Which social media platform is best for business? Part 1.
Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their customers and prospects. In fact, the growth of social media has been so dramatic that it has spawned its own industry, known as social media marketing.
There are many different types of social media platforms, each with its own unique features and functionality. But which one is the best choice for your business? Over our next few posts we’ll explore the social media platforms and which social media platform is best for business.
When choosing the right social media platforms for your business consider:
What are your target audience using?
Where do your potential customers hang out?
Do you have capacity to post regular and consistently to get the best of your platforms?
Do you have a budget to make use of advertising features?
Do you have the knowledge and skills in-house to curate the right form of content for the channel? (e.g. long-form posts, videos, images).
Do you have a content strategy and plan in place?
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
In this post, we’ll walk you through the pros and cons of the three most popular social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There are many more, we’ll get to those in another post! If you want to use any of these platforms to promote your business, it's best to understand how to use them effectively to get the best out of them.
Making Facebook work for you
Facebook has over 1 billion users, making it one of the largest social networks in the world. Facebook is also the second most visited website in the world, according to comScore. There are many reasons why people use Facebook.
Some people use it to keep in touch with friends and family. They post pictures, status updates, and videos. Others use it to connect with new people and businesses. Many businesses use Facebook to promote their products and services.
Facebook is a great place to advertise. It is free and it is a good way to interact with your customers. However, if you are just starting out, you might not have enough followers to get a lot of exposure. Build your audience with regular engaging posts. Not constant sales but content that your audience can interact with, share, and like.
For real exposure on Facebook, you'll need to consider Facebook advertising. Facebook Ads have the advantage of allowing you to run really targeted ads to your target audience. However, it's notorious for being complicated and easy to get it wrong and waste money. We highly recommend if you're considering Facebook Ads to talk to an expert, it will save you money and earn you more in the long run!
The benefits of using Facebook are:
One of the largest networks in the world
Allows you to connect with your target audience
Create a community around your business
Share links to drive traffic to your website
Facebook Ads are extremely targeted
The drawbacks of using Facebook are:
It can be hard to be seen organically in newsfeeds
You need to post regular and consistent content to make an impact
Thinking up new and effective ways to increase engagement can be challenging and time consuming
Is LinkedIn about you or your business?
LinkedIn is the professional social networking site. It has been around for a long time and it is the best platform for professionals. You can create a profile on LinkedIn and put your contact information and your experience in it. You can also list your skills and interests.
You can make a page for your business or company, although it is often debated that pages are not so effective on LinkedIn, personal profiles perform better.
LinkedIn tends to work better if you are seeking clients over customers, as it's more B2B than B2C. You can also use this site to find potential employees.
The key to LinkedIn is to create informative information and spark conversations. Share your knowledge and experience with your connections, provide useful information rather than constant selling.
LinkedIn is a chance for them to get to know you, it's you they will follow and engage with. It's your opportunity to promote yourself, which in turn filters down to your business.
The benefits of using LinkedIn are:
It's free to use
You can get in touch with potential clients
You can easily create an online business profile
You can build your personal brand
You can network with people who might be able to help you
The drawbacks of using LinkedIn are:
It may be harder to promote B2C
It prefers the personal touch, if you're not keen promoting yourself it may not be for you
You may find you have more people trying to sell to you rather than buying from you
The fast-paced world of Twitter
Twitter is a fast-paced platform built up of short posts. When it comes to Twitter, the most important thing is to tweet often. You should post a minimum of 3-4 tweets per day. This will ensure that you stay in the forefront of your target audience's mind and that they will remember you.
It's a great way to keep up to date with what's going on in the world and see what people are talking about. It's also a great way to find out what your customers want, or what they are looking for. If you have an account you can use it as a tool to connect with your customers and build up a following.
The benefits of using Twitter are:
It's free to use
Keep up to date with what people are talking about
Use hashtags to reach new audiences
Follow trends and topics and interact
The drawbacks of using LinkedIn are:
You have to post 3-4 times a day to make an impact
It's time consuming
It can be easy for your content to get lost amoung the tweets
In our next posts we’ll look at the more visual platforms of Instagram, YouTube and TikTok!
If you need help with your content strategy, content plan, or executing your social media, give us a shout and see how our team can help.
