This is a question our clients often ask us, but in reality business owners often feel unjustified pressure to join every single social media channel that they can in an effort to target as much of their audience as possible. With this approach, businesses often find themselves having to think of content for every channel on a regular basis, rushing to post things and not giving social media the attention it truly deserves. In some cases it can be forgotten about and business owners are rightly focused on the day-to-day.
We have put together a small guide on each of our favourite social media channels to help you decide which one is best suited for your business.
Mark Zuckerberg struck gold when he launched Facebook, regardless of the bad press over recent years. The channel has over 1 billion users every day, so surely some of your target audience will be included in that number? Absolutely! But how can you reach them? With Facebook ads. It’s no secret that Facebook’s algorithms are difficult to crack, unless you have a large paid advertising budget to skip your way through. We’ve all had that experience of talking about getting a new car and then suddenly Facebook is showing you ads for new cars – spooky! But having a paid advertising budget is a sure fire way of reaching exactly who you want to with your business information. Having said that, content is key and if you are savvy enough to create some amazing imagery, interesting video content or share top articles, then Facebook could just be the channel for you.
Pros: Large audience reach, top analytical tools, targeted advertising, good customer interaction
Cons: Often requires ad budget and consistent engagement for results
Another social media hit, with over a million users signed up within its first month of launching in 2010, now boasting similar stats to Facebook. This channel is extremely visual, as it relies on photo grids or the stories function, more recently launching a ‘reels’ function allowing users to create videos with ease. The platform is brilliant for businesses to literally show their products in great detail. And that is the key, this channel is heavily product led, it can be really difficult to use if you provide a service where images and video content aren’t readily available.
Pros: Highly visual and created for mobile
Cons: Followers don’t equal engagement, highly frequent posting needed
Their marketing strategy is to limit characters within posted tweets, giving everyone a voice but putting a lid on all of the ‘noise’. There was a time where everyone was on Twitter and some still are including journalists, big celebrities and even the President of the United States! In order to stand out from the crowd, Twitter requires consistent engagement, adding valuable content by watching key trends and having a lot of time on your hands. You often need to plan for multiple tweets a day that are achieved by engaging in actual conversation, making it time consuming in order to be effective.
Pros: Easy to engage and free targeting with hashtags
Cons: Cutting through the noise can be time consuming, lots of tweeting required
LinkedIn is an excellent networking tool. You can reach potential business contacts anywhere in the world at the click of a button. Originally launched as a tool exclusively for professionals, it’s now seeing more personal content being shared. It’s highly efficient for those working in a more B2B environment, used by those looking to learn more about their industry or search for career opportunities. It also has the option to use it via a business page, where you can share key messaging and content. You’re now able to follow individuals as well as pages, paving the way for LinkedIn influencers.
Pros: Promotion of business content, great networking tool, good for recruitment
Cons: Not designed for eCommerce, not so many users as other platforms
Our advice could go on forever, we haven’t even touched on YouTube or TikTok and the benefits of using either of those channels. If you want more details or a chat with someone about what social media channels are right for you,
contact us today or take a look at our social media management packages.
