It’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Multiple social media accounts can be one of them. While it’s tempting to be on every social network sharing your message, there are drawbacks to having too many accounts. So how many is too many? There is no perfect number. One school may do great with five while another is better off with three. It all comes down to how many channels your school can successfully manage based on the resources you have and want to give.
If you’re concerned that you may be spreading your message too thin, it’s time to do an honest assessment of your social media strategy. Let’s review the warning signs that you’re juggling too many accounts and what to do about it.
Are You Managing Too Many Social Accounts?
It only takes minutes to set up an account, but don’t let this deceive you. Social accounts are living, breathing entities that require constant monitoring. Several times a day, you need to check for comments and respond to feedback. Several times a week, you must have content to post in the form of blogs, links, images, polls, and more.
Here are some red flags that your social accounts aren’t getting the attention they need to perform well.
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Confusing messages. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. Would they be able to find your “official” school account easily? If not, narrowing down your accounts to just two or three can be helpful to prospective students.
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Low engagement. There are many social networks out there, but you only need to be where your audience is. If you have low engagement on some accounts, it’s probably better to use this time on your more active channels.
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Quantity over quality. Another sign that you have too many accounts is a high number of posts that lack in quality. Take your time and only publish posts that are relevant and useful to your audience. User-generated content is great for this purpose.
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Hashtag nightmares. Hashtags can be effective, but they can also be a nightmare. If you’re managing too many accounts, it’s easy to lose track and have your hashtag hijacked. This means that another business “steals” the hashtag and starts using it for something unrelated.
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Feeling lost. Do you feel that you have a good grip on your social accounts, or do you feel that you’re constantly scrambling? If it’s the latter, it might be time to narrow down your accounts. Effective social media management requires you to know what’s going on at all times.
Sometimes, It Takes a Village
There isn’t a one size fits all solution when it comes to the number of social media accounts you should have. Rather, it’s about what you are comfortable managing on a successful level. Quality is always better than quantity.
If you feel that you’re struggling with just a couple of accounts, enlist help from others. Reach out to the different departments on campus and request content. Student groups can even do a “takeover” for the day. There are many ways to get support for your social media accounts while making sure that your message isn’t spread too thin.
