Aug022011
I’d Plus One That!
With the arrival of Google+ now firmly in place amongst the social network big players, the question you need to ask yourself each time you post an update is whether or not to post it word for word exactly the same across all of your social networks, or tailor each update to different audiences. Of course, it’s entirely possible that you have ditched one service for another, for example closing your Facebook account to move over to Google+ in which case you need ever only worry about one aspect of your online social movements. But for those of us that use Google+, Facebook AND Twitter (and possibly even more), do you really want to be posting the same content across all of your social network sites?
For a long time now there have been services like HootSuite and Tweedeck that allow you to post to different networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Buzz, MySpace (LOLz), etc but with another major player moving into the arena isn’t it all just getting a little bit cluttered now?
Information Overload
Let’s take a look at things from a fan’s perspective. Chances are, they Like you on Facebook, and they follow you on Twitter. If you are posting the same content to both FB and Twitter, why does your loyal fan need to see the exact same content across the two networks? Why should they read the exact same info twice? It’s because you don’t want your followers/fans/whatevers to miss out on important news and events that you want to share with them and you want to cover all of the social network bases.
But think about it for a minute. It could be argued that the updates you supply on each network should be different to take advantage of the differing sharing and interaction capabilities. For example, if I’ve got something quick and simple to say or share with the world, the first place I go to is Twitter. I use Twitter mainly for commentary on the world, talking about the things I like and the things that piss me off. Twitter is great as it has a forced character length which keep your updates concise and is great for firing one-off pics from my mobile phone to an integrated service like Twitpic. On the other hand, if I find a web page that I like which I want to share on the net, I usually head towards Facebook to do this. Facebook allows for a much longer description than Twitter does and also collates Likes and comments into one place so that discussion and response becomes easier.
Mixing It Up
Yes, of course I share links and comments from time to time across all three networks but I like to try and mix it up a bit if I can. Even on Facebook I tend to divide my updates even further. On Facebook I have a Like page, I have a group page and I have my personal “me” page. The Like page is content that revolves around me and will include online mixes and links to blog posts from my own site. Jeez that all sounds a bit self-indulgent, but hey its a Like page and that’s what it should be.
In my Group, I tend to share great DJ mixes that I have found online from a wealth of sources such as Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Podomatic and so on. At the same time I invite others to post up any great mixes that they have found into the group. I try my best to do this daily and so each mix I share I call it my “Mix Of The Day” a hand-selected personal recommendation of a great mix that I think will appeal to the same people that like my mixes too. This Mix Of The Day labelling also crosses over into Twitter territory where I hashtag my Mix Of The Day updates with #mixoftheday, thereby inviting others to post links to their mixes of the day and add the same hashtag to it.
Social Networking Is Rarely static
It’s all one constantly moving, bubbling entity that doesn’t really stay the same and so because of this I like to tailor my updates to take advantage of each network’s funtionality. So with Google+, for example, let’s say I want to find out who remixed a specific tune that I heard. I only want to ask the people who are most likely to know which are, in this case, my DJ friends. I fire out an update to my DJ circle and it’s done without the need to clog up someone else’s network stream with a question they probably wouldn’t be able to answer.
It’s still early days for Google+ and over time we will be able to realise the finer qualities and major advantages but for now Google+ gets all of my serious updates. My Facebook group gets awesome mixes, my Like page stays up to date with stuff that I’ve either written, performed or produced, my personal Facebook account is for stuff that is less serious and Twitter is usually reserved for rants, hat-tips and smart-alec comments.
So What’s The Answer?
Of course, the solution to all of this is to put everything all under one social network roof. That’s the real honest answer here and we both know it. Once place for everything. But the trouble is, to market yourself as a DJ, limiting yourself to just one network is also placing a limit on your fanbase too and do you really want to limit the size fanbase you have when this is the most important factor when it comes to getting bookings?
What do you think? How many social networks are you signed up to? Do you post exactly the same content across all of them? Have you closed one network account down to move to another? How are you using Google+ to your advantage?
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