Before you make a new account ask yourself this one question
I was reminded of something important this week. Before starting a new social media account, to make sure I can answer the question — Why this platform?
Let me back up. In my role at Carolina I oversee a group of students who help create content for the platforms called Tar Heel Social. Before I arrived, the group had been kicking around the idea of starting a Spotify account for the University. When I came on I was determined to make it happen.
Fast forward to last week and finally the launch of Carolina’s Spotify. While it may seem small, and all things considered it is, creating the Spotify account was a long-time coming and it was fulfilling to see the project go live.
When I took on the project, I quickly realized it was going to be more complex than simply going and creating a new account on Spotify, coming up with a few playlists and adding songs to them.
I’ll admit. I wanted to be on Spotify because I thought it sounded like a fun project to work on. But it goes deeper than that. I had to answer the question — Why?
Why Spotify? Why should students help run in? Why should Carolina even be on Spotify? Bingo.
Before you start investing your time and energy into a new platform you need to ask yourself — Why?
Why are you creating this account? Why is this account going to be worth your time? If you already have accounts set up, check-in and ask yourself — why? Why are you on this platform? Why is it worthwhile?
I see brands make this mistake all the time. They jump on the newest platform because it’s shiny and new and everyone else is doing it. Remember your mom probably asking you if everyone else jumped off a bridge would you jump too? Don’t jump to a new platform just because everyone else is.
So how do you know if an account is worthwhile? Start with demographic research.
You need to know where your target audience is spending their time and then meet your audience where they are. For example, if you’re trying to talk to Gen Z stop wasting your time on Facebook. They’re not there. TikTok - yes. Instagram - yes.
You can do primary research on the internet, but your audience is your best asset. Conduct a survey. Ask your clients. Talk directly with your target audience to find out what platforms they’re on and then weigh the pros and cons of starting a presence on those platforms.
Your first step is to make sure your audience is where you’re investing time and energy in your social media marketing. Before you create a new account, don’t forget to ask yourself — why?