- If you don’t have unlimited time and resources to dedicate to social media, choose one platform, and go hard at it.
- Facebook is a good choice for just about every business and an easy starting point, while Instagram is the best platform for attractive lifestyle products.
- If your target audience is creative types or women, then Pinterest is a powerful option.
- LinkedIn may not seem as cool as its hipper social media counterparts, but it can create some serious traction for your B2B company.
The fact of the matter is: if you want to have a business in the 21st century, you have to be present on social media. Social media now lies at the center of most of your business’s primary operations: marketing, sales, customer service, recruiting… If it’s something you do for your business, there’s a good chance you can amplify it with a few social posts each day.
If a 360-degree social media campaign across platforms seems outside of the realm of possibility for your business, your best bet is to follow this social media rule of thumb. If you don’t have unlimited time, money, and resources for social media, instead of being lightly active on all the platforms, choose one platform, and go hard at it.
While that probably seems easy enough, it leaves you with one giant burning question: Which social media channel? Since there isn’t one simple, one-size-fits-all answer for every company, we put together this guide choosing the most effective social media platform for your business.
When you hear the term “social media,” there’s a good chance, the first platform that comes to mind is Facebook, and with good reason! The platform has over two billion active daily users and is a great way to reach a wide range of potential customers. Facebook is a good choice for just about every business and an easy starting point.
Facebook’s paid advertising program is one of the most user-friendly and effective paid social mediums. It’s also very customizable, so you can target the ads to the gender, age, interests, employment, etc. of your demographic.
If you already know how to use the platform for yourself, you have a good idea of how to use the platform for your business. One small caveat is that if your business falls under the category of businesses that Facebook doesn’t allow to advertise (tobacco, adult content, etc.), you may want to seek out another social channel.
Instagram, owned by Facebook, is another one of our favorite social media channels for businesses to hone in on. Just imagine being able to reach its 500 million daily visitors.
Instagram has a lot of the same paid advertising capabilities as Facebook (after all, they are owned by the same team), so it can be a good choice if you’re looking to promote posts. We’ve found that it’s easier to organically grow your following on Instagram, through a strategic follow/unfollow process and engaging with other accounts, than on Facebook. Overall, Instagram is a better platform for businesses with a visual offering. Since it’s photo-based, you really have to win with visuals. In general, attractive lifestyle products will do better on Instagram than B2B businesses.
If your target audience is creative types or women, then Pinterest is a powerful social media platform option. Less than 20% of Pinterest’s users are men, so male-centric businesses or products are probably best suited elsewhere. The top categories that succeed on Pinterest are food and recipes, wedding inspo, lifestyle how-tos, and fashion ideas. If your business revolves around any of those entities, you may want to opt for a Pinterest social media push.
Twitter is such a powerful tool for businesses because of its shareability and engagement factor. A simple retweet from an influencer can lead to hundreds, even thousands, of new followers with just one tweet.
Twitter also lies at the center of the media-sphere, so it’s a great place to connect with journalists who could potentially write about your brand in their next feature. Customers can easily find you through strategic hashtags, which allow you to cast a wider net.
We love Twitter for the speed at which you can grow a following and its networking opportunities. Twitter has many different niches: business, comedy, health, etc., so when you find your tribe, it’s easy to help each other promote.
LinkedIn may not seem as cool as its hipper social media counterparts, but it can create some serious traction for your B2B company. It allows you to publish articles, interact in chat-like groups, and network with exactly the kind of business professionals your B2B company is looking to network with.
We wouldn’t recommend LinkedIn as a primary platform for a sunglasses company, but it is a definite choice for a business consultant or marketing expert. The great thing about LinkedIn is everyone is on it for professional purposes, so everyone, in a way, is on it for the same reasons. There’s less noise to cut through.
Find What Works for You
While we view these as some of the most powerful social media channels, we also recommend Facebook Messenger, YouTube, SnapChat, and TikTok. Those channels require a bit more know-how, so are better as an add on, than a go-to social platform.
At Redefine Marketing Group, we believe that no two businesses are the same, which means no two businesses should have the same social media strategy. Working with us means focusing on the processes and platforms that will serve you best. Our goal is to provide you with a highly-tailored, highly-transparent marketing service. If you’re interested in learning more about our process, check out our engagement roadmap to learn more about what you can expect when working with us.
