It is hard to be everywhere at once. It’s also hard to do things to the best of your ability when you’re stretched so thin that you can’t remember if you’ve accomplished everything on your To Do list. So, it may make sense for your business to decide which particular social media platforms are best for your business rather than trying to manage all of them plus your growing business.

To help you decide which platforms are right for your business, consider these factors:

1. Content – Are you planning to create a wide variety of content from scratch? Or do you plan to curate others’ content? This decision can heavily influence which platforms you look at. It’s tough to manage an Instagram presence, for instance, if you never plan to take any photos. Additionally, it’s tough to grow a YouTube presence if you never create any video content. Content comes in many forms. What type of content you are willing to create dictates in part what platforms you should be on.
2. Commitment – How much time are you willing to commit to this endeavor? Posting a video to YouTube can be a huge driver for your business, but editing it can be very time consuming. Be realistic about how much time you’re truly willing to devote. Social media success is largely dependent on consistency. Biting off more than you can chew can lead to burn out. Picking the platform that fits your time commitment will make all the difference in being able to be successful.
3. Culture – If you’re looking to target the youth of America (or the world), Facebook really may not be the place to do it. In fact, you may want to strongly consider Tumblr instead. Of course, this is not to say you should put all your eggs in any one basket – just that you should take into account the culture of a platform prior to deciding whether it’s the right place to target your market.

You don’t have all the time in the world. Use what time you do have wisely and make the best of your efforts.

*Photo credit Sean MacEntee