Ask Buffer: How Many Social Media Platforms Should a Small Business Be Active On?

Question: How many social media platforms should a local business be using? Realistically, it is a challenge to manage multiple platforms well with the limited resources of a small business. – Keegan Edwards

There’s no end to the tasks small business owners have to juggle daily. When you’re managing everything from strategy to sales, adding a dozen social media accounts into the mix is just not sustainable.
Good news: it’s not necessary, either.

While social media is a powerful marketing tool, plenty of entrepreneurs have proved that quality over quantity is key when it comes to using social media to maximize their reach – and sales.

So: how many social media platforms should you be using? Keegan asked this great question as part of our #AskBuffer series. He went on to share his own stance on the topic: “I’ve always recommended picking two that make sense for your type of local business. Two is feasible to keep up with and do well.”

We agree that making a selection you can keep up with is key – but there’s a whole lot of nuance when it comes to exactly how many platforms to spend your time and resources on and (perhaps more importantly) which ones you choose.

In this article, we’ll dig into the factors that you should consider when making this important marketing strategy decision and help you find your social media sweet spot.

How many social media platforms should small businesses be using?

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer that applies to all small businesses.

To answer how many platforms you need to cultivate a social media presence on, your first port of call should be figuring out which ones you need to prioritize.

To dig into that, first ask yourself: where is your target audience?

Think about it this way: even if you have the resources to commit to, say, five platforms, are those resources well spent if your target customers aren’t hanging out on three of them?

From there, you need to consider your own business goals, the resources you have at your disposal, and what you have time for to make the best decision.

The only real mistake you can make here is to spread yourself too thin. We recommend starting smaller, and perhaps adding another channel or two into the mix if you find the effort manageable (and worth it!).

Let's explore each social media platform to give you a better idea of where your audience hangs out, plus shar