Which Social Platforms Should Your Business be Using?

Many business owners are jumping into social media advertising and marketing without researching which would work best for the product or service they provide. The first thing to keep in mind is figuring out your ideal audience, and how you’ll reach them. Sometimes it comes down to realizing that not all companies can be effective on each social platform, so instead of being mediocre on all of them, be awesome on a few of them.

 

Facebook:

Originally for college students, Facebook formed in 2004 and now has more than 1 billion active users.

Facebook is a good place to start because of the size of the network. It’s safe to assume that a large portion of your target audience is on Facebook, which makes it the best platform for increasing brand awareness. Facebook is flexible because it gives business owners more ways to represent themselves by choosing what to share and what to look at. All businesses should be on Facebook.

The platform is all about building long term relationships, so it can take time to see results. On the other hand, it also allows you to communicate instantly through comments, “likes,” shares, and/or messages, so there is some sense of immediacy. Many businesses use Facebook to sell their products, and while it could potentially work for certain businesses, it usually serves as a short-term gain. People want to see who’s behind the logo, and are more responsive to a person rather than a business. Keeping your page transparent will make people want to follow you (this is true for all platforms).

Something to keep in mind is that your posts on Facebook usually can last a day or two on other people’s newsfeeds. Photos generate 100 percent more engagement than text alone, and videos are even more effective. If you stick with text, keep it short and sweet.

 

Twitter:

A micro-blogging social media giant that also formed in 2004, now with more than 300 million users worldwide.

Twitter isn’t Facebook. It’s more in the moment. Posts have an average lifespan of about 45 minutes. It’s an ongoing conversation, so be ready to reply. Breaking news, updates, questions and opinions all are great ways to utilize Twitter to reach your audience. If you don’t want to constantly monitor a platform or if you don’t have much to say, Twitter isn’t for your business.

Another cool feature about Twitter that differs from Facebook is that users ‘follow’ each other rather than ‘add’ each other. If someone follows you, you can follow them back, but you don’t have to. It’s easier to gain followers this way.

A lot of businesses have both a Facebook and Twitter account and post the similar things on both platforms at the same time. While this works with some content, keep in mind the difference between the two social platforms and use them each to their advantages.

 

YouTube: 

A social media site owned by Google, with more than 48 hours of new video uploaded every minute.

YouTube is powerful because so many successful advertising and marketing strategies are purely visual. Video is taking over visual content. With video, you have the freedom to feature your business, products or services in a more creative way. However, people set the bar high for videos. No one will watch a boring video. Search for videos that are similar to what you want to feature and grab ideas. What do videos with millions of views have in common?

 

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn was launched in 2003 as the top B2B social networking site, now receiving two new members every second and housing more than 135 million users worldwide.

LinkedIn is the social networking media platform where you can grow business connections and utilize them professionally. People connect with you for your service, or if you’re in a similar field as them. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn offers professional groups and discussions, where you can find people with similar interests, ask questions or even answer questions to let your expertise shine. It’s not a super visual platform and usually sticks to professional blogs and articles. LinkedIn is a great place to show off your business a more professional way.

 

Pinterest:

One of the newer platforms, Pinterest was launched in 2009, and is known for connecting visually appealing products with consumer through shared interests and likes.

Pinterest is a content-sharing platform that allows its users to share “pins” in the form of photos or videos to pinboards. The user-base is predominantly female, but it’s still an awesome way for businesses to use visual imagery as a main selling point. Some of the most successful businesses on Pinterest are decorators, food, fashion, travel and wedding planning companies.

Pinterest has a niche market, and you’re doing your business a disservice if you aren’t finding a way to be a part of it. Like LinkedIn, it’s a great way to inspire consumers or other business owners.

 

Google+:

The search engine company originally launched in 1996, and has continually adapted, updated and created new features to its now 1 billion visitors per month. One of its most recent applications is social media site Google+

Google+ should be on the list simply because it’s Google. While Facebook has the most active users for a social media platform, Google is still the number one site visited per month. Being on Google+ gives you the potential to rank higher on search results and the ability to bring in customers by providing key info about your business (location, directions, phone numbers, photos, reviews, etc.).

The main difference between Google+ and all other social networks is that it’s tied to Google, giving it the huge benefit of SEO value. If you combine your Google+ Local Page (map listings) with your Google+ Business Page, you’re more likely to rise to the top of results during location-based searches.

 

Instagram:

Also a newer platform, photo and video sharing site Instagram was founded in 2010 and has over 300 million users worldwide.

 Instagram is a tricky one. It’s primarily a mobile social media site, so you have to download it on a mobile device to create an account. There’s not a way to create a ‘business’ account, but you can create an account for a business the same way you’d create a personal one.

A unique feature about Instagram is that it’s strictly photo- and video-based. Users can post images and short videos, but not simple text updates like on Facebook and Twitter. It’s all about tagging, mentioning, liking and commenting on photos to interact with other users. Like Twitter, if you can’t keep up with constant contact, Instagram might not be for your business. But if your business is very visual or has a lot to say (newspapers, media companies, fashion, cooking, ad agencies, etc.), Instagram is a great way to keep up with the visual-centric social world.