Our friends over at Google are really good at what they do.
Their stock price is over $1,000 a share. But even they make mistakes sometimes… the kind you can learn from.
Google just announced the shut down of Google Plus, their social network originally created in hopes of rivaling Facebook as a social platform.
But as of April 2019, Google+ is going away.
How Much is Too Much?
We’re big Google fans and I respect the hell out of them for continuing to push the envelope with innovation and risk-taking. Most successful people know the value of failure.
But that’s not the big lesson to be learned here…
You see, Google made the same mistake many business owners make: thinking people wanted another social platform right now.
That’s why you probably don’t care that Google Plus is shutting down. You weren’t using it.
The Moral of the Story
With the sheer number of social media platforms out there, it’s tempting as a business owner or manager to want a presence on as many of them as you can.
That’s where the trouble starts.
It’s hard enough to maintain a presence on a well established social site like Facebook. It’s even harder to BUILD an audience on an emerging platform like Instagram.
So when you factor in the amount of effort needed to be successful with social media and the logical limits of your time, staff and budget – you’ve got tough decisions to make.
Are your customers on all kinds of different social platforms? Yes.
Can you effectively reach and develop a relationship with ENOUGH of them on different platforms to make a meaningful difference in your bottom line? Probably not.
Our suggestion:
Focus your efforts on 2-3 social platforms where you can go deep, build an engaged community and hope to see a return on your investment of time, money (or both).
Happy social networking!
