Social media has to be a part of your online presence, prospecting and client retention toolkit. If it isn’t you are probably falling further behind those agents that are using the new tools.
We have an amazing assortment of Guru’s trying to tell us what to say, when to say it and who to say it to, but I still get questions about which social platform should I use and how often should I post and who should I friend and on and on and on.
If you listen to the Gurus, you hear conflicting information. Some say post three times a day, some say that only 10% of your Facebook posts should be business related, some say to stay away from controversial topics, some say that one platform is all you need, others say to be on several platforms to cross pollinate…Yikes! It’s enough to give me a headache!
Here is my suggestion (and I am NOT a guru). Why not do a little research on your own first? Why not survey your very favorite clients/customers and find out what platforms they use on a regular basis (After all, if you like these people, chances are good that you’ll like their friends, so why not start there?)
Next I think I’d skip to the head of the line and see if there was any research available that could help me determine the answers to my questions.
Today is your lucky day, because I have found a very good source of research that you can access for free! The source is Pew Research and they have been conducting research into Internet, web and social media usage for well over a decade.
Here are some relevant facts from their 2015 survey on Social Media Usage from 2005-2015:
- Social Media Usage by Age: Ubiquitous Among Youngest Adults, Notable Among Older Adults
- Social Media Usage by Gender: A Shifting Balance Over Time, With Parity Today
- Those With Higher Education Levels More Likely to be Social Media Users
- Those Living in Affluent Households More Likely to Be Social Media Users
- Social Media Usage by Race/Ethnicity: Consistent Similarities
- More Than Half of Rural Residents Now Use Social Media
You can find the full report here: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/
Or Maybe you might be interested in knowing the Demographics of the users of the key social networking platforms: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/
Or maybe you’d like the latest information available: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/
No matter what your question, you can find answers if you do a little digging. If I were you, I’d root around the Pew site as they have some fascinating research studies that you can study.
And stop paying this Gurus. Stop taking classes on social media and do a little work on your own. You’ll be better off and you’ll be more likely to implement what you learned!
