Whether you are a start-up or an established firm, you may be thinking of incorporating social media marketing. Moreover, social platforms are free and it may be tempting to include them as a complementary marketing avenue to reach a broader audience base. However, every social media site has its own merits and demerits and you cannot afford to create a profile on all the platforms.
Here, we have suggested a few tips that will help you choose the right platform.
1. Understand the nature of your business
If you are a B2B company, then LinkedIn will be more suitable for your requirements. It targets current and potential clients by building a personal connection with them. Facebook and Instagram are visually engaging platforms, help you interact with customers and gain visibility. Thus, it is more suitable for B2C companies. That said, all businesses must leverage YouTube to share content and interact with customers. It is Google-friendly and helps you rank higher in search results.
2. Consider customers’ demographics
Do a bit of research about your customers’ demographics such as are they male or female? Are they young or old?
By diving into the demographics, you will be able to understand your users’ preferences and then choose a platform accordingly to tap the audience.
Whichever platform you choose, make sure that you put in time and effort to understand it thoroughly. Avoid managing multiple platforms simultaneously.
3. Know where your ideal customer is
Before choosing the ideal social media platform, you will have to know more about where your ideal customer spends time. For instance, if you are an e-commerce, choose Instagram and if you are B2B, LinkedIn will be more apt. Once you have identified the platform, be consistent and make the right impact with your audience.
4. Research your competitors
Know what your competitors are doing. You can check their social media pages and see what and how often they are posting. You will also understand the user engagement level with the content.
Once you understand which platform is yielding results for them, you can choose that one. However, make sure that it correlates with your goals.
5. Focus on your website
Your website is the backbone of your digital communication as they are on your business cards, emails and search results. So, make sure to make is appealing with compelling content and pleasing aesthetics. You may also include a blog on your website and even direct your social media to it.
6. Build a consistent social media strategy
Creating a consistent and maintainable social media strategy is important to maximize reach with minimal efforts. This is even more important if you are a small business.
You can use free tools that will help you schedule posts across multiple platforms.
7.Participate in discussions
Simply sharing your content on blogs and forums will do you know no good. You must engage with your audience and participate in discussions regularly. Know what they are talking about you on various channels. Respond to their queries and concerns.
Initially, you may consider starting with the top five titans of social media- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. YouTube is also a great platform for all but since it focuses more on video content, it is more suitable for creative businesses.
Facebook: Select Facebook if you want to build a long-term relationship with your audience. Do make sure to engage with your audience constantly as Facebook’s algorithms can easily mark you as less relevant if your users and followers don’t interact with you.
Twitter: Choose Twitter if you want to communicate short and to-the-point updates such as news pieces or live stream events. It is a great place to keep your audience informed in real-time. You can give more information to your audience on your blog or other social media networks.
YouTube and Instagram: Both these platforms focus on visual content and bring a lot of attention to your brand easily. Be sure to choose high-quality images and videos as they will help you stand out in the crowd. Also, avoid generic photos and videos.
LinkedIn: This is the best place to target people based on their profession and industry. LinkedIn also helps you connect with the top players in your field and at the same time keep an eye on your competitors.
Final words
Hopefully, the above-mentioned tips help you select the right platform for your business requirements. However, it is recommended that you be consistent and update your social networks regularly. Also, keep things fresh, interesting and relevant if you want to create the right impact with your audience. And, do not forget to interact and engage with your audience.
If the article still seem to confuse you, why don't you connect with us and let us guide you on what to select.