With busy lifestyles and limited resources, there are many things that business owners simply don’t have time for. Stretched thin, there is a real need for targeted efforts to bring in customers and drive sales.

Social media is one area of marketing that is seen to be the holy grail as it's largely free and gives you direct access to potential customers. Sadly, it's also one of the main areas of marketing that many business owners find overwhelming.

Often a scattergun approach is taken which gives businesses a presence on all social media platforms but it means that the platforms are not used as effectively as they could be. Sometimes it is worth focusing efforts on one or two social media platforms to help keep the time and resources you sink into your marketing activities on track so that it generates real customer traffic and sales.

Selecting which platforms to focus on is often a challenge in itself. There is often a preference for certain platforms based on personal perception or preferred use, which is great on one hand but it also might not be where your customers are.

To help guide you in the right direction, let's look at each of the various social media channels and see what platform is right for your business.

Facebook

Since it started in 2004, Facebook has grown dramatically and it now has over two billion users on its platform each month worldwide. Recent stats show that 65% of Facebook’s users are older than 35 with the average user aged 40.

The most popular pages on Facebook are the big brands such as McDonald's, Netflix, and Coca-Cola. These big brands target millions of Facebook users with ads, product launches, and viral campaigns.

Facebook has experienced several PR issues in recent years which has seen some users move away from the platform. It has also altered the way in which posts are shown which does put a preference on posts that have high engagements and on posts that are paid Facebook ads.

Generally speaking, Facebook is a great one size fits all platform (as much as possible for any platform to be). If you can generate highly engaging content and utilise the Facebook ad system then you can generate a huge amount of traffic to your store and website.

Instagram

This extremely visual social media platform is gaining in popularity every day and has recently been purchased by Facebook. Unlike Facebook, half of Instagram users are between 18 and 35, this younger demographic explains why the purchase was so valuable for Facebook.

From a business perspective, Instagram has a fantastic shopping feature that allows you to tag products in your images so that Instagram users can add the product to their shopping cart and buy it straight away. If you are an eCommerce store, especially if you sell clothing/lifestyle/aspirational products, then having an Instagram account is a must.

The downside of Instagram is the fact that it is a visual platform. Businesses typically find visual content for their marketing to be the hardest to produce. You do need a strong eye for design and layout to produce captivating images for your brand on Instagram.

Linkedin

LinkedIn is a business-orientated social media platform, but with 660 million users in over 200 countries, it is not a platform to hide from.

It is often just seen as a platform for job hunting but it is more than that. It’s a chance for businesses to connect with other businesses, but more importantly, for every member of your team to actively promote your business and its brand.

To use LinkedIn effectively your posts need to provoke a discussion or debate, share an experience or ask for thoughts on a particular situation or topic. But more importantly, you must engage with other posts as this is one of the few social media platforms which puts a huge emphasis on being social.

If you are a B2B company, or perhaps feel like you could be with the right marketing, then this is the platform to be on.

Twitter

Twitter is certainly not the preferred social media platform for many businesses due to its character limits and lack of other features. You can only really post content and share imagery, there are no shopping features like there are with Instagram.

Twitter is best used by businesses that are in the media, political sphere, and even PR-related industries. Indeed, you can’t really be a politician nowadays without an active Twitter account acting as your speakerphone for where you stand on issues.

If you are a business that regularly shares industry news articles or has a political standpoint on issues – like Ben & Jerry’s – then Twitter is for you. Otherwise, you are better off simply securing the handle and keeping it ticking over.

Another way for businesses to use Twitter is for customer service. If you are producing electronic goods or offering a service that is vital for day-to-day life, then a Twitter account will allow customers to reach you with their issues so you can resolve them.

Many large brands have a Twitter account for this very purpose so whilst Twitter may not be for you right now, securing the handle means that should your business grow to a large brand then you have it ready for use.

Pinterest

Pinterest is often not considered to be a social media platform, even though it very much is. It's less about being social with friends or acquaintances you know and more about sharing content to help others discover what is out there.

The platform itself is known for its high conversion rates and high-value sales. In fact, it is one of the strongest platforms for generating referral traffic to your website. That results in a lot of very interested individuals on your website who are ready for conversion.

This discovering element of Pinterest plays into the hands of many businesses. If you can position your products in a captivating way then you can bring it to the attention of others looking for something in that theme or design to complete their house, wedding, and even travel plans.

This works even if you are a business that offers a service, as the physical manifestation of your service may be discoverable. Or you can put information about your service into an infographic which can then be found by interested individuals.

If you are a visually driven business in the wedding, food, travel, clothing, and lifestyle industry then Pinterest is a great platform for you. Just remember that it's just as important to have Evergreen content* as it is to have the latest products pinned on your business Pinterest boards.

*If you are not sure what Evergreen content is then check out our blog post on Evergreen content here.

Tik Tok

If you have not heard of Tik Tok then you may not be the demographic that it is aiming for. Tik Tok is largely for pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults.

If you thought that Instagram and Pinterest were visual apps, Tik Tok reaches a whole new level. Tik Tok viewers like to watch videos created by other TikTok-ers which usually feature people, impressions, funny thoughts, tutorials, and even tours.

Companies often find this platform a challenge as you need a viral video clip to get any sort of traction. For this reason, it is popular with influencers who work with brands to help reach their audience.

If your brand is fun, fresh, relevant to a young audience and you have a member of the team who loves being on camera then Tik Tok could be the platform for you.

How do I choose?

To select which social media channel is the best channel for you and your business to utilise, make sure you have read through the information in this blog post above and compared this with your business, its branding and your capabilities.

Think about the typical age group that uses these social media platforms and whether that is an age group that you are targeting.

Also, ensure that you think about imagery and graphics. Any and all social media use should feature the use of imagery and graphics nowadays, it’s a much more engaging and effective method of communicating with your audience. Consider the quality of imagery required by each of the platforms and consider how you will make this happen.

And lastly, if you need assistance on focusing your online marketing efforts or if you need assistance in crafting content that is engaging then simply contact the team here at Digital Nachos today.

Published: 1st Jun 2021

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