I guess all of us have to figure this question out for ourselves.
I have worked with several platforms and found varying results regarding numbers, activity and engagement.
What about Facebook? Facebook Company Page
If you read books and posts, people always talk about the huge numbers of people on Facebook and how it has grown. I have tried setting up a company page and our company is up to 800 Likes. As far as sales, in three years I have probably made 9 sales.
What about Linkedin? Linkedin Company Page
Our company is up to 135 followers on our company page and I post a link to our blog each day. Midwest Labs Linkedin Page
What about Google+? Google+ Company Page
This platform is more of a SEO Strategy for the moment and helps our corporate site and blog site give it some extra juice. I have a little more than 139 followers.
On Twitter – Twitter Company Page
On Twitter, the company is up to 1,147 followers. The communication consists of engagement and sharing of posts. All, in all I have probably had 20 new accounts that I can truly account for with respect to business.
From a number standpoint, it appears Twitter is the winner. However, numbers, (followers, likes) do not tell the whole message. Here are some items that people may want to think about with respect to social media.
Company Pages don’t work by themselves, they need a human person(s) associated with them. People connect with other people. If a company thinks it can communicate behind its brand without acknowledging who the main voice of the company is, it really runs the risk of becoming less trustworthy and people may become suspicious with who they are communicating with.
With respect to each of these platforms, it is critical that companies indicate who the person is who is communicating on behalf of the company. Also, some people like myself have a company id which identifies the person behind the company brand and also have a personal id which can be used for personal posts and professional engagement.
Finally, marketers who have developed a content management strategy in addition to their social media strategy have found tremendous success. It is an awesome way to keep your message alive and fresh in a specific location like a company blog site or corporate site.
So the next time someone tells you they are on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, ask them the following question,”How are you finding success on social media for your company?” If they don’t answer with some reference to the content they produce or the way they engage with other people, it may be a warning sign that they are not having much success with social media platforms. Just a thought!
What are your thoughts on this topic?