There are social media platforms out there for literally everything and everyone. Ones to connect people with shared hobbies, interests and aspirations, business ambitions, and much more.
But which ones are the right ones?
Like any platform (magazines, newspapers, radio, adverts and so on) your time and resources should be spent focusing on those that are most likely to help you meet your marketing objectives; the ones that will give you the exposure you’re looking for with the right audiences.
Remember, social media platforms are simply communication tools.
Before you can decide which platforms to opt for, take time to review why you’re doing it in the first place and what you want to get out of it. Go through this process, and you’ll find you can make an informed choice.
Ready?
Start by setting your goals
There are many benefits to using social media, but it’s important to have specific goals in place that support your business. It will help determine not only the social media platform you choose, but also should include your ideal customer profile, and the type of content you need to create.
Perhaps your goal is to identify new leads and prospects by reaching out to them to increase awareness of your brand.
Or it could be around improving your customer service by providing an easy route for customers to contact you with questions, feedback, complaints and concerns.
Your goals are entirely your choice.
Find out where you need to be
The whole point of social media is to put you in front of your target audience and, importantly, engage with them! It makes sense that you need to find out where they hang out, so you don’t waste time and resources in the wrong places.
Of course, there’s no 100% fail-safe method here; but there are a few things you can do to identify the social media platforms your audience prefer and already use.
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about what they’re interested in and what motivates them.
Check out what your competitors are doing; find out where they have a presence and analyse the content they’re sharing.
What kind of content do you want to use?
The type of content you create will depend on different things, including your industry, your target audience, and your business. The types of content you may wish to focus on may include: news and blog posts; testimonials and case studies; webinars and livestreams; ebooks and whitepapers; videos and photographs.
If you know your content type, then you’ll have a better understanding of how a social media platform can work for you.
And don’t forget that different types of content work better on different social media platforms. Instagram, for instance, is all about pictures, so won’t work if your content is in-depth whitepapers.
Now you can choose your platform
Once you’re happy with your chosen goals, have determined where your audience is hanging out, and have a good idea on the content that will work well for your business, you can then compare the social media platforms to decide which one is for you.
So, where are you going to be social?
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