Too Many to Handle: Prioritizing the RIGHT Social Channels

Last week, TikTok users across the U.S. experienced a wave of uncertainty as the platform went dark for approximately 12 hours. This came on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling and a subsequent executive order from President Trump that temporarily stayed the ban. The outage was a stark reminder of just how dependent creators, nonprofits, brands, and small businesses have become on specific platforms to drive revenue and connect with their audiences. Though the possibility of a ban had been in place for many years, many organizations were scrambling to figure out alternative ways to communicate.

This situation serves as a critical reminder to evaluate the social media platforms your organization is using and ensure that your strategy is sustainable. If you’ve been in the communications game for a while, you’re likely familiar with the frenzy of new platform launches. Each time a shiny new app hits the scene, there’s a rush to become an early adopter and capitalize on a fresh opportunity. But trying to maintain a presence on every single platform? That’s overwhelming and, frankly, unsustainable.

Instead of chasing every new trend or trying to be everywhere at once, there’s a better approach: focus on the platforms that align with your organization’s goals and audience. Here’s how to do it.

Quality Over Quantity: Narrowing Your Focus

Rather than spreading your resources thin across multiple platforms, prioritize 2-3 channels where your audience is most active. By doing this, you can create a strategic content plan tailored to the unique nuances of each platform. Big brands may have the luxury of dedicating entire teams to each channel, but if you’re a small team or a solo marketer, you need to be realistic about what’s manageable.

More platforms don’t necessarily mean better results; they often just mean more work. A focused strategy ensures that your time and resources are being used efficiently.

How to Evaluate Which Platforms Are Right for You

1. Assess Your Audience

Start by understanding your audience both in terms of demographics and psychographics. Who are they? What do they care about? Where are they spending their time online? Match these insights to the strengths of specific platforms.

For example:

• Instagram and TikTok tend to attract younger audiences who enjoy visual and video content.

• LinkedIn is ideal for B2B organizations and professional networking.

• Facebook is often a go-to for community-building, especially with older demographics.

Need a starting point for research? Sprout Social’s demographic insights are a great resource.

2. Review Your Past Content Performance

Look at your past posts across all platforms. What types of content have performed well? Which media formats (video, text, links) tend to attract the most engagement? Use this data to inform your platform strategy, aligning the content your audience prefers to the platforms that are most conducive to it.

3. Define Your Content Goals

Consider what’s most important for your organization’s content strategy. Are you aiming to build a community, educate your audience, or drive direct sales? Different platforms excel in different areas. For example, TikTok and Instagram are great for building awareness and fostering engagement, while Facebook groups and email newsletters might help build deeper community ties.

A good rule of thumb to start with is the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should inform, inspire, or educate your audience, while only 20% should be promotional. This helps you foster a sense of community rather than inundating your followers with constant calls to action. Of course, metrics matter—keep an eye on how your content is performing and adjust accordingly.

A Tangential Note: Diversifying Your Strategy

The temporary loss of TikTok underscored a crucial point for communicators: social media platforms are borrowed spaces. You don’t own your followers on these platforms, and changes outside your control can disrupt your communication channels overnight. That’s why it’s critical to build a strategy to own your audience.

One way to do this is by collecting email addresses through newsletters, sign-up forms, or gated content. An email list gives you a direct line to your audience and ensures that you can reach them even if a platform disappears or becomes unavailable.

The Last Word:

Our hope is that this gives you the peace to let go of platforms that aren’t serving you and spend your limited capacity focusing on maximizing your content ROI.  

Choosing the right social media platforms for your organization requires a thoughtful, data-driven approach. By focusing on where your audience is most active, reviewing what works, and aligning your efforts with your goals, you can build a sustainable and effective strategy that works better than cross-posting across all platforms with a “spray and pray” approach.

And don’t forget to diversify your communication efforts beyond social media to ensure you have a backup plan for when borrowed platforms fail.

It’s not about being everywhere—it’s about being where it matters most.