It seems like there’s a new, hot social network The Kids Today are talking about just about every day. So how do you know when it’s time for your brand to check it out and seriously considering joining? After all, you don’t want to sink time and resources into something that loses steam inside of a few weeks.
Look for the following signs before you decide to sign up.
1. You notice your customers or target audience discussing The New Network on other, established social networks.
Here it’s very important to pay attention to how they’re discussing it; if you just count the number of mentions without noticing that everyone is making fun of the new network rather than praising it, well, you might be making a huge mistake in joining.
Tone can and will shift over time though. It’s not too distant of a memory that brands didn’t take any social networks seriously, and now they’re the backbone of many a big brand campaign. The key here is to listen to what your customers and target audience want from you.
Which brings us to our next point.
2. Your customers or target audience are flat out asking you why you aren’t there, or when you’re joining.
One request to join a new obscure network can be just that, but if you’re repeatedly seeing your fans and followers on your established networks asking why they don’t see you on their new favorite network, it’s definitely time to consider joining. They’ll only ask for so long before they’ll look for someone else in that space who can fill their needs.
3. When the competition is there.
This can be a balancing act, depending on the resources you have compared to the resources your competitor has. If they have 10x the budget and staff that you do, they obviously will be more equipped to establish a strategic presence on every network. If your team is already overworked and understaffed, then new networks are at the bottom of the to-do list.
Don’t ignore the first two signs though; they can act as a warning signal that your customers or target audience may be shifting their time spend to another network. It can be frustrating to redistribute resources to uncharted territory- especially if you feel like you’re just hitting your groove where you already are- but the alternative is watching your competition snap up your customers because you were too slow to adapt.
Bonus: When the competition isn’t there.
If you are the brand that has the resources (or a small team that has the masochism), moving into uncharted territory can make you the undisputed king of it as it is more widely adopted. Just be sure to pay attention to how your customers and target audience are using the new network and be responsive to their needs.
The bottom line?
The cardinal rules of social media always apply: Listen first, and always work to solve problems and provide value in any space that you occupy.
This post was originally published on Union Metrics.