Social media…social media…social media, no longer that cool new buzz word or few new ideas. It is now quite an integral part of life, having seeped into every aspect of our lives. When it comes to personal we are using social media and when it comes to our work we are using social media. But what exactly is social media, everyones views and definitions are different. However we can all agree that there are too many social media platforms out there.
So what do we do about this? Do we go out and sign up for every possible social media platform there is, even the one’s that don’t particularly interest you or the numerous new ones that seem to be popping up everyday? Do we then use every platform that you have signed up for? Do we also use a different brand for the same application, for example I have signed up and extensively use WordPress do I then also have to use blogger as well . Of course not, no one has time for that, to keep up with every platform would be a nightmare.
What social media looks like to new people in the industry
So what do we to remedy this problem, because if your in the industry then you should be up-to-date with what’s going on, what are the latest technology or trends. That can be difficult especially with trying to juggle your personal and business life together. That’s where the “80/20” rule comes in, it is Pareto’s principle where 80% of effects comes from 20% of the causes (Wikipedia). This can also be applied to social media as well by saying that 20% of your effort will yield 80% of your result. With so little effort and such high results it means that if you spend time on the few good major social media platforms, you will reach pretty much all of your audiences.
Now where does this fit in with other social media platforms, well simply put you do not have to sign up for every little social media tool-set out there, it also means you do not have to sign up and use certain social media content even if you do not want to. Just because it is a popular platform does not mean you have to sign up for it. For instance, I have no desire to sign up for Pinterest, a social media tool-set which allows people to pin images, videos and other content onto their “pinboard” (Dashboard), which in turn allows other people to see and comment on that particular post. Its great for people who want share their fashion ideas, home decorating and cooking recipes and in turn they can find ideas which they might like. Currently Pinterest (Hate the spelling) is right now one of the fastest growing social media platforms, with lots of people signing up (Demograpically speaking mainly women). Does that mean I should sign up for this, even though it poses no interest to me what-so-ever and that the fact is it’s hard enough to keep up with the other social media platforms I am using? The answer is no I do not have to sign up for this platform, however as I have just shown you I am not only aware of this platform but also know the basics of what it is. However you should take into account that you may have to sign up for some tool-sets that at first doesn’t give you the right impression, for me that had to be Klout. That even now I actually loathe to use, but it is a good way to see large your social influence is.
A great image that segments each of the major groups of social media tool-sets/concepts
So what I am getting at is, that as long as you are aware and know what each tool-set is you do not have sign up and use each one. Just make sure you are up-to-date with as much tool-sets out their, I mean I am still finding new tool-sets and even ones which I had no idea about because they just didn’t have the fame that Facebook and Twitter had. Do not be afraid to go out and explore the internet for the treasure trove of social media tool-sets out there but make sure you don’t get bogged down in trying to sign up and use all of the social media tool-sets, because then you truly will never have time to do anything else.
The Neophyte Writer 