Your Funny, Dysfunctional Social Media Family Learn the Voice of Each Channel and Navigate Them Well
Think of social media for your business as like a holiday dinner with your family. You know you have to do it, but you really don’t want to because it takes wooooork. There are all the conversations and the feedback—and everyone has an opinion. You really would just like to drop in, drop off your covered dish and get out, but you and I both know that’s not going to happen. So warm up the casserole and let’s meet your dysfunctional social media family and learn how to navigate each one around the table.
Facebook: “Your Crazy, Cat-Lovin’ Aunt”
Let’s start with Facebook. You’ve got to have it, but know two things:
1) It’s hyper local for 99 percent of people and 2) Like your aunt, everyone has an opinion about how you should run your business. There is also a good chance that like your aunt, the majority of your audience is 35- to 65-year-old females (that’s actually the largest growing and active user group) so lean into it. Use this as a power group to spread a local message. And yes, like life with your aunt, you are going to have to “pay to play” to get your message out(even locally) unless it’s just so juicy that it travels like good gossip.
Twitter: “Your Drunk, Funny Uncle”
Like your drunk uncle, Twitter is good for a few things—laughter, political outrage and a few random sports updates. The problem with Twitter can be the rants and tangents. And like the conversations with your uncle, make sure you stay specific and targeted with your posts and don’t get bogged down by “Twitter trolls or one uppers.” The most active group here is males. The majority of information comes in bite size bits, so be concise.
Instagram: “Your Self-Absorbed Older Sister”
She is concerned about her looks and she has spent hours curating her outfit for dinner. She is living her best life. And you shouldn’t see her more than once a day. That’s exactly how to handle IG. Post ONE (unless using the multiple image option) time a day about something beautiful or relevant. Try to make it an arresting or fun image. And for a behind-the-scenes look into your IRL (In Real Life), use the IG stories feature. You’ll find a transparent look into your business, like your sister’s messy home life, is waaaaay more interesting and neurotic.
LinkedIn: “Your Distant 3rd Cousin”
Listen, you see this guy once every five years. You kind of remember him, but not in great detail. You’re not even really sure how you’re related. And he only reaches out when he is looking for a job or needs you for a reference or a bank loan. All jokes aside, LinkedIn can actually be a pretty relevant B-to-B tool or a great place to be found for your expertise. It can create credibility pretty quickly, but it can also be filled with well-meaning but pushy sales tactics.
Snapchat: “Your 19-year-old Niece”
Aren’t you glad that most of your 19-year-old self photos are in box somewhere forgotten? So have some grace here too with Snapchat and its overly self-focused users. The challenge and the benefit is a direct line to a very young audience (over 60 percent are 18-24). So if you have a product, service or party that fits this demo, you need to be here. Even if it means sucking it up and doing a selfie with a cat filter every once in awhile.
