How Many Social Media Channels Do You Use For Your Brand?

Good post – thanks for posing the question.
I guess it depends on what you really mean by “using”. There are tools available today which make it easy to post or publish or tweet something, and then automatically update that recent effort across various social media platforms. For example, we, a B2B company, use LinkedIn, Twitter, the Blogosphere for our industry, and Facebook. We have it set up so that Tweets and our latest blogs appear automatically in Facebook and on LinkedIn. Is this using Facebook? Perhaps, but probably not in an optimum way. And is it “using” LinkedIn when our posts appear on it? Yes and no – yes because it adds depth to our profile, no because it doesn’t replace the work we do on LinkedIn (like the effort which resulted in this comment). But until we know that Facebook is a actually a place where we can connect to our target audience, this will do (B2B usage of Facebook is climbing, but it’s still difficult for me to see how to “use” it.)

Thanks Eric for the comment. In essence it is still new and emerging medium and eventually the mist will clear and clarity will prevail. In the meantime you have to be applauded for “Just Doing It” right here right now. Cheers Jeff

interesting post!
We use several channels (see left box => http://blog.ts.fujitsu.com/
for different topics, e.g. gaming, green IT, server or analyst relations….

Great a question, and a question all companies should be asking themselves. Currently my company, an advertising agency, is using about five different channels. I would have to agree with Eric about the term “using”, we are using a similar set up to Eric’s company.
Now the number of channels is really up to the company. If the company can effectively handle seven channels, then sure why not. I think the real problem is companies that put too much on their plate or spread out too much. You want to be active on every channel you are dedicated to. Not just five out of the seven. Thanks again Jeff for the post.

I went and had a look . It’s good to see “Social Media Best Practice” emerging. Good stuff

Thanks for the great comment Ralph. Yes, it is a matter of resources and it is also not a “Zero Sum Game”. If you are building your content and your channel expertise then your competitors will always be in catch up “Pedal fast and furious!

A different approach for smaller businesses is to know where they enjoy devoting more time – managing SEO for some can be a real drag, however engaging and connecting in social networks, or managing social media marketing strategies may be much more enjoyable and therefore more successfully employed. On the other hand, social media marketing may not be one’s cup of tea, so forcing it to work in their business plan (even if someone else is doing it for them) may not be as successful as placing priority in engaging in other marketing methods that lean more to their likes and strengths. Time is always a limiting factor if we make it that way…going for the areas that we enjoy and are better at doing could be the key in identifying where to put more weight in our web marketing efforts.

Very nice article indeed. I especially liked the Leon Kout remark as whatever effort you put into social branding or marketing the end result should be “enjoyment”. This is an easily measurable ROI, it does provide organic search results to both your brand and those you communicate with who typically do become friends and or customers. An additional and often overlooked aspect is “knowledge” that can also only be obtained through actual dialogue which shouldn’t be confused with an automated methodology of communication ie: a feed or software. While time is certainly a factor of consideration any time spent doing something you enjoy isn’t ever really wasted. Comments are also a measure of effectiveness and appreciation of the efforts of others. Just a humble opinion. “Cheers”

I am very interested to hear the results of this poll. My company uses 5 channels. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, blogs. I have one full time employee who manages my network of blogs (31) and this is about the limit at this time.

Great question. Obviously time and resources are the ultimate deciders in how many social media channels we use and how frequently we use them. I utilize several channels- currently 6- but I do it through tools that help me to send my posts to multiple places at once. I could send them to dozens more but I would not have time to engage with my followers and be active in those channels if I did.

I primarily engage myprospects and followers on the big 3 (Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin- with the majority of that being through the first 2) but I occasionally do this on other sites as well. I have a Merchant Circle account that is practically a mini-website and it is awesome at helping me with the search engines.

Additionally, I’ve just added blogging to my repertoire and I hope to be able to engage readers even more deeply through my blogs.

It will be interesting to see how many social media channels others use- particularly small firms- and just how engaged they are in each when using multiple channels and platforms.

Gavin Head
Principal|President
1st Position Marketing

The main sites we focus on for our clients is Twitter, facebook, Linkedin, Stumbleupon, Digg, Youtube, and maybe a NING type of niche community. Of course all of this is to drive traffic to the home base that is a blog. The rest of the umpteen social networks we use as more for an SEO type strategy.

I have called 2010 the Year of the Video! It is my opinion that businesses need to create micro commercials, fun vlog (video blog) posts, and grab customer/client testimonials to share for branding and prospecting.

Great post Jeff. I stumbled across your blog doing research and am really enjoying it!

Have a great week!!!

~Harrison

I would agree with Eric. It’s very hard to distinguish. We’re on the biggies (Twitter, Facebook) for our non-profit, but then there are all these other niche NP social media networks that we’re also involved with on some level. We also have a few auxiliary stores who are out there on Yelp and other sites that we monitor but try to let the volunteers play more of an active role.

Using multiple media channels is extremely beneficial, because like your friend, not everyone uses the same ones. Although I use several, my main focus is Twitter, and I tell my clients, if you can at least focus on that one channel then you’re moving in the right direction. It can get a bit time consuming keeping up with all of them, so I kind have a rotating schedule – on certain days I focus on different channels.
It allows me to keep up with people that I don’t want to lose touch with.

