...so many platforms, don't know where to go?
You're not alone!
Businesses today have anywhere from 4 to 9 accounts across various digital platforms. And the amount of time to manage ALL of them on a regular basis is increasingly difficult.
Which begs the question: Are you there because you NEED to be or because you WANT to be?
There's a huge difference between NEEDING to be on a platform and WANTING to be on a platform.
Needing: Where your potential customers are spending their time. You should also be there if you want to capture their attention and eventually convert them to a customer.
Wanting: You prefer that platform, you like the features and are more comfortable using it. It's also easier to post content but your potential customers aren't spending time there.
There may be a lack of understanding for some companies between these two concepts.
This is the biggest reason I recommend companies take a step back and evaluate what's working and what's not. It's the "what's not working" that could be the reason you aren't getting the leads and results you expect.
Businesses NEED to know where their target customers are spending their time and determine if you have the right channels setup in which you can connect and engage with them.
First, have you identified who your target customer is AND where they spend time? * If yes, great! Proceed to #2 * If no, you need to do this before proceeding. Here are a few of my resources for you to create your personas. Podcast: Creating Personas Together (Marketing and Sales) - includes worksheets Article: Step by step how to create personas blog post
Then, ask yourself: Is my digital presence setup to meet our business goals? * What this means: your marketing and sales strategy as well as content calendar efforts should reflect activities that will help achieve your business goals. * If it is setup this way, make this a celebrating moment! When I speak with companies, often times there either isn't a marketing and/or sales strategy at all or the strategies that have been created were developed with marketing and/or sales needs in mind (not the business). * If it is NOT setup this way, you can still do this. The quicker you can make this happen, the quicker you will see the impact on your business goals. I have a document to help you get started so if you're interested, click on the "Let's Chat" in the menu bar. To see an example, if one of your business objectives is to Drive Sales this page includes 7 things you need in order to back into your Sales numbers.
Determine which of the existing platforms you are using are working * For example: you're on Facebook and LinkedIn * Look at the goals you set for each platform for the year * Document progress YTD and note any outliers
Evaluate engagement activity first * Are your followers engaging in the content you're currently posting? This is first and foremost the most important gauge of how you're content's working. Here's how you know if it's working: - Look at the past 30 days on LinkedIn, for example - How many posts did you make? - How many people made comments? And # of overall comments on each? - How many Likes and Shares did each receive? - How many Following posts did you engage? (If you engage, they are more likely to) - Repeat for each platform and compare to your YTD goals - If you aren't receiving engagement with the ideal audience, it's time to re-evaluate * If you aren't receiving engagement, start with creating content that's engaging and your follower count, including ideal customer, will increase faster and be a more relevant audience. * There are also 'best practices' for content on various platforms based on how the algorithm works. There are many people who can help with this on each platform so search your network and connect with someone who can help you or has everything in one place like John Espirian does on his website.
Determine what changes, if any, need to be made in your digital presence * Did you find that your target customers are on Twitter but you've only been present on Facebook and LinkedIn? Add Twitter to your digital mix. * Update on your goals document what changes were made and why
Yes, the number of digital platforms company's believe they need to be present on are on the rise. There are SO many! Just remember that just because there are so many options, you don't NEED to be on all of them - just those where your ideal customers are. <--- Reason why it's important to know who your ICA (ideal customer avatar), aka Persona, is. If you need help getting started, here's a link to a podcast episode which also has links to documents for B2B and B2C persona creations.
Last point on this: Consider the time you're investing on platforms where you're ideal customers are NOT spending time. What's the opportunity cost to you and your business? How better could that time be spent to improve, communicate more or move the needle?
How do you keep your finger on the pulse of new tools, feature upgrades on existing and where your target customers are spending time? Share below!