Because sometimes going BIG is downright silly.

Spreading yourself too thin is a common problem entrepreneurs and small business owners face on both a personal and professional level. Often, you’ll read about how narrowing your business’ focus can improve profitability and be a better use of your time. Also, that you tend to be more effective at work if you aren’t trying to be all things to all people.

Enter: social media

Suddenly, your daily business tasks didn’t just increase by 1, but by the handfuls. (Or so it seems.)

There can be an expectation that you and your business NEED to be on ALL the major social networks, plus all the not-so-major ones, too.

We’ve talked about how important it is to be where your customers are (but nowhere else), and what kinds of considerations you should make before adding additional social media profiles to your brand’s presence.

Your customers will dictate where you should spend your time online. Period.

If your customer demographic means you need devote the majority of your time to a niche platforms or app, then that’s what you should do. It’s pretty cool, actually, that social media platforms and apps have developed so quickly and so specifically that it’s possible to “go niche” to better reach and serve your customers.

In a lot of ways, these specialty platforms have followed that recommended business practice of narrowing their focus to better meet the needs of their core customers.

That’s exactly what more of us need to keep in mind when we we’re deciding the direction to take with our online marketing efforts. Perhaps what makes Instagram different than, say, Twitter is exactly why you should use it for your business, but what makes Twitter the best bet for the guy down the street. Facebook has the most users, but given its extreme limitations (including how many of your fans simply are never shown your updates) and the reasons people use that platform, it may very well be a smart idea for your business to be spending time elsewhere.

You don’t need to go big with your social media. Not in the number of platforms where you develop a presence for your brand, nor by choosing the biggest platforms simply because – you know – they’re the biggest.

“Smaller and more focused” may be the best new strategy for your social media efforts. Keep that in mind as you plan for 2014.