Knowing which social media platforms your business should be on is a big decision that can make or break your digital footprint. You want to be as active as possible on the channels that your audience is on. But, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. Giving some thought as to which social sites you should be on is important, as being on the wrong platforms is one of the most common reasons why social media strategies fail.
While your business is unique from others, there are some simple steps you can follow to discover what social media networks deserve your attention. Before we get started, we want to remind you that you should be on two to three platforms only, unless you have a large team or social media management company. Otherwise, it becomes too many to manage.
Below are the most popular social media platforms to choose from.
Facebook is No. 1 on our list because there are over 2.41 billion daily active users on the site, making it the most widely used social network in the world. It’s a great channel for brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation and online conversions.
Facebook also offers the most advanced advertising features compared to other platforms. You can target people based on their age, interests, purchasing behaviors, relationship status and more. With so much potential, almost all businesses can benefit from having a presence on Facebook.
Instagram is a close contender to Facebook. With over 500 million daily active users, this network has an extensive user base and robust advertising platform (it is owned by Facebook, after all).
Instagram is unique in that it’s highly visual, which is a great asset to businesses that sell physical products. The social app also has a unique set of organic benefits because you can achieve large followings without having to pay for them. This makes Instagram a great tool for reaching customers on a budget.
As long as you have a lot of visual content to share, we would recommend adding Instagram to your social media marketing strategy. It’s also the best platform to be on if you want to explore influencer marketing.
YouTube
YouTube has over 2 million monthly active users, giving you the ability to reach millions of people on a single day! People love to consume video content because it’s fun, engaging and effortless. If you haven’t given video marketing much thought, now is the time to do so!
YouTube is owned by Google, so it has access to Google’s advertising platform. You can use this to your advantage when running YouTube ads and enjoy better visibility without spending the extra money. YouTube is highly recommended for today’s brands because of the rise in video content, but you must be willing to create enough videos to keep your channel growing.
LinkedIn is a must for B2B companies. The professional network has 303 million monthly active users, and most are in the working world. This means that you get a highly targeted audience right off the bat.
Because LinkedIn is for working professionals, the caliber of users tends to be higher. People are more likely to update their profiles with their correct email address, job position and employer, allowing you to target the right people with your content. And while the advertising platform isn’t quite as elaborate as Facebook’s, it’s still decent and offers more job positions.
Twitter is an older platform but it’s still widely used thanks to its ability to deliver real-time information. This makes Twitter a great platform for businesses that have updates to share with customers, such as special promotions or news updates.
If you do choose to use Twitter, we recommend familiarizing yourself with hashtags. Hashtags are key to using Twitter, as they organize conversations and help people discover your brand. Twitter isn’t for everyone, but we do recommend it for businesses that have information to share throughout the day.
Snapchat
For brands that have young audiences, Snapchat is worth looking into. There are over 350 million monthly active users on Snapchat, and 71% of them are under 34 years old. A Story on Snapchat is visible for up to 24 hours after it’s published, whereas a Snap can only be viewed once.
Snapchat is like Instagram in that it’s highly visual, and each post needs to have an image or video to be posted. There are also advertising options where you can pay to have a Snap with a link posted in the Discovery section. By adding organic content to your Story and paying to show your ad in the Discovery section, you can effectively reach a young audience.
Being active on social media is vital to your brand’s social footprint, but you need to be smart about the channels you select.
Be where your audience is and develop a strategy for each network to reach your maximum potential. If you need help managing your channels, don’t hesitate to reach out to a social media marketing company for assistance.
Author: SEM Geeks
