We’ve all been there: you’ve heard there’s a new restaurant in town and it’s offering an all-you-can-eat-buffet.  From salads and pizzas to Asian and Mediterranean-inspired fare, everything is up for grabs.  

With mouths watering, you and your closest, hungriest BFF’s don their favorite foodie pants and head out on a mission to feast –fully-prepared to play your own version of The Hunger Games.  You arrive, and laid out before you is a sumptuous variety from where you can indulge your palate as often as you wish and still top off your epicurean adventure with one of many dessert offerings–all for the low price of $9.99.  

The choices are overwhelming…do I start with a salad or should I just go now for that one remaining Nanaimo bar? With so much choice, we don’t even know where to start. It’s the ultimate #firstworldproblem.

But buffets aren’t the only place where we’re overwhelmed by too many tantalizing options, social media marketing can be just like this, with options outnumbered only by opinions on what’s best. In fact, the only common theme is that everyone’s telling me I need/should/must be “doing” social media.

What’s the ‘right’ social media marketing channel for me and my brand?  If everyone is at the all-you-can-eat extravaganza, is that where I should be too?  What if my target audience prefers a more refined dining experience?  Or, what if a drive thru with a 140 character-limited menu is my best option?

The answer(s) might just be ‘Yes’ to all of the above, which may or may not be entirely helpful, I admit.  The challenge will be doing whatever you choose to do, and doing it well.  Where do you start?  Well, I like to start with an appetizer and a margarita with a dash of Pinterest, but I digress…

Here are a couple of tips to help whet your social media appetite, if you will, when considering the best approach for developing a smart, multi-channel strategy:

1. First and foremost, be one with your brand:  Know who you are, what your objectives are, and what you want your ‘voice’ to be  

2. Develop a social media marketing strategy that is measurable: you don’t “do” social media for its own sake. You’re trying to solve specific business problems. Pick strategies that you can actually tie to results.

3. Figure out where your customers are, and lurk.  Are they on Facebook or LinkedIn or both?  Do they pin or Instagram?  What about YouTube?  Hang out in Google+, literally. Put simply, Go fishing where the fish are.

And #justforfun, check out www.socialmention.com and search yourself by brand and search terms – and your competitors – to see what’s being said and where.

These steps will help get you started…stay tuned, and we’ll provide you with plenty of information and ideas to help you decide which channel(s) will best suit your needs.