It is very common for a startup business, to create a business page on every social media platform to get your brand name out there. But is this the right thing to do?
Creating and publishing content on the right platforms is a great way to build a strong relationship with your audience and customers. There are a range of platforms available for businesses to use but it’s important to ask yourself:
- Is this platform going to get you results?
- Are you putting yourself in front of the right audience for your business on this platform?
- How do the features of this platform meet the needs of my business?
- How much time is needed to maintain this platform?
Let’s find out! This blog covers the basics of choosing the correct social media platforms to promote your business and why.
Your Audience & Competitors
A great starting point is to determine which platforms both your audience and competitors are using. Using the platforms they’re using, ensures you are going to be in the right place. If your competitors are using these platforms, they’re probably using them because they’re working for them and this is where your brand needs to be.
The Platforms
Let’s have a look at the most popular platforms being used right now:
The Facebook platform has over 2.38 billion active users which is strong enough to convince any new business to use the platform. Facebook has the ability to reach out to all users as their users range from 25-54 years of age. The platform is ideal for building brand loyalty and developing and building relationships. If this isn’t enough to go on with, the ability to target specific audiences through their paid advertising service is an additional benefit to using the network.
Twitter has over 300 million active users and is one of the biggest social networks worldwide. Their platform works differently to that of Facebook as each Tweet has a restriction in character length allowing a maximum of 280 characters to be published in each tweet. The platform is known for its news and political conversations and is a great platform for B2B companies. Twitter also has a paid advertising service which allows published content to become sponsored and shared with a wider audience.
LinkedIn boasts 575 million active users and is a great way to connect with business contacts and business professionals. As a result of this, the average age of its users are 30-49 years of age. The platform performs particularly well for B2B businesses.
Instagram has grown in popularity over the last few years and now has over 77.6 million active users. Instagram is a mobile social platform which allows users to edit and share photos and videos with their audience. If your business is very visual, this is the platform for you! The platform allows everyone from big brands to small business to promote engaging content. Due to the platform being owned by Facebook, the two work in conjunction with each other in regards to their paid social media services and promoted content can be shared on this platform. Instagram works particularly well for businesses in industries such as beauty, food, e-commerce and fitness.
So which platform is best for your brand?
When it comes to choosing the right platform(s) to use, you could be active on just one, you could be active on three or four; the choice is yours! However, regardless of the number of platforms you use, it’s essential you’re choosing the correct ones.
Examples by Industry Type:
Electrician: Facebook, Twitter
Recruitment Agency: Twitter, LinkedIn
Beauty Salon: Facebook, Instagram
E-commerce: Facebook, Instagram
Managing your social media platforms
As with any form of marketing, it is important to keep on top of your marketing activity ensuring it is up-to-date and regularly monitored. It is the same with social media marketing. If you’re going to be using social media platforms which are visible to the public 24/7, these platforms should be updated with regular content as much as possible. This provides your audience with as much information about your brand and allows them to learn more about you.
Creating a social media strategy is a great way of determining the approach to take including looking at posts that should be created, identifying the best times to post these to gain maximum exposure and engagement and how you should be interacting/engaging with online.
Do you require assistance with your social media marketing? Contact our expert team today to learn how we can help you achieve your goals and take your campaigns to the next level – 0115 727 0038.
