Which social media should your business be using?
Consider four factors when sorting out social
Social media is a great way to get your brand out there, reach new audiences and develop new leads, but if you still need convincing, consider the numbers:
- 3.8 billion people use social media regularly [i]
- 73% of marketers say social media has been effective for their business [ii]
- 40% more is spent by customers who interact with a company on social media [iii]
All that being said, even a social media novice knows that not all platforms are created equal. Finding the right one for your business depends on defining the following factors:
- Objective — Do you want to build brand awareness, address customer service issues or increase sales?
- Audience — Does your ideal customer fit the demographics of a particular platform?
- Content — Are you planning blog posts, testimonials, photographs or videos?
- Reach — How wide an audience are you looking for?
Popular Platforms
With those in mind, let’s look at the four platforms most often used for business marketing.
Facebook — With 2.8 billion active users, it’s definitely the big boy on the block, and you’ll get a smattering of everyone, although mostly ages 25 to 54. Facebook also has 6 million advertisers, so it’s a crowded field. In general, Facebook ads are best used for lead generation.
Instagram — At 1.3 billion active users, Instagram is worth a look. Instagram excels at sharing photos, videos and stories and is most popular with the 18- to 34-year-old crowd, more so with women than men. Since links don't work in organic posts, Instagram is more ideal for brand awareness and influencer marketing.
Twitter — At 436 million users, Twitter is much smaller, but 145 million of them use Twitter every day. It’s the go-to platform for immediacy and favors bite-size chunks of textual content. Most users are under 50, and it’s kind of a guy thing — 65% male users to 35% female.
LinkedIn — Facebook in a three-piece suit? Sort of. Although a niche platform, LinkedIn has some power behind it with 303 million monthly active users worldwide. LinkedIn is the choice for B2B marketing and has unique ad targeting options like job title and industry.
TikTok — TikTok has become not only the fastest growing social media platform, but also the most popular website in the world. By focusing on creative and trendy content, TikTok has amassed an audience of over 1 billion active users.
Organic vs. Paid
Regardless of the platform, a successful social media strategy requires both organic and paid posts. Organic posts live on your company’s profile page and can pop up in your followers’ news feed, while paid social includes boosted posts and ads.
On most platforms, ads are sold in an auction format in which you bid for target results such as clicks, impressions or conversions.
In Conclusion
A lot goes into deciding which platform will give you the best exposure with the right audience and the biggest bang for your buck, but it’s clear that you need social media to keep your business relevant and visible. Count on IdeaBank Marketing to help you chart the waters to a successful social media campaign.
Find out more about IdeaBank's Social Media efforts...
- How IdeaBank helps clients with social media
- Social media services
- How to reach your social potential
[i] Global Web Index
[ii] Buffer State of Social Report
[iii] Social Media Today
