Social media has become one of the most necessary marketing tools out there if you are looking to keep your business relevant and visible. By not using social media to it’s full potential you are missing out on a massive opportunity to both increase brand awareness, business sales and website traffic. However, getting started can be daunting and difficult if you are unsure of where to start with something as seemingly simple as choosing which platform you are wanting to use becoming more complicated than you might think. Below we will give you some advice on how you can decide on which social media platform is right for your business.
Decide which platform to use for your business
You might already know that there are numerous social media platforms that are out there for everything and everyone. Out of all the social media sites that are out there the top platforms in terms of active users are reported as being Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and most recently TikTok. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to communicate to your audience with all types of media; Text, Photos and Video. Instagram is based around a main Photo or Video with the use of captions being available but placed underneath a large Photo or Video. TikTok is primarily based around short videos with a small caption again being available but being overshadowed by the video. It is important to take into account the audience that these platforms receive when you are looking to decide which is best for your business.
Define your social media goals
There are many benefits to using social media, but it’s important to have specific goals before you move forward. By doing this you are allowing your business to create a successful social media strategy. Your social media objectives will help you to determine the social media platform that you will use along with the content you will create, the audience you will be targeting and much more. Listed below are some of the most common benefits of using social media:
- Improve your customer service offerings
- Identify new leads and prospects
- Reach out to new audiences and social media demographics
- Increase brand awareness and expose
- Learn about the needs, wants, and habits of your audience and customers.
- Increase traffic to your site and boost sales
Understand the different platforms and their uses
Every social media platform has its own ways of communicating between business and customers. Twitter is great for conversations and trending topics, while LinkedIn is good for sharing professional expertise and company information. Snapchat was the first to introduce disappearing posts, but Instagram Stories are equally ephemeral. It is important that you spend time deciding which social media platform is best for your business strategy, taking into account how you want to communicate with you audience.
Research your competitors and others in your industry
An important step in developing a social media strategy is to have a look at what other people in your industry are doing. This can be done by identifying some potential competitors that you may have and then having a look at the platforms they are on along with the content that they produce. Some of the things you should look at when researching competitors are:
- What platforms they’re using
- What’s working/not working
- How engaged the audience is on each channel
While you shouldn’t do something just because a competitor is, it’s useful to see what others in your space are doing, so you’re making an informed decision.
Final Thoughts
It’s often businesses owners first instinct to sign up to all platforms, which can be overwhelming. Still, all social media activity should always connect to your business long term goals.
Adopting a mindset that social media is a tool available to help achieve business goals means you can begin to measure your social media activity in the right way. While goals of going viral with content aren’t the solution, of course, it might help, but like all good marketing, it is most effective if a long term approach is your business chosen position.
Remember here at Portal, we offer several solutions to supporting businesses with their social media activity, from developing strategies to managing social media accounts. If you are looking for some advice on setting up your business on social media then get in touch to talk to one of our social media experts. At Portal we can also help your business run their social media accounts, if you wish to have your social accounts managed please get in touch.
