Ideally, a business would like to be present on as many channels as possible in order to engage their audience at every available touch point. However, the reality is that time is finite, and most businesses don’t have the resources to dedicate toward creating meaningful conversations on every channel. Therefore, a good rule of thumb when choosing a channel would be to think hard about your customer, and try to predict where most of them are spending their time engaging with friends, family, and colleagues online. First evaluate each potential social media channel, create an account, and get a feel for the demographic of the people who use it. Because most businesses spend a lot of money on search, try searching a public engine for social media networks and tools which appeal to your demographic.
In my experience, 1-3 channels can be managed by a small to mid-size business in a time effective manner. Typically, most businesses invest in Facebook, Twitter, and a company blog. Again, make to to choose channels that are used by the people that you want to talk to. For the most part, most people use these three channels.
Once you’ve found a few social media networks that “feel” right, make sure that if you move forward and commit to building a presence that you do so with force. Simply creating an account and expecting your customers and prospects will not lead to success. Remember, successful social media marketing is about quality, not quantity.
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