Social media platforms have taken the world by storm. You know it, I know it. It’s incredibly helpful to gain traction, develop trust within your target market, and build a sustainable business. But which social media platform is right for you? Here are some tips to help you choose.
First, define your goals.
It goes without saying that having a goal means you have a task you want to achieve. You can’t bring in new revenue when you have no goal in mind. This is especially true for social media. Since each platform caters to different uses, it’s best to align the platform(s) you choose with the kind of content you typically create and the market you’re targeting.
Without further ado, here are some common benefits of using social media that you should consider:
- Improve your customer service offerings by providing another platform on which customers can reach out with complaints, questions, and concerns;
- Identify new leads and prospects who are similar to your best customers;
- Branch out to new audiences and new demographics who might be receptive to your products or services;
- Increase your brand awareness and expose your business to new people;
- Learn about your audience and customers’ needs, wants, and habits while increasing traffic to your site and boosting sales.
Then, determine which platform(s) your target audience is using.
There’s no point in being active on a platform that only a small group of people from your audience is using. You need to think strategically and use one that the majority of your audience uses regularly. There are a few ways for you to gauge what platform your audience prefers:
- Take a customer survey. Ask questions like what social sites they use, where they get their information online, and who their preferred influencers are.
- Browse social media sites themselves. Platforms like Facebook let you tell them about your ideal customers, and they’ll estimate the audience size for you.
- Pew Research Center for Internet and Technology is useful to understand the demographics of social media users. This way, you can determine where your audience is most likely to spend their time online.
Next, evaluate the type of content that fits your business.
Different types of content work better with different social media platforms. So it’s essential to consider the type of content you wish to create and that works best with your brand. Instagram’s algorithm currently prioritizes reels (short 30-second videos) followed by photos, so it’s not ideal for long-form text content.
The type of content you create will depend on several things, including your industry, your brand, and your target audience, but content types you may focus on include:
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- Testimonials
- User-generated content
- Webinars and live streams
- Ebooks
- Whitepapers
- Videos
- Photographs
Finally, pair the right platform with your audience, your content, and your goals.
So, you’ve narrowed down your goals, found where your audience spends most of their time online and determined the kind of content that fits your brand. Now is the time to determine which social media platform is right for you by comparing each platform that suits your needs best. To do this, we’ve put together a run-down of each platform highlighting their perks and their typical users.
A Social Media Run-Down, Siva Style:
- Facebook is the largest social media platform with 2 billion active monthly users. It’s best for incorporating industry-related news, engaging videos, graphics, and other visually appealing content. It also is very useful for paid advertising due to specific targeting. If you have an e-commerce website, you can connect your site to Instagram where users can directly on the platform.
- Instagram is a visual-dominated platform, ensuring the distribution of quality “shareable” content. It’s also owned by Facebook! So if you have an e-commerce site, you can connect it to Instagram for easy shopping right from the platform.
- Twitter has a very high engagement rate from its users. You can share breaking news and other exciting updates into “bite-sized” content and real-time information from this platform.
- Youtube is the second most popular search engine today! This platform is best for sharing creative and innovative videos and other long-form content for your business. Keep in mind that the algorithm prioritizes videos that are 10 minutes or longer.
- TikTok is a fairly new video-sharing platform for users under 35 years old. It’s best for content creators who are posting short-form entertaining, interesting, or funny videos. Therefore, it’s not recommended to use this platform for brand promotion or to push products or services. Instead, TikTok is ideal for building a more personal connection with your audience and highlighting your brand’s personality.
- Pinterest is an excellent platform to introduce your brand to new users within your target market. Pinterest lets users bookmark and share content they find inspirational across a wide range of categories. It may be important to remember that the majority of Pinterest users identify as female. It’s also best to share high-quality photos and include keywords in your pins to extend your reach.
The Takeaway
So there you have it! Social media has numerous perks and uses to help build your business, establish a reputation, bring in new leads, improve your customer service, and connect deeper with your audience. All it takes is a little introspection to determine which social media platform suits your needs and you can soon be taking the world by storm, too!
Are you still unsure how to begin? No worries! Chat with Siva Creative, your friendly neighbourhood digital experts today!
