Go Where the Customers Are

Lately I’ve had a bunch of conversations that start with, “I want to do social media but it seems like it would take so much time.  There are so many places to be!”  I’m not sure why the web causes people to think more is better, but that seems to be the case.  Social media is just like any other advertising avenue.  There are hundreds of advertising opportunities businesses ignore all the time because it isn’t right for them. But when it comes to social media, they think they have to be everywhere.

Listing your business with browsers and other directories can be a great resource and I highly recommend it.  But after that, you have to think about who is your audience and where are they.

Twitter is a wonderful source for information or research.  I love it.  But the majority of my prospective customers aren’t on Twitter. So the time I put in is for my own benefit and not for prospecting.  On the other hand, most of my prospects are on LinkedIn so the time I invest on  LinkedIn yields prospecting results.  Facebook is not a good tool for my business because that isn’t where people go to talk about small business consulting.  But they do go there and talk about medical issues so it is right for my client, After Hours Family Medicine.

When you start working with a social media consultant, it should start with the same type of discussion as a good advertising agency.  Who are you trying to attract, what kind of profile can you build of those prospects, and where are they when they look for information like you are offering.  From there, you can invest your time in only those areas that make sense for your business.  And not waste your time on things that won’t help meet your goals!