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Nowadays, most internet users go to social media to look at products. That's a huge number - over two billion people. Today, there are more than seventeen social media platforms where you can connect with your audience. Gone are the days when just having a Facebook page was enough. Now, your customers are on many different platforms, and they expect you to be there, too.
Each social media site is different, with its own strengths. Some work better for certain kinds of businesses. So, choosing the right social media platform for your business is crucial.
In this guide, we'll help you understand what to consider while choosing the right social media platform for your business and explain why investing in social media marketing benefits achieving your business goals.
Which Social Media Platform Should You Choose For Your Business?
Deciding on the right social media platform for your business can be tricky. For example, if you're selling something that looks good in pictures, like furniture, you'll want a platform that shows off these visuals.
On the other hand, if you have detailed success stories or reports, you need a place to share these in-depth details with people who want to read them. Don't worry; we're here to guide you in choosing the best social media platforms for your type of content.
Facebook stands out as a top social media platform for branding. With its massive daily active user base of around 2.08 billion, it's the world's most-used platform. This wide range of users means any brand can find its target audience on Facebook, making it easier to begin effective advertising.
Engaging in Facebook ad copy for better engagement is essential here. Facebook can significantly aid in achieving online objectives such as:
- Building brand awareness
- Increasing website traffic
- Generating leads
- Enhancing online conversions
Facebook's advertising platform is extremely classy. It allows for precise audience targeting by age, location, gender, job, interests, buying patterns, relationship status, etc.
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform showcasing the stories behind brands and businesses. Most consumers trust the brands they use; it's more crucial than ever to present your company as relatable and human rather than just a logo.
Increase your LinkedIn engagement to build trust and maintain your status as an expert in your industry. LinkedIn is particularly valuable for startups for job postings, understanding workplace culture, and reviewing the background and endorsements of potential employees.
Pinterest is a visual-centric platform requiring top-notch imagery for optimal impact. 482 million people use Pinterest every month to find new ideas and plan their next purchase. Pinterest for business is an ideal channel if your target market is predominantly female.
Consider the visual content you share carefully, as many users turn to Pinterest when planning purchases.
TikTok
TikTok, now with over 1 billion users, is rapidly growing in influence, especially for businesses. It offers a Small Business Resource Centre to help companies utilize the platform effectively. As a video-sharing platform, TikTok provides free tools to create your own videos.
The best way to promote on TikTok and maximize your audience is by producing high-quality content, as poor-quality videos could negatively impact your brand image.
YouTube
After Google, YouTube is regarded as the second most popular search engine. It receives 2 billion global visitors monthly, with 500 hours of video uploaded every minute. This offers a vast opportunity for outreach.
Embracing the benefits of YouTube for your business is important, as 86% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. Remember, YouTube also functions as a search engine, so your video titles should be chosen wisely to enhance discoverability.
Instagram, much like Pinterest, depends on compelling, high-quality visuals. It promises a less cluttered experience than Facebook and focuses on using imagery for lead generation and sales.
Using Instagram marketing for any business involves adding interactive buttons to posts or utilizing the "swipe up" feature in stories to smoothly transition customers from viewing products to purchasing them. It's great for lead generation, community building, extending your reach, and solidifying your brand identity.
Snapchat
Snapchat, another visually driven app, is predominantly used by younger audiences – 71% of its 350 million users are under 34. It lets users send photos or videos directly or post them to 24-hour stories. Like TikTok, it appeals to a younger demographic.
The platform also features a discovery page, perfect for creating Snapchat ad campaigns targeted at your audience. Users can add your account as a friend, allowing for direct customer interactions and story following.
What To Consider When Choosing The Right Social Media Platform For Your Business?
Deciding on the best social media platform for your business might seem hard because there are so many. But social media is a great way to connect with people and help your brand grow naturally.
People use each social media platform differently, and every platform has unique uses. Choosing the right social media platforms and tailoring your key messages to match them is important. This is crucial to your social media strategy, especially when trying to reach your target audience.
Whether you're updating your existing social media marketing strategy or starting with social media, there are several things to consider when choosing the best platform. These considerations will help you use social media channels effectively and ensure you're connecting with the right audience in the right way.
1. Your Audience
The first thing to do is figure out who your audience is. The more specific you are, the easier to choose where to focus. Think about these questions:
- Who usually buys from you?
- What is their age group?
- Are they mostly men or women?
- What's their income and education level?
- Besides your product or service, what else are they interested in?
Answering these questions (and any others relevant to your business or industry) will help you create a clear picture of your audience.
Where To Find Your Audience?
Once you know your audience and your goals, pick a platform that matches their age group and how active they are. For example, younger people might have Facebook accounts but are more active on Instagram or TikTok.
It's important to consider who is on a platform and how they use it. Here's a quick look at major social media platforms to help you find your audience:
- Facebook: Great for keeping in touch with current customers, but reaching new people can be a bit hard due to its large user base.
- Twitter: Super for making your brand known. Its use of hashtags helps businesses join in on current topics and trends.
- Pinterest: Mostly female users. Perfect for sharing things like recipes, fashion, and DIY projects.
- YouTube: It's huge, not just as a social platform but also as a search engine. Ideal for "How To" videos, lifestyle vlogs, and educational stuff.
- LinkedIn: Targets people aged 30-49 and is best for professional networking, B2B social media marketing strategy, and hiring.
- Instagram: Growing fast, especially with teenagers. Great for businesses with visual products like art, food, retail, and beauty.
- TikTok: Known for its short videos. Best for companies aiming at a young audience (18-24) to get their brand known.
