What social media platforms are right for you?
When you’re busy running your business, finding time to be active on every social media platform can feel like an impossible task.
More importantly, it can be an ineffective use of your time. Instead of spreading your resources thin; focus your efforts on one or two key platforms.
The question is, how do you choose the right ones?
Read on to discover our list of several social media platforms to determine which ones are best for you and your industry.
Audience: Very popular platform encompassing all ages, and both genders. Best for B2C communications.
Pros: As the most popular social network in the world, everyone is on Facebook. And there is good reason why. Facebook’s users cover almost every demographic and advanced targeting and analytics makes this a great platform for reaching your target customer and measuring results. Take advantage of niche interest groups and growing numbers of senior users.
It’s probably best to at least have a presence on Facebook. As Facebook is such a large and visited site, having a presence on Facebook also acts as a local SEO signal.
Also, consider whether your business will benefit from establishing or joining private groups, making Facebook Events (for example, to celebrate the launch of a new product), or discussing relevant content on Facebook live.
Cons: Facebook is cluttered. With everyone competing for attention, it takes dedication to build your community, including powerful creative and compelling copy, consistent posting and community engagement and collaboration. Even then, organic reach can account for as small as 2% of engagement. Facebook has moved to the pay to play model and you will need to incorporate a Facebook Ad budget to optimise your content and enhance the organic traffic you’ve been building to date.
Audience: A younger platform predominantly 18-35 years, mostly female. Larger following in urban areas.
Pros: Useful for lifestyle industries and products such as travel and hospitality, fashion, health and wellness, arts and crafts, food and beverage, e-commerce, beauty, photography, auto, event planning.
A visual platform. Instagram is owned by Facebook, so you can still make use of Facebook’s powerful analytics and advertising capabilities. If you are comfortable keeping it real, Insta stories are also highly engaging. The platform allows for a lot of creativity – although this may be a con if you’re not creatively inclined!
Other features that could fit in to your business including adding a shop-able links to the eCommerce site, Instagram Stories and IGTV to share longer videos. Highlights also enable us to create evergreen content for more visitors to take in.
Cons: Posting irregularly or using stock photos won’t cut it. Users of this platform engage with high quality images and look for content that adds value to their lives. You will also have to invest in collaborations, such as working with like-minded brands and influencers. Focus on building a brand story through images and video, rather than sales.
Audience: Younger 18-30 and millennials, both men and women.
Pros: Useful for; news and information, retail, e-commerce, health and wellness, travel and hospitality, telecom, finance, fashion, sports. Mostly B2C. Twitter can also function as a quick, informal customer service portal.
Cons: More popular in the US than in Australia. Tweets need to be newsworthy and current.
Audience: By far the best platform for B2B or targeting professionals. Predominantly White Collar.
Pros: Best for the financial, employment, science and technology, legal, manufacturing, marketing, education, health and wellness, professional services and IT industries.
LinkedIn can be a great way to create leads, although it may be time consuming reaching out to individuals. Video is also big on this platform.
Organic reach is better than Facebook/Instagram.
LinkedIn published articles are indexed by Google, giving you an extra boost in your organic search results. This gives a big boost to your SEO performance. Optimise your profile and Company Page to maximise your time on this platform.
Cons: Can be more expensive per conversion when using the LinkedIn Advertising feature compared to Facebook Advertising. LinkedIn users are not using the platform as often or for as long as other platforms.
YouTube
Audience? Gender is split fairly evenly, with 55% male users and 45% female. YouTube is one of the few social media platforms where age demographics are fairly evenly split
Pros: Owned by Google, (diversifying from the Facebook owned platforms) YouTube is a wonderful way to interact with fans since videos are more likely to be shared and go viral. Companies can also use the site to shape customer sentiment more effectively than other social sites out there. This platform is useful for visual based organisations.
Cons: Producing good quality usually requires more money and resources. Videos are time consuming to make, while their overall effect on sales is tough to track. Consumers will not engage with your videos unless they are entertaining or informative; YouTube is not the place for your sales pitch. People often go to YouTube for “how to” videos, education, and pure entertainment. Providing a mix of those will help you grow your audience.
Audience: Aged 18 – 45yo, vast majority female. Whilst smaller reach, this audience tends to be more engaged.
Pros: A hobbyist’s paradise, full of blogs, learning and inspiration. The industries that suit this platform best include retail, health and wellness, travel and hospitality, fashion, e-commerce, arts and crafts, food and beverage, beauty, home and garden, event planning. Pinterest is great for promoting blog posts and products that are just a click away. It can also help to boost your search engine results listings.
Cons: Less users than the more popular platforms and harder to reach your target audience. Again, users expect to receive some value, therefore quality images and copy are required. If your main target consumer is male, it may be best to spend your time on another platform.
There you have it:
Identify your audience and choose platforms where you can access your target market. (Just because a platform is popular, doesn’t mean it is the best way to reach your audience!)
Understand the features to optimise the platforms you have chosen and figure out what you can do yourself and any gaps you need to fill by outsourcing it or learn from a course to DIY.
Implement a simple strategy for each platform with the aim to get them off social media and onto your website to book appointments, submit a contact form or shop your products.
If you’re time-poor and need help to kickstart your digital marketing strategy, reach out and contact us today.