Businesses operating in today’s digital world know that they need to be on social media – but still many organizations have trouble deciding where they need to be.
It’s no wonder that it’s difficult. There are so many social media platforms for business to choose from. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn… the list goes on. And that’s just talking about a basic presence. When we start getting into things like social media pay-per-click advertising, it gets much more complicated.
When it comes to choosing social media platforms for your business, there are two schools of thought:
- Try to be everywhere.
With this line of thinking, it’s better to cast a wide net and catch as many fish as possible.
Pros: Even if your customers don’t normally spend time on a certain social media site, say Instagram, you might find other prospects there who wouldn’t have found you otherwise.
Cons: This can take up significant resources without getting much return on investment if the audience isn’t there.
- Only be in the places you know your target audience frequents.
In this method, you endeavor to understand your target audience and where they are spending their time. If the majority of your audience doesn’t frequent Facebook, then it’s not worth your time to have a Facebook page, for example.
Pros: Can help streamline resources. Creates a more strategic social media marketing plan.
Cons: You might be missing out on unknown segments of your audience or ignoring a tool that could be helpful if used slightly differently (more on this in the next section). You also risk missing out on a platform that could increase your SEO ranking. For instance, having a Facebook page can boost your search engine prominence.
So, what’s the answer? At Pulsion Marketing, we believe it lies somewhere in the middle.
Being everywhere for the sake of being everywhere is a recipe for disaster. As the saying goes, when you try to do everything, you accomplish nothing.
But there is undeniable value in having a diversified presence. That’s why our approach is often to be as many places as it makes good sense to be, but only sink additional resources into the social media platforms that give you the greatest returns.
In practice, this would look like creating a basic social media plan for all major platforms – perhaps Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram — but then exploring enhanced social media for only Facebook and Instagram.
Enhanced social media might include posting in groups (like LinkedIn groups), using social PPC advertising (like Facebook ads), or just putting more resources into your posts. On platforms where you are simply maintaining a presence, you may share links and re-post other articles from third parties. But on those platforms that you’ve identified as your most lucrative, you might invest more time and money into creating custom graphics or videos.
The beauty of this approach is that you can often share whatever you create on your basic platforms but optimize the content for your most lucrative ones.
Now that we’ve broken down some strategies for how to decide where to be, let’s look at some of the most popular platforms for businesses and the advantages of each.
Best for: consumer-based businesses, lead generation, building relationships.
Facebook is one of the most popular platforms in the world. It’s very unusual for a business to not have a Facebook page and for good reason. Facebook can help with SEO, provide more reviews, and connect with a wide user base.
Enhancements to think about: posting in Facebook groups, running Facebook ads, tagging influencers, returning engagement, creating custom videos and graphics, Facebook stories, Facebook Jobs, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Insights.
Best for: businesses in a niche industry (like real estate), consumer-based businesses, B2B businesses.
Twitter is another platform that it’s rare for businesses to not be on. Even if your audience doesn’t necessarily spend a lot of their time on Twitter, it’s still worth your while to post here as it can help with SEO and expose you to a large audience.
Enhancements to consider: tagging influencers, running Twitter ads, researching local and trending hashtags, returning on engagement, live tweeting, Twitter analytics.
Best for: visual businesses, businesses targeting a younger demographic, consumer-based businesses.
Instagram is the visual platform, where all posts must be image or video-based. It’s particularly popular among users 18-to-29 years old. It can be easy for Instagram to become resource-intensive since it requires a lot of images, but there are ways to streamline the content creation.
Enhancements to consider: Instagram stories, Instagram ads, hashtag research, tagging influencers, creating custom graphics and videos, returning on engagement, Instagram selling, Instagram analytics.
Best for: B2B businesses, lead generation, relationship building.
LinkedIn is the social platform for businesses. It can be a great way to expand your professional network and target others in your industry, making it especially great for B2B companies.
Enhancements to consider: LinkedIn PPC, LinkedIn group sharing, LinkedIn Enterprise (InMails), LinkedIn connection requests, prospect research.
- YouTube
Best for: consumer-based businesses, companies with video content, educational businesses.
YouTube is the video platform. If you have a lot of video content, it’s a great place to share that. If you don’t create videos, it might seem like it’s not worth your time, but make no mistake: a YouTube channel can significantly boost SEO so it may be worthwhile to explore how to have a presence.
Enhancements to consider: creating custom videos for YouTube, YouTube ads, targeting tools, a dedicated brand channel, researching YouTube search trends, YouTube analytics.
Best for: consumer-based businesses, visual businesses, SEO.
Like Instagram, Pinterest is primarily image-based. However, it can function as more of a search engine than a social media platform. By that we mean that Pinterest offers a way for users to find infographics, visuals, recipes, and more quickly and effectively. If you are already creating content for Instagram, it’s easy to cross-share on Pinterest. It can also be an effective place to share blog posts.
Enhancements: Pinterest ads, audience targeting, custom graphics or Pins, keyword targeting, Pinterest analytics.
- Snapchat
Best for: targeting younger audiences, ephemeral content, consumer-based businesses.
Snapchat is used primarily among younger demographics, like Gen Z and teenagers. Content appears only in quick flashes – snaps – and usually disappears within 24 hours. It can seem like a lot of effort for something that doesn’t stay online long, but if you are targeting a younger demographic, it’s a great place to be. There are lots of ways for brands to make their Snaps creative and drive engagement through Snapchat, even with ephemeral (disappearing) content.
Enhancements to consider: Snapchat ads, geofilters, sponsored lenses, and custom content creation.
When you decide where you want to be on social media, the next step is to create a content strategy. Many businesses find it more efficient to think about the strategy in house and outsource the content creation – that way you never miss a post.
Ask us about our Pulsion Marketing basis social media and enhanced social media programs. We can help you make the most of your business’s social media platforms.
Call 1-888-701-4441 or visit www.digiforcemarketing.ca.