I probably can’t say anything new about social media that hasn’t been said. But here’s how I feel – as small business owners have a lot of questions about “the best platform.”
I look at them like this: When I read anything on Facebook, or post anything on Facebook, it feels like no matter what I say or what’s being said, it’s for sale. The UX encourages that, the ads, the un-beautiful design – it feels like FB is a way to raise your voice. It’s woefully inelegant, but very useful for some things. Instagram, on the other hand, feels more like a “by the way, this happened.” When I see posts or post myself, it feels like a snapshot of a thought – a moment in life – sometimes with words or hashtags, sometimes without – but I rarely see any shouting going on there. Twitter feels like talking at a Mets game. No matter how loud you might get, or clever, or funny, or cool, the game and the crowd are the real characters in that show. I see Twitter as a breaking news source – so for me using it sort of feels like whatever I’m saying should be as urgent as a Tweet from Anderson Cooper or as important as one from Malala. LinkedIn feels like a civil conversation that I should be more disciplined about attending but I have a full plate as it is so engagement there feels disingenuous.
All of this is to say – everyone has their “platform” – and the type of business you’re in is the main consideration. Beyond that, channels express voices, and while I personally have thousands more followers on Twitter than anywhere else, it’s not where my voice feels the truest, which is Instagram.
The takeaway – know where you shine. It’s all just a conversation happening in different interfaces. But we all want to be our best selves, so choose the face that brings out the best you.
