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Does your business really need a Pinterest account? Is Google+ worth your time? With so many social media sites available, it can be hard to determine which accounts will help your company. Social media can be a time suck if you spread yourself too thin, and generating regular content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. can be exhausting. So which social networks are best for home care businesses? As part of the 2016 Home Care Benchmarking Study, national providers weighed in on which sites they preferred. Here are their top answers:

Chart of social media accounts used by home care providers

Facebook was the most commonly used social media site among agencies, and LinkedIn came in a distant second. While these statistics aren’t necessarily a guide to which sites providers should use, they do indicate which sites providers prefer as they work to reach home care clients. If you’re debating which sites you should use (or drop), consider these pros and cons to each site.

Facebook: Facebook is the largest social network. It has over 1.3 billion users, and nearly half of those users are active each day. Facebook is ideal for building a community presence and reaching a broad audience. As the benchmarking data shows, this is the most popular site among home care providers, and if you’re only going to join one social network, it should probably be Facebook. Use the platform to participate in community discussions, answer client questions, and share events and blog content.

Google+: Google+ may not be your personal go-to social network, but don’t dismiss it for your business. Whenever you post on your Google+ page the content is immediately indexed by Google. That means your Google+ content can rank in search results even if your business blog or website doesn’t. Links posted on Google+ are also what’s known as “Do-Follow,” so for SEO purposes alone, it’s worth it for home care agencies to create an account on Google+ and to keep it active.

Instagram: Since Instagram is driven by visual content, you should only subscribe to this network if you can provide consistent and relevant photo and video content for your followers. In general, home care providers do not generate this type of content on a regular basis, and posting client photos online may require signed permission forms from both employees and clients, which may explain why only 6.6% of providers use this network. Unless you or a staff member is photo savvy, this probably isn’t a good fit for a home care agency.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketing and recruitment. While it’s not an ideal network for lead generation, it is a great place to form relationships with potential professional referrals. You may also want to use LinkedIn as part of your recruitment efforts. With two new people joining the network every second, it provides a wide array of possible applicants.

Twitter: Twitter is a constantly updating news stream. Tweets enter your feed in real time, which means Twitter is a great site to engage in live conversations or to discuss current events or industry news. Since tweets are shown in real time, this also means that you need to post regularly in order to reach your audience. If you can only tweet once a week or once a month, Twitter probably isn’t right for your company. However, if you can tweet daily, Twitter is a great place to speak with current clients, host Q&As, and stay relevant in industry discussions.

Be selective as you determine which accounts are right for your company, and don’t be afraid to delete accounts that you don’t regularly update. Choose only the sites that fit your audience and your ability to post regular updates. There’s no question that your company should use social media; however, that doesn’t mean every site is right for your company.

Discover how the 2016 Home Care Benchmarking Study can help grow your business in marketing, sales, finance, and operations.

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