If you’ve been blogging and influencing for a while, you know there’s been some new platforms that have popped up over time. Some have come and gone, while others have stuck. We’re looking at you TikTok. No one really thought it would have staying power as it was originally an app for teens to dance into the camera. But things changed and now TikTok is popping up in campaign deliverables more and more. With an ever-changing social media landscape, we often get asked “Do I have to be on every platform?”. And the answer is, it depends.
Do You Have To Be On Every Social Media Platform As An Influencer?
First, you’ll need to assess your business and what type of content you typically create and willing to create. For someone who creates outfits, but doesn’t have a website (here’s why you should start a blog!), we would say, maybe skip Pinterest because it’s going to be hard to go viral with just a daily outfit post on Instagram. If you love creating video, we’d encourage you to jump into any platform that creates video to maximize your effort but maybe skip worrying about professional photos for in-feed Instagram posts. You get the idea.
Instead, find platforms that check BOTH of these boxes.
Choose A Platform That You Thoroughly Enjoy Creating Content For
Will put effort into it? If it’s not going to be something you enjoy putting the effort into, you’ll not spend the time commitment it needs to grow. Instead, leaning into the platforms you truly enjoy being on creating content for (not necessarily consuming the content as we want to be creators, not consumers) you’ll see organic growth no matter what. Plus, at the end of the day, you’ll be happy creating that content and you will feel more creative because of it.
A Platform That Is Already Working For You
We love it when we hear people say “oh my god I’m killing it on YouTube, it’s great” and yet, they have a non-existent Instagram basically. This doesn’t mean they’re less valuable as an influencer because they’re not focusing on every single platform. If a platform is already working for you and in a big way, continue using it and lean into it even more. Focus on the platforms that are already generating your most revenue, follow growth, or pageviews. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And instead, put a more organized and concerted effort into that platform so that you can maximize your results.
This is also a good way to figure out how to jump into another platform if you’re ready for the time commitment. If YouTube is working for you, that means you’re probably doing a great job with video. Look at turning your YouTubes into shorter, quicker videos that you can easily post on TikTok and Reels. This way you’re exposing your brand in more places with the content you’re already comfortable creating. It won’t require a ton of extra effort and you can easily evaluate this in a few months to see if it’s worth continuing.
Final thoughts…
You don’t have to spread yourself too thin. Focus on what is working or what inspires you. You’ll create your best content and see the most results this way. And if you have no idea where to start in figuring this out, dive into your current content and platforms and do an analysis. Which ones bring you joy and which ones drive the most revenue or clicks depending on what the goal of that platform is.
For example, Pinterest won’t generate you money directly, but it can directly impact your blog traffic. Which has a ripple effect on boosting your sponsored campaign rates and affiliate revenues. If Pinterest is driving lots of traffic, start creating more content on a more consistent basis to see even more great results.
There’s no reason to jump into a new platform that creates content that you don’t enjoy making just because it’s popular. At the very least, grab your influencing handle and set up a bio so people know you’re there if you change your mind, and no one takes your handle!
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