There’s no escaping social media these days. If you want your business to succeed in the modern world then you need to be putting in the work online to reach more customers and elevate your exposure. The question is, which social media platform is best for your business? With so many different platforms to choose from, you may be wondering where to begin. Instead of signing up to every platform available, it is best to choose two or three of the most widely used ones and focus your marketing efforts there. Here is some advice to get you started:
What are your marketing goals?
The first step in creating a social media marketing plan is to define your goals and what exactly you want to achieve. By narrowing down your focus, you will be able to figure out which social media platforms will be best to achieve your goals, as well as what kind of content you will need to create. Here are some questions to consider:
- Do you want to improve lines of communication between your business and your customers?
- Are you interested in learning more about the buying habits, needs and wants of your existing client base?
- Would you like to reach out to a new audience to increase your brand exposure?
- Do you want to drive traffic to your website?
- Are you launching a new product or service that you want people to know about?
What type of content will you be creating?
To determine which social media platform is best for you, first figure out what kind of content you will be creating. For example, Instagram and Pinterest are both primarily image-based platforms, so if you struggle to create original visual content then these are probably not the platforms for you. The type of content you will create will depend on your industry, your brand, your business and the various products or services you offer. Consider taking some time to browse a few different platforms to get the feel for them. Search for businesses similar to yours to see how they are utilizing different social media platforms and what kind of engagement they are getting from their followers. The following list highlights some examples of different online content types:
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Videos, either live or pre-recorded
- Photographs
- User-generated content
- Surveys
- Testimonials
Where is your audience?
Now that you’ve figured out your goals and what kind of content you want to create, you need to find your target market. Consider the different demographics of your client base. This includes age, gender, location etc, and what type of social media platforms they are likely to be using. For example, Pinterest is primarily used by women and LinkedIn caters to a middle-aged professional crowd. On the other hand Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram are generally where younger users tend to be. However, for a good social media all-rounder, you can’t fault Facebook. This platform continues to dominate the social media scene — according to Pew Research, seven in ten adults report that they use the platform. Of Facebook’s current users, a staggering 74% visit the site at least once a day.
Now you’ve figured out these three important factors, it’s time to take what you have learned and focus your social media marketing efforts. This will allow you to make the largest impact. Social media is a vital tool to any business that wants to succeed online. Enabling you to connect with both a local community and other users around the globe.
For social media assistance, our team of experts are ready and waiting to help you! Contact us today to get started.
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