A regular question we get asked is “where should I focus my social media efforts?” There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this, but there are a few things you can consider when selecting the best social media channels for your business. Ask yourself these questions…
What kind of business are you marketing?
LinkedIn traditionally performs best for B2B marketing, Instagram and Facebook for B2C and Twitter for both B2B and B2C marketing. For example, if you’re a beauty salon looking for customers, you’re unlikely to entice them on LinkedIn, which is geared towards business use.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform with 3 billion monthly users. Pinterest is also a popular channel, but is only suitable for some sectors, for example, businesses related to home renovations, food, fitness, beauty or fashion.
Companies with the budget to invest in video and animation should also look to YouTube, which has over 2.1 billion monthly users. It is the second most visited site in the world.
How much time do you have?
Do you have the capacity to work across several channels? Or are you limited by time? Don’t stretch yourself too much, it’s better to have one or two channels that are regularly updated than to have multiple different social media platforms which are inconsistent and irregular.
Look at what your competitors are doing, and which channels are benefitting from the most engagement. Focus on these as they’re likely to work for you too.
Once you have built confidence and can see the results of social media marketing, you can gradually introduce and test other channels.
What does success look like?
What is considered a ‘success’ depends on your own goals. Do you want to get your name out there? Impressions and reach are good indicators. Are you looking to connect with customers? Engagement is also important.
Or are you more sales-driven? Success could be measured by clicks and conversions. For example, you can add conversion tracking to campaigns on most platforms.
If you find that one of your social media platforms is falling short, re-think your strategy or reconsider if it is the right platform for you.
How can RED help?
If you need help on how to use social media for your business we can help with your marketing and strategy. Get in touch to find out more!