Which social media platform is right for your business?

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With the continued growth of social media marketing, the only thing separating business owners from consumers is a screen. Expanding your online presence as part of your marketing plan is a great way to boost your brand awareness, reply directly to questions about your products or service, and reach new customers.

From Facebook to TikTok, there are so many social media platforms to choose from, and it can feel like your business needs to stay on top of them all. It can be daunting to pick the right ones for your particular brand and the specific audience you want to reach, which is why knowing who you want to talk to is crucial.  

Why does demographic data matter?

Demographic data is statistical data that is collected to measure and research how well a product or service is doing. It’s usually measured against characteristics like age, gender and professional or social status. Understanding these demographics helps you to target those you want to reach. They also show where you need to focus your marketing efforts and content energy the most.

For example, whilst LinkedIn is a business-to-business (B2B) platform aimed at business owners and professionals to help them network and connect, Instagram is more commonly used by direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

Which social media platforms should you choose for your business?

Some brands are very visual and lifestyle-based (think furniture stores), whereas others have in-depth case studies ready and waiting to meet their new readership online. Luckily, we’re here to help with which social media platforms are best for which content.

Facebook for business

Facebook is probably the most versatile of the platforms, in the sense that it suits all types of content. Think of it as a way to communicate and engage with your audience. You can post everything from informational and statistical content, to a special offer or some light-hearted posts.

Facebook is the best platform for sharing content in the form of external links, or guest posts with images and short text. Facebook groups can also be created as a way to stay in touch with customers and create a line of communication between you as a business owner, and your audience.

Facebook is the perfect platform to promote content from your active blog, or to share various resources and guides with your readers. The Facebook algorithm also loves video content, so try sharing some behind the scenes videos using your phone.

 

Twitter for business

Twitter is best used for snappy, quick and to the point content. Tweets have a much shorter lifespan – just think about how often the trending page changes - so it’s the place for industry news and latest updates. The 280-character limit means shorter and more precise tweets are what work best for shareable content.

The retweet function means you can share other pages’ content, as well as your own, and promote their content too. Uploading images and designed content, such as posters or infographics, is popular content on Twitter. Short videos can also capture the attention of someone scrolling through their feed. Twitter popularised the use of hashtags to allow users to follow a particular topic. Using hashtags means your brand’s tweets can reach a wider audience.

LinkedIn for business

LinkedIn is great for sharing any changes you are making in your business to adapt to a current trend or to provide unique industry insights. LinkedIn is mainly used as a professional platform to share newsworthy or work-related content. As such, it’s a good place to share case study stories and content aimed at business owners or working professionals. Give your audience an insight into company culture and share any networking events or awards you attend.

YouTube for business

YouTube is used to share videos globally. Videos can be long or short in length, it just depends on the message you are trying to communicate and the audience you are trying to reach.

For example, some audiences may have a shorter attention span, and skip over a video that is longer than a few minutes, or you might want to make videos about a topic that needs to be much more in-depth. With just a smartphone, it’s easy to share educational content such as how-to videos as well as product demonstrations.

If you’re wanting to expand your reach even further, TikTok has emerged as a new favourite for this demographic for sharing short videos.

Instagram for business

Instagram is best for sharing visual content and eye-catching images – it’s a bit like your online gallery. Short videos can also be uploaded to Instagram Stories or Reels to reach your consumers and create a more personal and relatable feel.

 With more filters and features being added to Instagram Stories every day, there’s always a new way to interact with customers, like question stickers, polls, links and more.

Just like Twitter, remember to use relevant hashtags to boost your presence in your industry. Adding a location to your post, or a geo-tag to your stories is helpful for local discoverability.

Although Instagram works best for lifestyle and visual brands that can benefit from showing off their products or services, any business can have a successful Instagram presence.

Choosing the right social media platform for your business

Here some final pointers to help you pick the best social media platform for your business:

1. Go to where your audience is. You know your target market best, so think about where they are most likely to spend their time.
2. Only pick two or three social media platforms and do them really well. There’s no use in spreading yourself thin across multiple platforms and failing to reach your audience on each one.
3. Check out which platforms your competitors are using to get an extra idea of what content goes where and how your target audience is being reached.