The Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business
Whether you run a small business or manage a large enterprise, integrating social media into your overall marketing strategy should be a no-brainer. But with the sheer number of available platforms and the diversity of the audience, choosing the right field(s) to play isn't always as straightforward as it seems. This guide will let you in on how to narrow down your choices and leverage social media for exponential growth.
Why should you get active on social media?
A 2018 Global Web Index study revealed that 71% of users are likely to make purchases based on social media referrals. Plus, about 54% use social media to research products before making a purchase decision. With the surge in online shopping caused by the global pandemic, there's no prize for guessing these figures would have increased significantly.
Social media marketing allows you to reach out to a hungry audience, engage them, get them to make a purchase, and offer post-purchase services/promotions. With social media, you can take your customers through every stage of the marketing funnel and keep them coming back.
Which social media platform should I use for my business?
Before deciding on the best social media platform for your business, there are several factors to consider. The most crucial ones include:
Marketing goals
Having a clear idea of why you want to put your business on social media can help you narrow down your choices. Are you on social media to increase brand awareness? Do you wish to leverage the platform to identify new leads or engage customers? Do you want to use social media for direct sales? Or perhaps as a customer service channel.
Usually, most brands' social media marketing strategy would include a bit of everything. But the right platform for you will depend on the domineering objective.
Target audience
The overall goal of social media marketing is to connect you with your target audience. However, you can only achieve this if you know where they are. That's why it's vital to define your buyer persona and identify the platforms that suit them best.
The easiest way to do this is by studying your customer demographics and figuring out the social media sites that will house a good number of your potential customers. For example, optimizing your presence on LinkedIn should be an easy choice if you're a B2B service provider. On the other hand, if you're an eCommerce retailer specializing in clothing accessories, you should look towards platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
A highlight of the top social media platforms for business
With more than 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide. Unsurprisingly, the platform is home to just about any demography of customers. As long as they have internet access, there's a high chance they're active on Facebook. This easily makes Facebook one of the best social media platforms for businesses.
The platform's broad appeal allows businesses to create a community out of their customer base. You can share videos, photos, and short posts to inform or educate customers about your offerings, and there's room for instant questions and feedback. Facebook ads also present a vital tool for businesses to reach out to a large audience. The only caveat is that the platform appears to favor businesses targeting an older audience since Facebook is becoming slightly less popular among the younger generation.
Twitter boasts about 350 million monthly active users, and it's the home of trending content. Brands typically leverage Twitter to provide updates about their products or services. The platform also serves as an excellent customer care channel for many businesses. Although Twitter's audience may not be as diverse as Facebook's, it remains one of the most social media platforms around.
Both B2B and B2C businesses can benefit from using Twitter for building brand awareness and engaging customers. However, the 280-character limit poses a challenge for the kind of content you can post on Twitter. You'll need to be creative and master how to craft concise but engaging marketing copies to get the most out of Twitter.
About 75% of 18–24-year-olds use Instagram. So, if younger millennials and Gen Z form the bulk of your target audience, leveraging Instagram for social media marketing should be a no-brainer. The platform houses more than 1 billion monthly active users, and it's a goldmine for brands adept at creating engaging visual content. You can expect a tremendous boost in your brand awareness and visibility if you consistently showcase stunning images and creative videos of your products on Instagram.
Instagram's 'Shop' feature also allows people to buy from your business directly on the platform. Through the shop, users can browse products, explore collections, and make payments without leaving the platform (available for US business and Creator accounts).
LinkedIn remains the most popular platform among business executives and corporate job aspirants worldwide. The platform is home to more than 303 million monthly active users, most of whom are business executives or professionals looking to climb the corporate ladder. If you're targeting a B2B audience or you'd like to segment their customers based on their job titles, LinkedIn is an excellent platform for you.
Admittedly, LinkedIn advertising may not be as advanced as its counterparts. Still, it allows you to target specific job positions- a feature other platforms do not have. Furthermore, LinkedIn gives you access to emails of prospects which can be crucial if you plan to complement your social media marketing efforts with email marketing.
TikTok
With more than 800 million active users and 1.6 billion daily video views, TikTok has rapidly grown into one of the most popular social media platforms for businesses. However, more than the numbers, what's interesting about TikTok is the demography of users. In Canada, for example, about 10% of internet users have a TikTok account, and more than 40% of that popular are between the ages of 18 and 24. If you're targeting a younger audience, you'll benefit greatly from advertising your business on TikTok.
It's also important to note that TikTok's algorithm encourages users to watch videos from brands they're not already following. And since the videos are very short, you can easily spark viewers' interest if you're creative with your videos. In essence, it's much easier to go viral on TikTok than most other platforms, and there are many advertising options to explore.
Partner with the right social media marketing agency
Developing a winning social media marketing strategy requires an in-depth knowledge of your business as well as the right platforms to explore. Importantly, it's hardly ever an overnight process. So, you'll need to devote some time to test different approaches before settling with the best method for your business.
That's why it's always advisable to work with an experienced social media marketing company like Tap Marketing. We have overseen numerous campaigns for businesses across diverse industries, and we can assure you we know our onions when it comes to social media marketing. Get in touch with us today, and we'll be glad to discuss how we can help.