Becoming Socially Ambidextrous
Categories: 1to1 Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0, social media.
Why Using Two or More Social Networks is Becoming the Norm
Today’s blog post by Brian Solis (”The Competition for Your Social Graph“) got me thinking:
- Do I use more than one social network?
- And if so, why?
- And if you don’t, “Why don’t you?”
When I was growing up in San Carlos, California, my best friend was Alan Daines. Not only were we best buds, but Alan was unique among my friends in that he could bat and throw with both hands. By definition that means that Alan was ambidextrous (or could use both hands equally well).
Alan was a lefty by birth, so he ended up playing first base for the San Carlos High School Dons. But he also taught himself to first bat righthanded, and then to throw righthanded as well. Man, that was cool!
After a lot of work I learned how to bat lefthanded; but throwing? Nah, that was another matter.
I’m Not Socially Ambidextrous - I’m Actually Socially Multidextrous
When it comes to my use of social networks and social media, however, it turns out that I’m socially multidextrous. By this I mean that I’m not dedicated to using one social network, tool, service or media to the exclusion of others. No, I actually use multiple social networks/media/services/tools, and sometimes I use more than one at the same time.
My first exposure to social networking was MySpace. I signed up years ago because we were trying to get my daughter, Melea, into the entertainment industry as a singer. (Tough, tough world, by the way.)
Today I visit/use MySpace rarely as I find its focus on music and entertainment to be overrun with skanks, ho’s and people typically interested in their next hookup. (No thank you.)
Facebook, however, is another thing. I now visit nearly every day and use it for both professional and personal networking and staying connected.
Twitter is the same for me. I use it almost every day, especially through HootSuite (which has some great tools for managing URL shortening and providing stats on people who click through URLs you embed into tweets).
I also use two business-focused social networks: LinkedIn and Plaxo. Of the two I like and use LinkedIn the most, although I really like the ability within Plaxo to send e-Birthday cards to my friends.
I also use a number of other social media/network tools/services, depending upon what it is I’m trying to do that day, especially services and tools tied to Twitter. Of these, I probably use
the most.
Why I Use Multiple Social Networks, Media, Services and/or Tools
What works for me is using different social networks, media, services and tools for different purposes.
For example, I use Facebook (in part) because it’s so dang big — more than 300 million members at last count. That’s a massive potential marketplace, and we advise ALL of our clients to use and be on Facebook.
I also use FB because it allows people to create and post multiple types of content onto their “Walls,” profiles and other users’ Walls, especially longer posts/content. This can be a good thing (if not used to excess).
Additionally, I have the ability to filter who is actively following (or Friending) me on Facebook. That can be important from a “noise” standpoint.
The microblogging service Twitter, on the other hand, is great for instantaneous, short messages, which makes sense since you are limited to a total of 140 characters max on Twitter.
(NOTE: If you want others to retweet, or re-post/re-tweet, what you’ve written, however, I’ve found it’s best to keep your Twitter posts/tweets to around 120 characters instead of using all 140. People are less likely to shorten your tweets this way.)
I also like the fact that I can “legally” have more than one Twitter account (as per Twitter’s Terms of Service). {You’re not supposed to do that on Facebook, with the exception of having a FB profile and a FB Fan Page.}
Ergo, I currently have one main Twitter account that I use most of the time (@dpolitis), but I also have several other Twitter accounts that come into play depending upon my particular area of interest or need.
LinkedIn, however, is all about business and networking for business purposes, and I use it as such. (And to be honest, I use LinkedIn a LOT more than I use Plaxo for two reasons:
- LinkedIn has more than twice as many users as Plaxo (50MM+ vs. 20MM+), and
- I get fewer random (read spammy) connection requests on LinkedIn vs. Plaxo.
And then as I wrote above, I use other social services and tools based upon what they allow me to do, especially with other social networks and media.
So . . . how about you?
- Do you use social networks/services/media/tools for your marketing and sales efforts?
- And if not, why not?
- And if so, which one(s) do you use the most (and why)?
- Or are you socially ambidextrous? (Do you have two favorite social networks you use all the time?)
- Or . . . are you really socially multidextrous, using multiple social networks/media/tools/services to engage with your customers, partners, investors, etc., all in the name of selling more products and services?
Tell me what you’re doing with social networks (and why) by posing your comment below. Thanks.
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