Supply Chain: Be smart when choosing social networks

When it comes to social media and the supply chain, popularity isn’t everything.

With more than 1.3 billion users, Facebook is the most popular social network. Your B2B business should not use Facebook just because of its popularity.  Rather, your business should use Facebook (or not) because it fits into your marketing and business strategies.

There are a lot of social networks out there – and the number is growing every day (hello, Ello).  Not only is it impossible for your business to be present on every social network, it is also not a good use of time and resources.  Instead, you need to identify which social networks (or even which social network) is right for your business.  What makes a social network “right?”  The right social network is one through which you can create value by communicating with your current and prospective customers.

Leverage New Age Media put together an infographic which offers a great overview of six popular social networks.

Reviewing this infographic is a great starting point for determining where your business should be involved. However, you need to take the next step and, as mentioned earlier, determine which social network(s) best fit your business.

A recent survey of individuals within the logistics and supply chain industries asked which social networks their company uses.  The top networks identified by respondents were: Twitter (94%), LinkedIn (86%), and Facebook (77%).  Given that these three social networks are used the most, one would expect them to also have the great business impact.  Surprisingly, this is not the case.  94% of respondents reported Twitter to be very impactful, 86% reported LinkedIn to be very impactful, while just 15% reported Facebook to be very impactful.

When participating in social media, be smart. Choose social networks that create value for your company.  If you start using one and find it isn’t working for you, alter your strategy, or stop using that social network.

This article originally appeared on Electronics Purchasing Strategies.

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