How to Choose the Right Social Media Platform for your Business

If you are yet to establish your business on social media, it may be daunting to decide on the right platform. When you choose the right social media platform it can be a worthwhile investment, driving traffic and drawing attention to your brand, but using the wrong one can be an endless time-sink with no reward.

Where there were once only a few social media platforms to choose from, there are now dozens, all with different audiences and different niches. Whatever your brand, you should not and could not build authority on all of them. Use these tips to help you narrow down the right social media platforms to 2-3 choices and concentrate on building on those.

1. What does your business do?

You can quickly eliminate many choices by simply looking at what your business does. Do you sell clothes? If so, business networks such as LinkedIn are not for you. Do you sell services to other businesses? If so, forget about Instagram. Also consider if you sell a physical or digital product. Options with more local features are handy if you sell something big and heavy and don’t want to pay to ship it across the country.

• Who do you sell to?

We’ve looked at whether you are B2C or B2B, but you also need to know who your audience is. Look at your key demographic and you can ascertain their additional interests. If you sell to women in their 30s, they are likely to have children or pets, so are likely to choose more visual channels such as Facebook.

• What are your competitors doing?

It may seem like you are spying on your neighbors but trust us when we say they do it too. If your competitors have an established and successful social media presence, consider why the platforms they have chosen are working for them and how they are using them.

• What platform does your audience use?

Once you have drilled down into the profile of your potential audience, you need to use that info to choose the right social media platforms:

• Instagram: Instagram is a very visual platform, that works well if you have a physical product to show your audience. It’s demographics sway towards younger users and there are more females than males, but it remains popular across a wide array of demographics.
• Facebook: Despite its bad press, Facebook remains the number one platform in terms of monthly users, yet its size can make it hard to stand out if you are trying to establish yourself. It is great for lead generation and can be used in conjunction with highly targeted ads to get your brand in front of the relevant people. Most users are 25-50.
• Twitter: If your business reacts to current events or requires short but immediate shoutouts, Twitter is the place to be. It is a great platform to engage in conversations with your followers and other brands. Most users are below 50 years old.
• LinkedIn: If your business sells B2B, it needs to be on LinkedIn. It provides essential lead generation and networking in a dedicated business environment and allows for editorial content to be showcased. The majority of users are 30-49.
• Pinterest: Pinterest users are predominantly female and window-shopping for physical items they wish to purchase, making it a strong choice for those who sell physical products B2C. Again, this is a visual platform, so your imagery must be relevant and enticing.
• YouTube: YouTube is an utterly unique platform and one that continues to draw a massive audience. YouTube is now so big that the number one problem will be standing out. By creating video content that is relevant to the brand, you will build authority on your chosen subject and get your content in front of viewers who have watched similar content in the past.

Conclusion

We have covered some of the main platforms above, but there are also many more niche platforms that can be used to get your brand in front of potential customers. We hope the above will help you choose the right social media platforms for your business, but if you want to talk to us about your best options, we’d love to hear from you.

Cyber PR Army Solutions Inc.. Understand where you want to be, and we’ll help you get there.