Treating Each Social Channel as a Unique Audience

Does one size fit all when it comes to social media? Are you one of the many people who believe that you should put the same content in your posts on each of your social channels? Nothing could be further from the truth…

Digital marketers need to understand that each social channel must be treated as a unique audience. People engage with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and many other niche channels differently and therefore the conversation is different as well.

Additionally it’s important to understand not simply “what” you say but when, how and in what context you say it. Twitter for instance has its own lexicon of acronyms, terms and truncation of words that are perfectly acceptable based on the limitations of its 140 characters. While Facebook is far more conversational and its audience participates on a number of different levels. Facebook for example, aggregates the largest amount of users and often tends to be referred as the “junior high school” level engagement. Google Plus, on the other hand, reaches a more technologically savvy and higher educated audience.

Before you begin to craft your message, be sure to determine the demographic and psychographic nature of the audience you are targeting and tailor your message accordingly. Additionally, it’s important to understand the frequency of your engagement within each channel. For instance, Facebook is far more demanding with participation and dwell times being more lengthy within its confines. Furthermore it’s fair to say that with Twitter being perceived as “micro-content” you should also increase your frequency.

The most important thing to do as a social media, interactive professional is to listen and monitor each of your social channels. Make sure you demonstrate to your audience that you’re paying attention to the content, the importance of all posts and the cadence of not only your content but the conversation as well.