Do you need to do all the social media ?

One of the most frequent questions I get from people is whether – in order to do their job in marketing or get a job in marketing – they need to be on all the social platforms. Most are really hoping the answer is no, and I get it. Social media can be stressful, whatwith the political arguing and the FOMO on everyone's amazing parties and the fact that it’s a true timesuck to be active on a platform – let alone several platforms.?

At the risk of being washy washy, my answer is that it depends.

Here’s why, though:?If you want to work in social media and digital marketing (which these days, is almost all marketing), then yes, you really do need to understand the dominant and rising social platforms being used across demographics. They will give you insights into how your audience makes sense of the world and the brands they encounter. Even if your brand, organization or business doesn’t need to engage much on social, marketers should understand how it works and how it might help you gather audience insights or build your brand.

Sure, it can be intimidating to learn all the platforms, but you don’t have to?use?them all regularly. The most relevant in marketing right now are probably Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube and yes, Facebook is still hanging in there (so don’t rule it out). Although it’s early days for Threads, it’s already trending better than Twitter/X; it's probably a good idea to at least try it out. A lot of people I know hate Snapchat, but it’s still a big enough – and growing – force that it's smart to understand how people use it.?

Why does it depend??If you want to work specifically in social media, it is actually really important to have working knowledge of most platforms and expertise in the major ones. Your team will expect you to be able to monitor content trends across platforms (and use them whenever it’s relevant to your brand), understand how the algorithms work and create social strategies that best engage your audience. (If you're in a strategic role in content marketing, this kind of expertise is also super-valuable: In order to strategize how to help your content reach the right audience, know the many social tools at your disposal and when to use them.)?

If you don’t work explicitly in social media, you should still understand basically, what all the platforms are like, how they work, who uses them and why.?So, how can you do this without totally losing your mind?

Pick two.?Choose one or two platforms to actually use yourself for personal or professional purposes and figure out what makes an engaging post. I passively consume media on lots of social platforms but the only two that I use daily are Instagram (which is purely personal and fun for me) and LinkedIn (which I use for professional purposes). I'm no influencer, but I have a pretty good idea of what will bring the ??s and comments.

Get a tour guide.?Ask someone you know who uses the other platforms regularly to give you a tour and let you watch them use it. Marketing agency colleagues many years ago gave me an invaluable Snapchat crash course, which helped us create a few amazing tween-focused campaigns. My own kid first taught me about TikTok, and I was able to use that knowledge working with my team to build a healthcare brand and credibility. (But mostly, I'm heavily into #cattok.)

Read or listen to experts.?Another great way to understand what’s going on with social is to subscribe to newsletters or listen to podcasts from experts who are good at distilling takeaways for you. I really enjoy? Arik Hanson 's Talking Points(Arik's the OG of social media newsletter editors here in the Twin Cities but his insight applies far beyond here).?

Embrace humility.?I've published scholarly papers and books about how people use social media, and I have to admit it took me a little time to realize that didn't make me an expert. In fact, I know a?whole lot less?than my colleagues who are social media directors, managers and producers (many of whom I'm connected to on LinkedIn and may be reading this now -- shout out to you!). Social is both a field of expertise and an ever-changing animal, especially in terms of staying ahead of algorithms and trends. Learn from the professionals who do it, respect the craft and pay for their help if you need it.?

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