Great poll Jeff! I am in the 9% that use 10 or more . I believe many businesses are using only a few due to several reasons: Lack of time, lack of knowledge on what is out there, and lack of strategy. This is why I created the categories of social media diagram http://www.mirnabard.com/2010/02/15-categories-of-social-media/. This is where every business should be starting before diving into social media.

Jeff, I easily use over 40 for my own personal brand. For Sokolove it is in the 20′s, but will be rising if I have my way.

Hi Jeff, I’ve been using Social Media platforms for a few years now and I also advise people, companies and individuals, and I have found that you really need to peal away a lot of the platforms from people and use the least amount possible, but use them well.

These should then be firstly tied into a blog and then a site. This has been working well for some of the people I deal with. The main reason is that most people actually don’t want to bother with Social Media, they really do not see the point. It’s only people like us who look at the medium and realize what a powerful platform social media really is.

So I try to get them to do the bear minimum but do that well. I’d love to know if you have found the same.

Andy

Hi Andy, yes I believe that there can be a lot of effort put into using mulple channels and not doing it well. I believe that starting with a blog is essential as your home base and of course you need the website, then choosing social media channels where their customers are hanging out. This could include Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. These are the outposts are used by a lot of people and are becoming essential in amplifying your content. Cheers

Hey Jeff,
I have been using social media platforms from the past 2 years not for marketing but stay in touch with friends, follow a few celebs etc etc.
Lately I have started using some for marketing my blog and it’s awesome. I agree when you say that it provides with a greater opportunity for your content to go viral, so true .
Awesome post.
It is tough to manage accounts on various social media sites but I bet I will soon get a hang of it.

Jeff,

Great subject. Issues include learning curve, measurability & resource requirements. Enough reasons to keep many players out of the game but to their detriment — or peril? More social media success stories will serve as a catalyst on the previous issues. The “gold is in the hills” — but it takes time & effort to do the mining.

Hey Jeff,

Important question you asked there. By the looks of the vote results people are using 1 less channel than I anticipated. I wrote a post just yesterday about this, and It was apt that you made this one.

[...] recently ran a poll titled “How Many Social Media Channels Do You Use For Your Brand?” and the results from the current 143 people who have participated and their comments were [...]

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for a great post. We are really using 3 main channels: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and about other 5 like Eric indicated “using” just to spread the content, but not real interactions, so no real ROI and value either. I believe that further on companies will start paying more and more attention to their facebook strategies, especially with a recent release of the open graph and social plugins.

[...] are the 15 social media channels in order of  importance as indicated by the [...]

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[...] recently ran a poll titled “How Many Social Media Channels Do You Use For Your Brand?” and the results from the current 143 people who have participated and their comments were [...]

[...] Social Media Channels – Great tips on how many social media channels you should use for your brand. [...]

LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook profiles for BUSINESS PEOPLE do not require much maintenance. They are a good way to stay in front of people and to make yourself available. Twitter and Facebook for BUSINESSES is a little tougher. You need to have a steady stream of content, and not just “Having another coffee,” I mean real content that starts conversations or at least initiates thought.

Social media is a great avenue, if you have the dedication to see it through. There are just too many businesses Tweeting non-sense to justify following them. Even social media consultants and marketing consultants spend too much time discussing coffee, and not enough time creating ORIGINAL content. Jeff, I’d say you are spot on with your Twiiter use. I never see insignificant posts from you, so when I see your name, I give it a look. Keep up the good work!

Ben

[...] upside: We now have more channels to control how people perceive us both professionally and [...]

If I had read this a month ago I would have answered 3, but recently a friend told me about Jeffrey Gitomer’s upcomin (now out) book called Social Boom! After reading that and letting it percolate in my mind a few days, now will be adding a fourth. LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

I think each one will build on the other. Of course, if you don’t have a website or blog, I think that is the place to start.

For me its about finding the spaces of your customer… so you manage as many as it takes to communicate your message within your customers social space. I personally manage the big 5. blog, facebook, twitter, youtube, linkedin… they are currently for me the most active. I have dabbled with others but see more power in this 5 point combination I call ‘The Star’.

For me its about putting yourself within your customers social spaces, so the answer to the question should be ‘as many as it takes’. I personally manage the big 5, which I call the ‘The Social Star’. Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube. Maximum exposure to the most active networks

I use  Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin and Twitter.  Busy investing time improving my Twitter profile and quality of  engagement.  Had more direct “success” with Twitter though each channel has it’s own merits and place.  Not done much on Youtube except collating videos relevant to my audience.

Its a difficult balance to get right. Being able to syndicate information accurately across multiple platforms helps but not many Social Media users know how to do this yet.

[...] with their customers, especially for leisure activities, they still represent a very useful channel. I read an interesting article a couple of days ago on how the recent changes to Facebook could affe…usinesses" width="90" height="90" /> I read an interesting article a couple of days ago on how the [...]

[...] Center reported that 52 percent of adults maintain more than one social profile. For brands, maintaining multiple social presences is pretty much a no-brainer. Further, plenty of professionals are tasked with maintaining effective [...]

Should the answer not be as many as your potential customers are using? If one wanted to talk to lion tamers one might go to a circus, not a zoo.