I always laugh when I pick up an item in a store and the tag reads “One Size”. Really? Do you really believe that this fedora hat sized to fit a giant man will fit my teeny tiny child sized head? No! It’s unrealistic, and just as it’s unrealistic in the retail segment, it’s unrealistic to assume that a “one size fits all” approach to social media will work for your business.
I am a firm believer that regardless of what you are “selling” and regardless of who you are “selling” to, the audience on the other end of your social media channels should be able to visualize who they are talking to. This should be done through the portrayal of your social media personality, which should ultimately reflect your corporate culture and values. After following someone on Twitter for a couple weeks, I should be able to tell who this person is, what they represent, and what they’re about.
I often joke about my love for my little bunny, Loppy and my inclusion of him through my social media channels. While it may seem very “left field” from my generally professional tone, the person you see on Twitter is exactly who you would meet in person. Professional – with a side of bunny. Although my tone is generally the same across my various social channels, the way I communicate on each of them is very different considering there are different audiences on the other end of each channel. If I were to be communicating through the Answers section on LinkedIn, my tone and approach, although still me, would be very different than when communicating to my audience on Facebook, and then again different if I was filming videos to post on YouTube. Although you still want to ensure that you are authentic and “you” across your various channels, it is beyond important to understand your audience on each channel and ultimately, what you hope to achieve from each channel.
So the next time you try to paint all of your social media channels with the same brush, think about that fedora hat and my nose poking out from underneath the brim. One size does NOT fit all my friends.