As the content and website manager at Blueline by Domtar®, one of the most popular questions I get from printers is "What platforms should I focus on when promoting myself 0n social media?" Well, the answer isn't simple; it depends on your audience, your strengths and what you want to say. To provide additional guidance, we asked social media guru Roberto Blake to share the distinctive advantages of the most popular social media platforms, and talk about the type of content that works best for each. Here's his inspiring advice:
Facebook is a place for friends and family. In fact, they are tweaking the news feed algorithm to show you more of what your friends post, and less of what companies post. If you’re posting on Facebook, respect the mindset your audience is in: to look at pictures of their grandkids. If you are interrupting them, do it in a way that is considerate of their emotional state and headspace. Also, abandon formal language. This isn’t the place for it.
Twitter is a very noisy and saturated platform. I would tell you to never post the same thing twice a day on Facebook, but do it three times a day in Twitter. Tweak it, rephrase it, use a different photo or caption; but generally it is OK to post 20 times a day or more in Twitter. You can also ask questions, put up polls or respond to people. Twitter is a lot like radio advertising, where you only have 10-30 seconds—but you can use it to promote longer-form content.
YOUTUBE
YouTube is a great place to answer frequently asked questions, educate people and explain product or service information in more detail. One reason I got into video is, I was tired of having the same conversations over and over again. I saved time by just making a video once. I got into affiliate marketing the same way.
Think of this in the same way as out-of-home advertising (billboards). In Instagram, if you can get away with telling a story without words, do it. And be punchy; just use one to three words if you can.
SNAPCHAT
On Snapchat, videos and pictures self-destruct a few seconds after a person views them. Some people whine about these time constraints, but it’s better to just leverage them—it simply means you have less work to do to win.
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