This question comes up as often as a new social platform pops up and reaches a certain threshold of users. Some, like Snapchat and TikTok, defy odds and become big enough for brands to take notice and spend ad money on. So when should a small business consider joining or taking on a new network? Whether it’s new to the scene or new to you, the considerations are the same.
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What resources do you have to explore and learn a new network? There’s a learning curve to every new tech platform so you’ll need to set aside a significant amount of time for just setting up your account and exploring around. After the setup, you’ll also need to dedicate time to creating/posting/managing the account. If you’re feeling stretched thin on your current networks, then a new one would not be a good idea.
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Do they have the right audience for you? Whether it’s a new audience you want to target/reach or a demographic set that you know is now on the platform, you still need to do your research and see who’s using it AND how often. The network could have half a million users technically registered but only a few thousand who log in daily or weekly. Finally, if the audience is a new demographic for you, you’ll want to make sure that you have someone who is able to engage authentically with them.
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Will you need a new software to manage it? If you use a third-party platform to manage your current networks, you’ll need to factor the costs (time, labor) that managing a new one would bring.
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Are there other companies in your industry already on there? Or related industries?And are they (from the outside) performing successfully? On one hand, few businesses in your field means you’re a big fish in a small pond. On the other, it might mean that the network isn’t for you.
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Do you have the content or capacity to create the content that is needed? It’s one thing to use the same video for Facebook and YouTube, it’s another to put those onto TikTok and expect similar results.
New networks are exciting but also a risk. You’ll need to balance all the considerations first before joining a new one. If you need some research on users and their usage,
Pew Research Center is a good place to start.
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