Social Media: Where will you Post or Hash your Tag?
Different strokes for different folks. Which social platforms will appeal to your consumers? You don’t necessarily need to be doing what everyone else is doing. Walk to the beat of your own drum. Identify your audience. Really think about how you can connect in a realistic and authentic way on social media. Now more than ever, stay true to your brand.
Social media platforms are designed to focus on different types of business relationships. Businesses can connect with individual consumers (b2c), develop partnerships with other businesses (b2b), or network to build bridges professionally, within their own organization. Venture out to reach individuals to build brand recognition.
Here’s a quick primer on the top 6 social media platforms.
Facebook leads the pack. It boasts 2+ billion monthly interactions among its users. Common sense says every business owner should be on Facebook. Facebook is great because you can really connect to real people and real sales.
Facebook has several tools to help business owners: geo-targeting, SEO driven, Facebook Groups, and Facebook Business page.
Focused on good SEO? Can’t go wrong with Facebook. It’s one of the best tools to actually drive traffic to websites and blogs if your site is being indexed by Google and other search engines. More on this on another day.
Instagram is the place to start and watch trends. It has 1+ billion monthly users and is the go-to platform for most brands. Savvy business owners not only engage their audience on a personal level with photos and videos they also link Instagram to their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
I find Instagram (IG) very useful for service-based industries, with many influencers and brands showing lifestyle vignettes with high quality photos. It works because a picture is worth a thousand words. We can “show” our audience what we do in creative ways and make personal connections with just a photo or an inspiring quote.
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google with 2 billion monthly users. Yep, you read that right…search engine. Content creators share everything from tutorials, product reviews, instructional videos, music and now TV. It’s a great social media channel to use to educate your market. Content videos show up in Google and YouTube search results often at the top. Many times, I search from Google and click on content which takes me to YouTube. One and done.
Nonprofits and service-based businesses can benefit from a strong YouTube presence. Educate the world why change is needed, show how your organization is being the change, and how the audience can help with change.
No other platform can beat LinkedIn when it comes to connecting with business professionals. LinkedIn brands itself as the “the world’s largest professional network” with 660 million users in 2019. If you’re a B2B business owner, LinkedIn is the social platform you want to be on. It’s one of the best platforms for growing your network and making connections with individuals you want to know and who should know you.
A little bird told me, that Twitter has 330 million monthly users and just about every brand in the world tweets. Twitter is a great way to gain attention by tweeting cleverly with less than 240 characters or less.
Connect your Twitter feed to Facebook and Instagram and spend 10 minutes a day on social media connecting to the world on popular subjects retweeting and following people, issues, and things that interest you.
300 million social media users “Pin” their dreams, aspirations, and future purchases. It is a digital platform to share visuals and ideas. Savvy content creators are using it to sell, sell, sell to women (85% of pinners are female). It’s one of the best social media platforms for service providers to promote new visual content. Your product can become the next big thing with enough pins
The world of social media marketing can be overwhelming for entrepreneurs, small businesses and nonprofits who are now feeling the pressure to market online. Start with 1 or 2 platforms. The key is to post consistently and to stay true to your brand. We’re all in this together.
Be realistic about your social media capabilities and time. Be consistent no matter where you post. In choosing your platform(s) – get the biggest bang for your buck. For example, you can link your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter social media accounts so your posts show up on all three platforms. Create a content calendar which acts as your blueprint. Ask yourself the following questions:
● Where do you find your audience?
● What highlights your brand best?
● Where is your target group socializing?
● Who is your number one client?
And remember, these are all marketing tools and should be part of your overall marketing plan when it comes to social media.
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