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We all know the power of social media. And new social media platforms are created everyday—so how do businesses and their marketing teams keep up? If you’re just starting out, have little manpower, or your budget doesn’t allow to focus on all the social media platforms at once, you’re wondering which platform is your best investment.
Limited time and money doesn’t mean you should count social media out altogether—focus on the platforms that will give you the most reward. But where to start? It takes time and lots of research to decide which to use—but I’m here to help. Here’s how to decide which social media channel you should be using for your business.
Determine Your Social Media Strategy Goals
Before you delve into the Pandora’s box that is social media, decide what your goals are. You should be able to connect your social media strategy alongside your other marketing goals. If you aren’t, what’s the point of moving forward?
Are you looking to create an awareness of your brand online? Look into social media platforms that are already established—such as Facebook and Twitter.
If you’re looking to generate more leads, look into channels like LinkedIn, where you’re able to perform advanced searches depending on what you’re looking for.
Invest in the Channels Your Audience is Already Using
Why focus your efforts on a social platform that your customers aren’t using? You’re wasting time using Pinterest if your followers aren’t already there. To reach your audience, look at the channels your customers are already using. Take a look at your segmented audience—are they middle-aged women? You may look into using Pinterest as opposed to Snapchat as your preferred social media channel.
The best way to understand which channel(s) to use is by using data to determine your demographics. Using actual data makes it easier to understand which channels your audience uses, and give you the upper hand when you’re creating your strategy. You’ll not only reach your customers, you’ll increase your chances of converting them.
How do you find this information? Social listening tools like Social Sprout are a good start. If you’re already using specific social media channels, this tool helps you analyze the followers you already have. You’ll get information such as age, gender, and the users’ location to determine which channel will work best for your business. This will also show which platforms aren’t worth your time.
Content is King—Decide Which Type of Content You Like to Post
What type of content are you already producing? This is a question you must ask yourself before you decide on a social media channel to focus on. Some types of content don’t work well across all platforms, so this is a question that’ll help you make your decision.
If you’re looking to create content that informs your customers—such as white papers and industry updates, you’ll want to look into professional platforms, such as LinkedIn. Of course, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to share this type of content on other platforms, for example, Twitter.
If you’re a B2C business and are selling products, Instagram is a great way to showcase your products.
Know How Much You Can Handle
No matter your company’s size or budget, using one social media channel isn’t sufficient. However, this doesn’t mean you need to begin your strategy on multiple channels at once. If you work on several channels at the same time, you may not spread your message effectively.
Figure out how much manpower you have to manage all your accounts. Do you have enough people and content to share across multiple channels? Using a social media tool like Hootsuite help with this problem. With automated scheduling, you can post to several platforms at once without overwhelming yourself.
Look at Your Competitors
It’s never a bad thing to take a peek at your competitors and the things they’re doing. Look at which channels they’re focusing their time on. This helps you understand what’s happening in your industry, and helps you identify the gaps you may have in your own strategy.
When analyzing your competitors, keep these questions in mind:
- What type of content are they sharing?
- How popular are their posts on specific channels?
- Are they posing consistently, and when?
Once you’ve looked at other social media strategies, you can determine what’s working within your own industry and use it in your own plan.
A Look at the Top Players
Still not sure where you should build your social media foundation? Here are some of the heavy hitters in the social media world—this gives you a place to start thinking about where your social media home should be built.
One of the biggest social media platforms, Facebook boasts over 2 million users as of 2017. If you’re looking to reach an overall large audience, this is a must. For more specific numbers, Facebook is ideal if your target audience is between the ages of 25 and 34.
Pinterest is the go-to platform if your business includes home goods, DIY, or fashion and art. If you’re selling products, Pinterest gives users the option to purchase goods directly from the channel with the convenient buy button. If your target audience is women, 45% of U.S. women use Pinterest, as opposed to 17% of men users.
Instagram has over 600 million users on the platform. Because of this, marketers have to appeal to a large demographic of users. If your business showcases lots of visuals, this is the platform for you. Like Facebook, Instagram allows you to purchase ad space to gather more followers. In order to appeal to the right audience, lots of research must be done.
Snapchat
Targeting millennial? Snapchat’s the best channel for you—especially if you have excellent video content. Like most social media channels, Snapchat is the perfect, free way to show off behind the scenes footage, product demonstrations, and trending topics in your industry.
The Takeaway
In the digital world, businesses take on a huge task trying to keep up with the trends. Finding out exactly where your company fits in the digital word of changing social media platforms isn’t easy. Focusing your time, resources, and manpower on channels that bring you the best results is more beneficial to your company than trying to spread yourself thin across all platforms.