The thing about social media is there are new platforms popping up every. single. day. And what works well for some associations, may not work well for others. So how do you know which platforms your organization should be using? Three questions tell it all: 1. Is your audience there? Have you ever noticed that when something new comes out (particularly a new social media platform), it’s often deemed as “the next best thing?” Well, that might be true for some companies/organizations, but it’s not always the case for everyone. That said, before jumping on ANY new social media bandwagon, always ask yourself, “Are my members and potential members there?” If the answer is no, move right along – no matter how “shiny” that new social media platform might be. 2. Does it align with your goals? You should never be on social media “just to be on social media.” Everything you do should relate back to some goal. Keep those goals in mind when selecting your social media platforms. For example, if one of your organization’s primary marketing goals is to drive traffic back to your website, Instagram might not be the best platform for you because you can’t add links to your captions. Sure, you can add links to your bio, but that’s really just more work for you and your members. To make things simple, start by outlining your organization’s marketing goals; then, choose your social media platforms accordingly. 3. Do you have the content and resources? Let’s say your audience is on a particular social media platform and that platform aligns with your organization’s goals. If so, that’s great! That means you only need two other things to make that platform work: content for that particular platform (images, videos, etc.) and the resources needed to get/keep it running (in other words, someone to manage that particular page). If you don’t have both of those in place, it’s probably just best to put that platform on hold – at least for the time being. After all, the only thing worse than not being on a particular platform is having an account and just letting it sit idle. Now let’s say you have your social media platforms picked out, but unfortunately, they’re not really running the way you’d like them to. People aren’t engaging with you and you’re starting to run out of content to even post. What do you do in that situation? Well, allow us to help! Check out our free social media guide (for associations) below! In it, you’ll find best practices for using social media and even several social media post ideas! Happy posting/engaging!