Remember, using multiple platforms can help leverage social media effectively, reaching different audiences where they spend their time.
2. Your Industry
Knowing what industry your business is in helps a lot when choosing the right social media platforms. For instance, if you're a B2B company selling specific software for health care practitioners, and your product isn't visual, platforms like Instagram or Pinterest might not be your best bet. Your audience is professional, so these aren't the right social channels for you.
In this case, LinkedIn or Facebook would be smarter choices. Both cater to a wide range of professionals and offer detailed ad-targeting options for specific jobs.
They are also more professional than other social platforms. But if you're in a creative field like home decor, Pinterest is great for engaging your target audience. The main thing is understanding your industry and who you're trying to reach.
3. Your Goals
Different social platforms offer different benefits. What you want to achieve on social media is often linked to your overall business goals. When setting your social media goals, you'll find that a few platforms stand out as the best for reaching these objectives.
Marketers often aim to:
- Increase brand awareness (70%)
- Generate leads (59%)
- Boost community engagement (48%)
After you decide on your main goals, write them down to help guide your choices of channels. This is important because if you aim to increase brand awareness, you might focus on social platforms where you can reach potential customers.
4. Resources Available To You
Managing social media is a big job. It involves making content, scheduling posts, thinking about strategies, and keeping up with new features. Ask yourself:
- Do you have a social media team? If not, who will handle this work?
- Can your team manage all the channels you want to use?
- How much time can each channel get, including time to learn new ones?
- Who will create and manage your social content?
Resources aren't just about people and time. They also include the software cost for posting and analyzing your social media. There are many social media management tools out there. Consider if these tools will be part of your resources.
5. Check Your Competitors
Look at what others in your industry are doing. Is there a social influencer or brand that stands out? Who follows them, and who do they support? Finding a social media expert means making sure they do a thorough analysis of your competition.
This information helps you understand where your competitors are and which platform is best for your business. Knowing your competition helps you plan how to work with influencers, find brand ambassadors, get an audience to buy your product, and remember your brand on social media.
6. Your Budget
Before getting into social media marketing, consider your budget and the time needed for different platforms. For example, Instagram ads might cost $0.20 to $6.70 per action, while Facebook ads could cost $0.94 per click or $12.07 per 1,000 views.
Instead of only using paid ads, consider working with influencers. These campaigns can cost less and feel more genuine.
Also, link your paid campaigns with your own channels, such as email. Social media helps you find new potential customers, and then you can keep in touch with them through email. This approach is a part of your overall marketing efforts and helps create content that resonates with your audience.
7. Content Type and Format
The kind of content you make is key in picking the right social media platform. Think about what you want to share – images, videos, articles, or infographics. Different platforms suit different content formats:
- Sharing updates, news, or whitepapers is good for B2B audiences, usually on professional sites like LinkedIn. Twitter is also a good choice for sharing this content with other professionals. Look at some top examples of B2B content marketing for ideas.
- For video content, if it's short and aimed at younger people, Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat are your go-to. For longer videos with broader appeal, Facebook and Twitter are great. Don't forget YouTube, the second-largest search engine, which gets many searches every month.
- If you want to post pictures and are a B2C brand with a product to sell, consider using Pinterest. Nearly all users on Pinterest try new things they find there. Instagram is perfect for creating a visual story about your brand.
- For articles, LinkedIn's publishing platform can show your content to its nearly 800 million members, helping you establish yourself as a trusted source. Medium is another good choice for articles, with many high-income users.
Understanding these content formats will make choosing the right channels for your social media strategy easier.
8. Stay Updated on Trends
Social media is always changing. Keeping up with trends helps you update your strategy and stay competitive:
- Video Content: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are leading the trend in video content, which is very popular with younger people.
- Temporary Content: Think about posting content that is only available for a short time, like Instagram Stories or Snapchat Snaps. These disappear after being seen or after 24 hours, encouraging more audience interaction.
- Social Commerce: Shopping features on Instagram and Facebook are changing online shopping.
Attention to these trends can help you reach your ideal customer and decide on the right content formats for your social media efforts.
Why Invest In Social Media Marketing?
Social media, used by over 4.59 billion people worldwide, is a powerful tool for brands to expand their reach and meet marketing goals. Here are more reasons to use social media for growing your business:
- Build Brand Recognition: Social media helps spread the word about your brand quickly and easily. It lets people discover your brand, even if they haven't heard of it before.
- Research Audiences: By looking at who follows you on social media, you can learn a lot about them. This information helps you make your marketing more effective.
- High-Quality Customer Service: Social media lets you quickly talk directly with customers and get their feedback. This helps build strong relationships with your audience.
- Increase Client Loyalty: Studies show that more than half of the customers who follow a brand on social media will likely choose it over competitors.
- Grow Website Traffic: Putting your website link on social media can greatly increase the number of people visiting your site.
- Build Links: Good content often gets shared, leading to more backlinks. These backlinks can make your website rank higher in Google searches.
- Establish Authority: By sharing content, you can become a trusted source of information and build loyalty. Focusing on a specific topic makes it easier to be seen as an authority.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right social media platform for your business isn't just about being present online; it's about strategically selecting where to invest your time and resources for the best results. With many platforms available, each offering unique benefits, understanding your audience, industry, and specific goals is crucial.
Whether it's building brand recognition, researching audiences, providing quality customer service, or increasing website traffic, social media is an invaluable tool for business growth. The key is not to be everywhere but where it matters most for your business.
By carefully considering the insights in this guide, you're now equipped to make informed decisions that align perfectly with your business objectives.
