We'll agree that all of the above are interested in networking. And you'll find many people on each network because they've been told they have to do it.
Identifying your audience—their motivations, needs, personality types, styles, and what triggers them (for good or bad) should be a habitual, ongoing study as you journey through your social media networks.
Helping yourself to a basic understanding of social media personality types should provide you with general indicators, but common sense and personal observation and analysis should count for a major portion of your conclusions.
The nature of each platform itself pre-defines how a person responds to it as well as defining what types of people it attracts.
Let's look at Twitter, for example.
People who post exclusively on Twitter:
• Are generally more introverted than extroverted
• Dislike "hanging out"
• Prefer immediate results
• Like being "in the moment", real-time
• Goal-oriented
If you absolutely dislike social media engagement, then Twitter may be your best choice. It is the easiest and quickest platform to use. You can pre-schedule tweets for the day through social media management tools such as HootSuite (www.hootsuite.com) if you have a repeating announcement you need to make.
You can literally spend two minutes on it and be sure of not missing replies when you check your Twitter account later in the day.
But it's important to also evaluate your niche clientele or audience, and make sure they're on the same page with you. There’s no point running a careful Twitter campaign if your customers only interact on Facebook!
Section 7: Social Media
Your Personality
Your Personality in Social Media
Whether we're talking about you or your customer, it's important to understand that the outward expression of your personality automatically changes when you enter any social media platform. Talking to your customer on Twitter won't find you interacting the way you would if she were to physically walk into your office and sit down with you, face to face.
Talking to your customer on Facebook is not the same as interacting on Twitter. And interacting on Twitter is definitely not the same as posting on LinkedIn.
Introverts outnumber extroverts on Twitter. No matter what type of introvert you are, certain common Twitter characteristics and motivations emerge for a Twitter introvert:
• Social media involvement feels more of a chore than a pleasure
• You don't like interrupting your main money-making activity and/or passion to go interact socially
• You easily lose track of time while absorbed in your work
• You dislike confrontation
• You prefer a neutral, stress-free social platform where interaction doesn't become too intense
• You like Twitter because it's set up to be easy (and not intense)
If you are a Twitter extrovert, however, you are likely to be more motivated to post on Twitter rather than on other social networks, because:
• You hate wasting time
• You crave instant feedback
• You like to get straight to the point
• You have a direct message to convey
• You like Twitter because it's easy and gets the job done, real-time
Other Social Platforms
Understanding that we're dealing with the "Big Five" in this course, let's bring our newfound knowledge to these platforms. Is there any empirical evidence that various "types" favor a particular platform? And is there a platform that suits all types of online entrepreneurs?
For now, however, here is a quick general overview of who uses which network the most habitually and actively.