The Social Media Garden

As a media professional, I work hard to understand the social media and web communication options that I want to plant and watch grow. I created this chart to try to get a handle on what media tools were worth the time and effort for SOBO and my clients.

Remember, every social media platform you choose will take some work to be a benefit. You need to schedule time to feed and weed your garden to insure it’s worth your effort.

The social media landscape is changing at lighting speed. This is my 1000-foot view. I’m very interested in discussing this topic so please jump in with your thoughts and comments.

Social Media	Pros	Cons
Facebook	Free Easy to use Can make groups (pages) private or public Can have a business page Powerful advertising options to targeted audience / area Easy to link to other social media Interactive conversation Multimedia – video, photos, links, articles, etc.	Must have a Facebook account to interact “casual push” of content – must be in Facebook  (NewsFeed) to see threads that user has not commented on Can’t search content threads Need to work to understand and control the personal information you share with the public
YouTube	Free They handle the hosting, streaming of video files (huge benefit) Can get analytics of who’s watching Uses keywords and helps with SEO for website Owned by Google Can create Channel and Playlists Easy to integrate into other social media and website	There’s so much content it’s hard to stand out Need a gmail account Difficult to change account owner
LinkedIn	Powerful professional networking tool Facebook for professionals Free, but can also upgrade for more features Recommendations can validate you professionally Can link to your website and portfolio Helps you reconnect with contacts Shows up well in search engines	Takes some time to get your profile up to speed Need to be comfortable with the information you are sharing with the world
Twitter	Free Can be linked with other social accounts like LinkedIn Easy to push out statements and links Need to be concise Really like it in live/event situations to enable interactivity with audience	Has it’s own shorthand Limited number of characters means you have to be REALLY concise Analytics are not built in
Newsletter (Constant Contact, iContact, etc.)	“Push” content to email list Can track hits Delivers email to users account	Not interactive Monthly charge ($10) Need to set up layout and design Can be tricky to program
Newsletter (Basic email blast)	Free Easy to use	Anything over 100 names is considered spam by email host
WordPress	Free Unlimited users to blog Lots of templates Looks like website Can use your URL or theirs Can choose if visible to everyone or private If public, search engines crawlers will promote awareness Archiveable Searchable RSS feeds Interactive – others can comment on subject Can create categories to organize conversations Statistics & tracking Can add users as contributors and administrators Can link with Facebook  & Twitter Aps available for iPhone & Blackberry	Bit of a learning curve to learn how to set it up