Strauss: Follow your customers to social media

Q: OK Steve, so I am ready to finally jump on the social media bandwagon for my business. Better late than never, right? So then I suppose the question is – which site should I use? I am guessing that it's Facebook. Right? — Charlotte

A: Let's not guess; instead, let me share the social media trick that is assured to get you traction and engagement you want.

I'll tell you what it is in a moment, but first, consider this:

Did you know that half of all small businesses still do not use social media? If you think about it, it's not surprising. There are many reasons why a company may not engage in the phenomena that is social media:

• They have plenty of business already

• It's foreign, and their old marketing methods work just fine, thank you very much

• Too much of a learning curve

• It takes too much time, or they think it will

• They gave it a shot and it did not pay off

So let me say to all of my small business brothers and sisters out there, especially those of you who are flummoxed by social media: Take heart. You are not alone. Suffice it to say that even very big businesses have had a tough time figuring out how to master the vast social media universe.

Just yesterday I was speaking with an associate who recently had had a profound social media epiphany. "We couldn't believe it Steve," she said, "we have put most of our social media marketing efforts into Facebook. We have a huge presence there, post a ton of great content, and regularly engage our fans."

So, what was the insight, that it worked?

Nope, actually it was their customers seemed to favor Pinterest instead.

"Just recently, we also created a Pinterest account and started pinning. The response has been almost overwhelming," she continued. "It turns out that a lot of our customers are avid Pinners and engage with it far more than they do Facebook. We never expected, or knew, that."

There is a lesson here, a rule if you will, and it is the secret that I mentioned at the top:

Follow your customers.

Have you ever been to Magic Johnson's Magic 32 Sporting Goods stores? No? You never heard of it? That's right. The reason is because Magic, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our era, didn't follow this rule. Magic tells the story of when he was first getting started in business and opened that store. But instead of stocking it with what his potential customers might have wanted, Magic himself was the buyer and he stocked the shelves with items he liked. The store was one of his rare business flops and the lesson he learned is the one I am sharing with you today:

Follow your customers.

It is a rule that can be implemented in every part of one's business, but it is especially important with regard to your social media efforts.

The problem with casting a wide social media marketing net, with trying to go on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and YouTube and Instagram and Pinterest and so on, is that that takes a lot of time.

That said, the opposite issue is also real. The problem with going with just one site is that, like my colleague above, you may choose the right one, or you may not. So what do you do?

Follow your customers.

The company above thought that its customers were mostly on Facebook when in fact, Instagram was their platform of choice. They learned the hard way to follow their customers.

If you can figure out which social media site your customers tend to gravitate to most, then you will not only save yourself a lot of time, but you will also be more effective with your social media marketing because it will be more targeted and more on point.

So go ahead, ask your customers what platform they prefer. Post a poll on your site, put a survey in your store, send out a mass tweet or email. Do some research using your customer demographics. However you do it, it would behoove you to learn the answer because then, well, you won't be tweeting up the wrong twee. (Sorry!)

Today's tip: According to Digital Information World:

• Facebook is still the largest social media platform and the biggest demographic using it are those ages 25 -34. The fastest growing demographic of users however are those aged 65 and up.

• Twitter is only 1/3 the size of Facebook, and the largest number of Twitter users is "at the low end of the Millennial demo."

• Pinterest is now almost as big as Twitter in terms of the number of users.

• The vast majority of Tumblr users are ages 18-34.

• Ditto Instagram.

Steve Strauss, @Steve Strauss on Twitter, is a lawyer specializing in small business and entrepreneurship and has been writing for USATODAY.com for 20 years. E-mail: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com. Website: TheSelfEmployed.