You’re ready to take the plunge into the vast sea of social media, but how do you know which platform is right for you? With a variety of social networks to choose from, it can be difficult to determine which will make you float and which will make you sink.

Here’s a little personality test to help you determine which social media platform is best suited to your needs so you can sail smoothly—and confidently. Dive in!

Find Out Which Social Media Site Is Best For Your Personality

Read the questions below. If your answers are mostly “yes,” then the accompanying platform is your best choice.

• Would you enjoy posting both text updates and pictures about your life?
• Do you want to keep up with your friends and family, as well as interact with your readers and fans?
• Are you planning to reconnect with old friends or acquaintances who could become new fans?
• Are you looking for a social media platform that doesn’t eat up too much time?

Facebook is the right platform for you. Here’s why: Facebook is the place to be if you want to rekindle old relationships while building new ones. And you can post quite a bit of text (as opposed to the sometimes stifling nature of Twitter’s 140-character limit). With Facebook, you’ll have the ability to create your own online communities through fan pages or personal profiles.

OR you may want to try Google+, a platform very similar to Facebook.

NEXT:

• Are you constantly connected to your computer or smart phone?
• Do you like brevity?
• Prefer text over visuals?
• Do you enjoy instant gratification and real-time interaction?

Twitter is the right platform for you. Here’s why: Twitter is a fast-paced environment. If you’re looking for a conversation-type vibe, succinct thoughts, and lightning speed interaction, you’ll find it on Twitter. But be prepared to be updating Twitter often—maybe on and off all day—to make it work at its best.

NEXT:

• Are you a visual person?
• Do you like collecting new inspirations for recipes, home décor ideas, or arts and crafts?
• Are you interested in creating your own hodgepodge of various images you like?
• Do you enjoy surfing the Web and visiting your favorite sites to find helpful new info?

Pinterest is the right platform for you. Here’s why: Pinterest allows you to create boards that can focus on anything—books, movies, recipes, home décor, etc. So you can showcase your own book covers and share some of your other interests as well. But Pinterest won’t necessarily let you build personal relationships with others in the way Facebook and Twitter can. There’s very little interaction with visitors.

NEXT:

• Are you strictly visual?
• Do you prefer to show rather than tell?
• Are you looking for a social media platform that’s low maintenance?
• Does the old adage “A picture’s worth a thousand words” ring true for you?

Instagram is the right platform for you. Here’s why: Instagram lets you share photos from your life. Rather than posting a text update, you can post a shot of what you’re doing and where you are. Instagram’s the perfect platform for the photographic mind, and it allows your followers to virtually travel with you wherever the road takes you.

NEXT:

• Are you strictly business?
• Do you want to build lasting professional relationships?
• Are you trying to get your résumé out there?
• Do you see yourself as a mover and a shaker?

LinkedIn is the right platform for you. Here’s why: LinkedIn helps you to make business contacts that will be lasting and fruitful, and to look for potential career opportunities. LinkedIn can also work as your electronic résumé, and people can endorse your talents and skills.

NEXT:

• Are you obsessed with book groups?
• Do you have a bookshelf overflowing with already-read (and to-be-read) books?
• Do you love sharing your thoughts on the latest book you’ve read?
• Do you always check out the book reviews before reading a book?

Goodreads is the right platform for you. Here’s why: Think of Goodreads as one giant book club. You can peruse genres, authors, or specific time frames to find books you may be interested in reading. You can also read reviews by other bookworms. Goodreads is where you can post your virtual bookshelf, show all your friends what you’re reading, and tell them what you’re reading next.

So…Which Social Media Platform Is Right For You?

We hope you have a better understanding of how each platform can benefit a specific type of personality so that jumping into the Social Media Sea will feel more like a warm dip on a summer day rather than a polar bear plunge. And remember: You can always sign up for more than one! If you have an author website, you can also integrate all of your social media platforms in one place.

Photo by Frau Hölle

QUESTION: Which social media site speaks to you the most?