going to drive conversions or help them reach their business goals. Others may find some platforms will be better at reaching target audiences than others. The key to which platforms to be on is studying usage demographics, audience behaviors and what will drive conversions (however your business defines that) and not just be somewhere because it’s popular.

One of the worst things a business can do is create accounts on various platforms only to abandon the accounts because it became too much work. It’s better to be strong on one or two platforms by providing value to your customers than to be on all of them and only updating them every few months.

Before investing time and resources into social media marketing evaluate

  • What are your business and marketing goals?
  • Where are your target audiences?
  • What is your goal for your social media accounts?
  • How much time do you have to manage your social identities?

It’s not about being on everything. It’s about being present in the right place and in the right way. Your company is better off having no or only a few well-maintained accounts than every channel out there with content that hasn’t been updated in years.

Evaluate your channels and retire the ones that aren’t right for your business and make the ones that really shine. And the next time a new platform rises among the ranks, make sure to ask yourself the questions above before jumping on the bandwagon.