Social Media – Which Platform is Right for You?
A common mistake when working with social media is thinking that you’ll miss out if you don’t have an account on every platform. But think about it: what does it look like when a potential customer visits your Instagram and sees that your last post was in 2017? Hardly inspiring. What you want to achieve is reaching the target audience that is relevant to your business and, once you have their attention, being able to convince them with relevant and interesting content.
So, which platform is best for my business?
To figure this out, let’s go through the types of audiences found on each platform.
Instagram is still experiencing the most growth among our social media platforms, with a relatively broad target audience. New features are constantly being added, and the algorithm for determining what content is shown to whom is also evolving. If you have an eye for visuals, can update regularly, and keep up with the trends, Instagram might be for you.
Facebook has significantly broader target audiences, and with their advertising services, you can reach a large number of recipients. However, you have to pay to appear in users’ feeds. Fewer and fewer users post updates but are more focused on interest groups. If you can contribute valuable content in targeted groups, this is an option for you to be visible. However, in groups, the general rule is that no “selling” is accepted.
The audience on LinkedIn consists of professionals, people looking to advance their careers, and those engaged in business-to-business (B2B) sales. If this aligns with your industry, you can network and reach far on LinkedIn!
TikTok
47% of people aged 16 to 25 use TikTok, and the majority of them are women. If this target audience fits your business, TikTok offers various advertising options and creative features to promote your brand.
Pinterest has purchasing power among its users, with the majority being women. If you sell a product and work with attractive product photos, you can succeed here!
On Twitter, the three P’s prevail: Press, Politics, and PR. It’s also important to follow individuals rather than companies or organizations. To succeed here, you must be an ambassador for your brand.
Snapchat
The majority of Snapchat users are between 12 and 25 years old. If you sell services or products targeted specifically at young people and have the ability to work with casual and fast-paced content, you can go a long way here. According to Snapchat itself, users are inclined to make purchases through their mobile devices.
Youtube
Here, you have the widest target audience. If you can invest time in creating videos and appearing in them, there is potential for success. Even if your videos aren’t top-notch, instructional and inspirational content can still resonate. Of course, creating advertising videos requires more effort.
In the realm of social media, the answer is often “less is more!” Instead of dividing your attention and trying to be everywhere, it’s better to wholeheartedly focus on one or two channels. Once you’ve decided where to invest your efforts, the next step is creating a social media plan and content calendar. A rule of thumb is that 70% of your content should provide value, while 30% can be promotional. Good luck!
