There Ain't No Fish on the Wrong Social Network

I would like to let you in on a little study my colleague and I did. Actually, it wasn't so little, it ran for 6 years. Yet to publish all of the results, the study focused on The Psychology of Social Media in relation to small business success.
After surveying and researching over 30,000 social media users, our results were very interesting. You can read more results here.
However, what was glaringly obvious and is seen today in millions of unsuccessful versus successful social media campaigns, is that if you are fishing on the wrong social network you will not catch any fish. You may snag some weeds, the odd tyre kicker, but no fish will be swimming in your social media sea; ever.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT SOCIAL NETWORK

There is not one social network that is right. In fact, it is a pet annoyance of mine when I see inexperienced social media individuals giving advice such as 'every business must be on Facebook'. Whilst I certainly advocate the need for every small business to embrace social media, there are certain industries that fare much better on certain social networks, not so well on others. The problems come when a business persists plugging away on a social network where they are unlikely to catch any fish.

WHERE ARE THE FISH BITING FOR MY BUSINESS TYPE

According to our study (and others since), there are definite personality types that prefer different social networks. However, when it comes to business here is an example of where the fish will be biting for your business:

• Retail Goods / Beauty Supplies / Fashion : Facebook & Google +
• Accountants / Lawyers / Contractors : Linkedin
• Journalists / Bloggers / Writers : Twitter
• Restaurants / Eateries : Foursquare, Facebook
• Social Media / Marketing / Web Design : All

HOW DO I FIND THE BEST FISHING SPOTS
This is where social media tools can be invaluable. At our office we use Hubspot and Quora. Check out this helpful article at Hubsot '7 Social Media Tools Salespeople Should Keep in Their Back Pocket'. These tools tell us where our business leads are active. Great, however no tools will tell us HOW to best approach social media. As we are marketers we know which strategies are effective, yet many business owners are not aware that the strategies they use are ineffective, unaware they are using the wrong bait.

YOU MUST BE USING THE RIGHT BAIT

The industry indications above in no way mean you should stick to one social network. It does mean, however, that you definitely need the right bait to attract the fish. However, I also know there is certain bait some fish will not take. Social media is no different. For example, if you are determined to connect with people on Facebook but offer nothing useful, only post links to your blogs, and never interact, you are definitely using the wrong bait!

HOW DO I FIND THE RIGHT BAIT

The right bait largely depends on your target market.

Should your customers  need financial advice then tips, legislation updates and industry news is great bait. 

If you are targeting new business start ups then free e-books, business success tips, links to helpful articles and marketing information all work a treat.

For retailers any offers or promotions, the word SALE, will capture your biggest fish.

Trade business? Definitely helpful tips, targeting local business via Facebook and offering specials will help your business.

In summary, do not expect to bag yourself any new business leads if you do not have the right bait when using social media. Look at your target market and ask yourself, what do they really want from my business? If they are big fat salmon and you are feeding them breadcrumbs there will be very little interest.