How to Choose Social Media Platforms
I would love to say that choosing which social media platforms to use is easy. Or that you should just use them all. But, that is definitely not the case. You will have to investigate and experiment to see which ones are best for your business. Hopefully this little guide will help you in your decision making.
Why shouldn’t I just use them all?
Your initial though may be to just use all of the major social media platforms. That would be a bad idea.
Why?
Because as a small business owner, you would have to (or find someone to) manage them all. And if you want to have an engaging presence on each, you will become overloaded on work.
Plus, your return on the work you put in will not be worth it for some of the platforms. Instead, you should focus your time and energy in the platforms that will be worthwhile.
What should I consider when choosing platforms?
There are a variety of aspects that may make certain platforms more worthwhile for you. Be sure to consider the following aspects of your business and marketing plan:
- Target Audience
- Product/Service Characteristics
- Is it visual?
- What do you want to say about it?
- Timeliness
- Location
What are the major social media platforms?
While there are numerous platforms (and more continue to be developed), there are a few widely accepted ones.
Facebook is used by many people, and therefore, a huge channel. As a business owner, you have the option to create pages or groups. People can like your page or join your group in order to follow your posts. Facebook is useful for giving people a personal look at your business.
Twitter is unique in that you can only use 140 characters in each post. The shortness, and ability to reply, retweet, and direct message, make it very conversational. It is also useful for sharing up-to-date content.
Pinterest is visually heavy. It works best if you can share photos and videos that are visually appealing. Users create boards about topics and “pin” posts to them. Pinterest has a primarily female audience, though visual content for any audience can work as well.
Instagram, like Pinterest, is visual. Users post photos or videos that their followers can see in their stream. This platform is particularly good for building brand awareness.
Youtube
Youtube is populated by videos. This makes it very powerful if you can feature your product, or provide content that will drive viewers to you. Concepts to consider include how-tos, product demonstrations, and related informational content.
Choosing social media platforms is a big decision for your business. Each of these social media platforms have characteristics that make them good for certain businesses, and not so good for others. Look at each one and decide what works best for you!
