How many accounts is too many accounts? So many of our clients absolutely need to have social media accounts, that at times it can feel all consuming. Juggling different formats and styles and character counts becomes a job in and of itself – we should know having worked with a number of clients who have just asked for help getting their posting in order. Do we have a graphic for instagram? What format of copy works best on X or Facebook? Which audience are we trying to reach and why are we even posting?
All of these questions come up as you plan a content calendar, but there is a core question that more organizations should be starting to ask: do I need this account?
In the information age, it seems counterintuitive to opt out of one or more platforms, but there is a simple truth that many leaders forget in their eagerness to make sure all the bases are covered – not every platform is suited for the audience you are trying to reach. When a company or organization is crafting their messaging or branding strategy, you have a target audience in mind. Candidates want to speak to a crowd of potential supporters whereas companies want to speak to customers or the folks who will frequent their services. Not every social media platform is suited to those audiences.
Take the site formerly known as Twitter as an example. It is a fast paced, news of the moment style platform. Without an established presence, consistent audience, and multiple posts per day, content will be lost in an ever refreshing news feed by memes, news, and more. In comparison, a political candidate very much needs a X account to make sure they are reaching those reporters, but may not rely as much on say, a LinkedIn account that is a staple for corporate organizations looking to recruit.
Long story short, when evaluating your social media strategy, having an account for the sake of having an account is not always better. More often than not, it takes time away from your team to craft content for a platform that is not ideal to reach your target audience. Utilizing that time to refine and improve the social media that is streamlined to reach your targets could be a better use of your owned platforms.
– Justin Giorgio, Strategic Communications