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Should a company launching its first social media effort focus on working a single channel really well or divide its efforts across multiple channels?

This is a question I’ve been curious about, so when I got the opportunity to speak with Pam Moore, a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer according to Forbes, best-selling author and CEO and Co-Founder of Marketing Nutz, a full service social brand, digital marketing and conversion optimization agency, I asked her just that.

What was her advice?

 

Single Social Media Channel or Multiple Social Media Channels?

Moore encourages businesses to start with their audience. She typically utilizes the Forrester POST methodology: people, objectives, strategy and technology/tactics.

Instead of following the POST pattern, Moore often sees people working backward. People start with the technology and the tactics. They focus on whether they should use Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, but what they really should start with is their audience.

“Ask yourself who the people are that you want to connect with, and then really assess and analyze where those people are online,” explained Moore.

She advises companies that are just getting started with social media to figure out where their target audience hangs out, and then figure out how to have a relevant conversation with them on that platform that brings in value and helps them meet their business goals.

Once you’ve figured out where the people are, Moore indicates that the next focus should be on what their objectives are, and what your objectives are for that audience. Then you can put a strategy together that supports those objectives.

“Which social network you should be on is fairly obvious, when you know where your audience is and what information they are looking for,” stated Moore.

Figuring Out Who Your Audience Is

Moore’s clients invariably ask, “How do I find out where my audience is?” That’s the wrong question, according to Moore. She said that before you can find where your audience is, you have to know who your audience is. You might consider your audience to be any small business or entrepreneur. That’s a good start, but Moore advises clients to look more closely.

“If you have a target audience of entrepreneurs and startups, what kind of entrepreneurs and startups? Are they early startups? Are they funded or not funded?”

All of these questions can help you narrow down where you should look for your audience. For example, a non-funded startup may be hanging out on Kickstarter. But you may want to target an entrepreneur who came out of a 30-year corporate career and now has extra capital to launch a series of startups. That entrepreneur looks very different than the startup that may be two guys in a garage creating an app, explained Moore.

Beyond looking at the kind of company you want to target, Moore suggests considering the individual you want to target. Is it the CEO you’re targeting, or the developer? Is it the marketing director? Who you want to have that conversation with is going to determine where you should position yourself online.

“Once you determine what that role is and what the persona is of the person you want to target, you can pull data from the different social networks and analyze whether that network is right for you,” Moore shared.

So what do you think? Tell us whether you think a company launching its first social media effort should focus on working a single channel really well or divide its efforts across multiple channels?

About The Author

TD ProfilTorrey Dye is a B2B Marketer and founder of FunnelCake Labs.
FunnelCake Labs helps B2B companies create amazing content more quickly.Google+

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