Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter…not to mention Snapchat and TikTok. Aaarrgghh! Doesn’t it feel like your head will explode trying understand all the different social media channels? And do you feel like you need to be everywhere to give yourself the best chance of your brand, services, or products being discovered? OK, take a breath. I thought I would share how I have identified which social media platform is best for my business.
Because did you know you don’t have to be everywhere, and you don’t have to be on all the platforms? And it isn’t about which social media platform has the most users. What you need to do is find out where your target audience is so that you can communicate effectively with them.
How effective is social media marketing?
I think there is a belief that if you pop yourself on social media, you’ll automatically have a successful business. But what most businesses find is that it’s really hard work and the companies that have overnight success are actually few and far between. So, you’re going to have to work hard for it.
But that’s not to say that social media marketing is not effective. Many of the businesses that I work with find that social media marketing is the perfect tool for raising awareness of their brands or products. A recent survey by GWI states that 64% of internet users use social media channels first to discover brands. Once users have discovered your brand you then need to work on how you convert them into customers but that’s a whole other blog!
How to identify which social media platform is best for my business
When it comes to knowing which social media platform is best for my business the key is to understand who your target customer is and which social media channels they are using.
How can I find out which social media channel my audience are using?
There are a number of ways you can find out more about your audience. Most of them are data driven. But you can also talk to your customer to gain further insights.
Social media insights
Your business pages on social media will have insights that prove very useful to you. They contain information such as the age, gender and other demographic information about your followers, which will be useful in your marketing.
Google Analytics
If you have Google Analytics plugged into your website then you will have a wealth of information and data about your audience at your fingertips. Key information includes which social platforms your audience visit your website from. It will also tell you the demographic information such as age gender and and other interests that your audience has.
Data
Take a look at data that is available from research. For example, the survey by the GWI found that one of the top three reasons consumers give for using a platform is to follow or find information about products and brands. The main social media platforms that they use for this are Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter. Facebook, TikTok, and Snap Chat are all used to message friends and family, post or share updates, for entertainment, and to keep up to date with news.
Have the conversations
If you want to really understand your customer then reach out to them, ask them questions, find out which social media channels they using. You could do this in a number of ways – through a survey, ask your team to ask the question when they’re talking to your customers, or add a popup to your website which asks the question directly for them to answer easily.
Focus is the key
So there you have it. The key to knowing which social media platforms are best for business and making sure that your social media efforts are worthwhile, is to find out which channels are most likely to reach your target customer.
And don’t forget once you’ve identified which social media channels you’re going to use, you also need to be social on them. It’s not just about posting images and videos of your product. It’s about chatting with people and connecting with them and part of the customer getting to know like and trust you.
If you’d like any help understanding who your audience is so that you can make sure your social media efforts are effective please get in touch as I’d love to help.
