I get this request a lot so I thought it fitting to talk about using multiple social media networks (that many feel are identical) in their brand strategy.  However identical (or fraternal) you find two or more networks, they indeed differ, and require unique and strategic thinking when approaching each.

Too often I am asked about supporting one initiative on Twitter and then doing the same type of support on Facebook.  While complementing your campaign on various social channels is important, mirroring them will only get you poorer results.

For instance, promoting a Twitter chat on Facebook isn’t going to get you more chat participants.  People go to Facebook to see photos of their friends and to find interesting pieces of content that they can engage with.  If Facebook drove people off of their platform, they’d never maintain their sustainable business model of capturing your hard-earned attention at an average of 20 minutes each session (globally).

There’s a reason Twitter is a more publicly accessible platform, with categorical sorting of information (hashtags), than Facebook is. It’s designed for it.  So what do marketers have to watch out for?

Ensuring your campaign is communicated on the channels in ways that are optimal for the design of that network is paramount to your campaign’s success.  You wouldn’t air an audio-only radio spot on TV, right?

At the top of this post, you saw one of my favourite infographics that stresses this.  But here is an even more real example that I love from Ephmra of how not to do it, but yet what many brands still do now.  It shows the irritation of duplicating your message on all social channels:

Twitter                 We sell donuts
Facebook             We sell donuts
Foursquare          We sell donuts
Instagram            We sell donuts
YouTube              We sell donuts
LinkedIn              We sell donuts
Pinterest              We sell donuts
LastFM                We sell donuts
G+                         We sell donuts

This mistake is common in an emerging media like social where the temptation to resort back to bottom-line profit-driven marketing is rampant.  To resist such a temptation, enlist experts who have measurable results from successful social campaigns that break from this mould.

The horseless carriage will soon be a car.