Choosing your social media platforms
There really is no denying that social media is changing business in many ways whether it is communication or marketing. Billions interact on social platforms every day creating conversations. For business, whether small or large this is plenty of motivation to be involved.
With so many platforms, deciding which one is the most suitable for your business can be challenging. Because at the end of the day although social media is free, management of the platforms is not.
Each platform offers something unique or distinctive. However, which one will offer you the most benefit? The reality is that you can’t dominate all social media platforms. Choosing the most effective social media platform for your business will depend on who your audience is and what your social media goals are.
Ask yourself, which social platforms will help us reach our ideal audience in the most effective way? Here are a few tips.
Do your research
It is important to understand how each platform is used as this will provide information about what its key capabilities are and how this will benefit.
Ask yourself some key questions:
- What is the unique purpose of this platform?
- What features relate to my business requirements?
- What are the demographics of this platform – who is the target audience?
Know your audience
Understanding your target audience is essential. Just as with any communication or marketing strategy, knowing who you want to target and why is vital. Not only do you need to know aspects such as their age, gender, education and basic demographics, it is also important to understand the audience on a deeper level. What are their interests, values, beliefs, fears, desires, needs and wants? When you can understand them, you are then able to find and identify them.
Identify which social networks your audience use
Once you have as much information about your audience you then need to determine which social platforms they are using.
- Which social media platforms does your audience frequent the most?
- When are they there?
- What do they do when they are there?
The reality is that most small businesses don’t need more than two platforms. And once chosen it is then a matter of building your audience and achieving a loyal audience base. If you are delivering on their needs, they will engage on the platform and in turn share what you are saying because it is valuable. And if you deliver content that is authentic your audience will more likely emotionally connect with you.
Social media is a long term investment. Each brand is different and it will take some time to determine what type of content will likely engage on an emotional level. It is important to experiment and be committed. Social media is about relationship building as well as developing brand awareness. Those businesses with the patience and commitment to keep testing, measuring and experimenting, who have a strategy in place, and who don’t push sell too much, will eventually develop and build trust with their ideal customer.
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