by Larkin G.

Who can pass up a great all you can eat buffet? Get a lot. Pay a little. What if there was an all you can buffet for your marketing? Sound too good to be true? Check out these stats: (all for the US)

• 9 in 10 people have access to it at home
• 90 million people have access to it any time
• 209 websites are devoted to it

What am I talking about? Social networking sites. Reading these statistics may tempt you to create an account on every social networking site. Before you do, read how social media is like an all you eat buffet.

Overeating

The abundance of food on buffets make it tempting to overeat. Social media is the same way. It is easier than ever to establish a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and many more. It makes sense: over 50% of all Americans have a profile on at least one social networking site. That percent jumps to over 61% when you look at just millennials.

Who wouldn’t kill to reach that many customers with the click of a mouse?

Choose with purpose

The only way to avoid leaving a buffet without a serious case of indigestion is to be selective about what you put on your plate. Chicken or the steak? Cake or pie? You may like each dish, but indulging in will give you a stomachache.

Social media requires similar choices. Creating and maintaining a presence on every social network is not only extremely time consuming but unnecessary.

No matter what product or service your company sells, you should not be targeting the entire GLOBE.

Selection Process

So how do you choose between macaroni and mashed potatoes? Twitter and Flickr? Choosing the best social networking site for your company is similar to selecting the best side dish to compliment your main course. You wouldn’t pair mac and cheese with General Tao’s Chicken. They don’t mix well. Same concept with social media:

pair the social networking site you choose with your company’s branding, mission, products, and goals. Here are some tips:

If your business is in the hospitality or entertainment industry consider mobile and location based options.

• Top types of information sought using search engines via smart phones: news, dining/restaurant, navigation, entertainment, shopping
• 9 out of 10 searchers have taken action as a result of a smartphone search
• 4% of adults use their phones to check in using geosocial services like Foursquare

If your products are extremely high tech (early adopters), consider Twitter:

• There’s a subset of “super socials” who use their profiles multiple times a day
  • They have profiles on:
    • Twitter: 23%
    • Facebook: 98%
    • My Space: 45%
• 56% have smartphones
• 43% follow brands on social networks

All businesses should consider a Facebook page.

• 51% of Americans age 12+ have a Facebook profile
• Nearly a quarter of social network users indicated that Facebook is the social site or service that most influences their buying decisions

Go Back for Seconds

The best part about a buffet is that you can go back for 2nds. And 3rds. Do the same with your social media. Don’t feel pressured to start out with a million profiles. Be realistic in evaluating how much time you have to commit to creating content and maintaining the account. Having two profiles that really kick ass is much more effective than having five profiles that you only half-heartedly maintain.

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To learn more from or connect with Larkin, follow her on Twtitter – @LarkinGrant
You can also follow the rest of The Millennial Chat Team here.
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Have you started social media marketing imitative at your company? How did you choose which site to use? How many social media sites do you currently use? Are you using different sites for different purposes? What advice would you give someone just starting out in social media?

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