How to choose the right social media platform for your business
By Felicia Guthrie
In the past, we’ve covered many facets of social media, from where to start, the do’s and the don'ts, and many places in between. For a small business however, simply choosing which social media platform to be present on can seem like a daunting task. In previous blogs, such as our Social Media FAQ, we mentioned that you don’t have to be present on every platform. So, how do you know what social media platforms will likely work best for your business? Today, that’s what we’re going to help you figure out!
A few important things to keep in mind while choosing your platforms would be 1) your goals and 2) your audience (i.e. consumers, other businesses, etc). With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of your top choices.
Facebook has been the most popular platform for years, with over 1 billion users. It comes as no surprise that this may be a great place to start.
Facebook has enabled paid advertising in which you can target your audience based on a wide variety of demographics. Targeting can be done based on age, location, gender, interest and more. So, if your goal is brand awareness, web traffic, or online conversions, Facebook can be a powerful tool in targeting and capturing your audience.
Now, there are a few things to consider when deciding for or against Facebook. If you don’t have a budget for advertising, you may not get as much reach as you’d hope to. Facebook also prohibits advertising certain products (such as vaping and tobacco), so, if you fall under that category of products, Facebook may not be the best choice for you.
BOTTOM LINE
Facebook would be best suited for businesses marketing to consumers (but could work for b2b!) and a target audience of men and women aged 25-55+.
Twitter is best known as a hub for conversations and commentary done in real time. It’s the go to place for many looking for recent news, trends, and sharing your opinion, as well as experiences - and within a character limit!
Like Instagram (see below), hashtags are used quite frequently. You can search specific hashtagged terms and see what’s trending in your area (city, country, or the world!). This gives you, as a business, the opportunity to engage with consumers in real time, in the moment. It can help you connect with consumers and clients by engaging with them through “likes”, “retweets”, and organic conversations.
BOTTOM LINE
Twitter would be best suited for businesses marketing to consumers & millennials (18-35), men and women. It is also a great tool to connect with other like-minded professionals and experts.
Instagram is photo & video app, so, if you have a visual product or service this would be a great platform for you to utilize. The types of businesses that may flourish on Instagram include food, beauty, and fashion. If you do choose Instagram, it’s important to consider what you want your feed (or page) to look like. High quality, crisp images will obviously do best and, you can tell a story through the imagery. For example, if your brand personality is fun, you can portray that through colourful, bright photos - a great example of this would be the Instagram account for the brand Kate Spade. This page embodies the brand’s personality of being playful and chic.
Instagram is also owned by Facebook which means you can use a lot of the same metrics to target your audience but, you can also grow your audience through hashtagging and other forms of engagement (commenting, liking, etc).
*8 Ways to Make the Most of your Instagram
BOTTOM LINE
Instagram would be best suited for businesses marketing to consumers & millennials (18-35y), more towards women but growing with men
OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS:
Pinterest - Pinterest is popular with women, particularly in the millennial demo. Pinterest is the go-to place for DIY (do it yourself) projects, from crafts to baking, to decor and parties. So, if your business targets any of these audiences, it may be a great platform to utilize.
The three platforms covered more thoroughly above would be best for any business whose audience is the average consumer, but if your target is another business or consumers looking for a job/career, LinkedIn may also be great for you.
If you’d like to read more blogs on the topic of social media, use our search bar to search any topics, alternatively, you can also learn more about our Social Media Starter Kit here.