Good social media tools let you get your message to everyone who has internet access, but do you need to reach the whole world? Twitter has millions of users around the World. Do you sell your service around the World?
If you provide a local service, you might need a more local audience. Maybe you should consider a blog, rather than a micro-blogging service like Twitter. You could still use twitter to advertise the blog, but focus the blog on a more local audience. You might also consider local forums or a more regional social media outlet. There isn't a local social media outlet? Make one! There are a lot of social media tools that available. Need a blog? Self-hosted Wordpress is a good choice. Need forums? Drupal can easily give you forums, blogs and much more. Do you really think Twitter is the best option? Have you considered Status.Net? Status.Net is a micro-blogging platform like Twitter, that you control.
Social media tools can be wonderful things. If you use the right tools, you can make sure they work for you, and not the other way around. Maybe the right choice for you is to stick with the social media giants, but be aware that there are choices. Should your social media strategy target a world wide audience? Maybe. Should you target a local audience? Definitely. Maybe the right choice is all of the above.
What do you think about regional social media? Leave me a comment, and let me know.
