Social Media Options
What platform is best for you?
Looking to start a social media presence? Consider your options.
Why Facebook?
Facebook is by far the biggest and farthest-reaching platform. It’s also by most accounts the easiest to jump into. It’s also the easiest platform to have a conversation with your audience. If you’re interested in advertising, it’s also the best bang-for-your-buck. Facebook Insights is also a stellar monitoring tool and it’s totally free of charge.
Downsides
There aren’t many, but there are some. If your primary audience is below the age of 16, this may not be the best place to reach them. While Facebook may not be the go-to platform for teens anymore, it’s important to know that they still go there.
Why Twitter?
Posting 10 times a day on Facebook will make you an annoyance, tweeting 10 times a day will make you normal. While Facebook is great for having a conversation, Twitter is great for getting quick snippets of information out there while also having public discourse. Hashtags are also a great way to drive conversation, although hashtags were born on Twitter, they’re ubiquitous in nearly all forms of social media now. Those teens that were a little less keen on Facebook are more enthusiastic about Twitter. It’s also by far the best social media platform to get your message heard by “traditional” media outlets.
Downsides
While Facebook has algorithms that will keep your post (if it’s well constructed) towards the top of your followers news feed for good length of time, tweets have a lifespan of just a few minutes. Twitter is much more fleeting than Facebook and while that has its downsides, it’s also more “in-the-moment.”
Why Instagram?
Instagram is extremely easy to use. If you have a smartphone, you can use Instagram. It also combines the social aspects of Twitter with photos. Instagram is a great supplementary account for both Facebook and Twitter.
Downsides
Don’t have a smartphone? Then you’re out of luck. Also while Instagram’s filters can make a photo look better, they can also ruin it.
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is aimed at businesses and professionals. If you’re aiming for an older audience (alumni for example) this is a great way to go. If you’re looking to hire someone, it’s the only social media platform you’ll ever need.
Downsides
There is a lot less conversation happening on a LinkedIn page then there is on other social media marketing profiles. One way around this is to join groups or communities where you can ask questions and engage in conversations, but creating and maintaining one of those communities is much harder than it seems. LinkedIn also has had security issues in the past with being hacked, which has lead people to be a bit less enthusiastic about the platform.
Why YouTube?
If you’re making videos, this is the platform you’ll need. It’s also a great supplementary account. If you want to post a video on Facebook or Twitter (or anywhere else for that matter) you can host it here and just link to it.
Downsides
Creating a video is much, much harder than composing a 140-character tweet. Also if the production values of your video aren’t that great, then that could have more of a negative impact than positive.