Choosing the social media platform to help grow your business and deliver the best possible ROI can be an overwhelming decision due to the vast number of platforms now available on the market (over 65 platforms to be exact!)
So how do you decide which platforms are worth investing in?
Know what you want to achieve
The best first step in deciding which platforms are going to be right for your business is to identify exactly what your business goals are and how you want social media to support you in achieving them. Do you want to get more website visits, build brand awareness, generate sales leads, sell products? Being clear on your goals will help you focus on the best platforms to suit your business needs.
Know your audience
Different social media platforms target different audiences in different ways. Some are very visual through images and video such as Instagram and TikTok, others are more focused on business to business or professional services, such as LinkedIn. Matching your target audience to the audience of the social media platforms you are using will ensure you are reaching out to the right people.
You may have a more varied audience that would suit multiple platforms, for example if your business covers both business to business and business to customer. In this case you will want to use more than one platform with tailored content to suit the market of each one.
Think about content
The style of content that each platform delivers will give you a good indication of whether it is right for your audience. Remember though, you can deliver the same message in many different formats across different platforms. For example, a business selling beautifully hand-made cupcakes will want to use a number of platforms to get their message across in different ways.
Instagram – Pictures showcasing their best cupcakes
YouTube – Videos on how to make unusual cupcake decorations
Pinterest – Step-by-step cupcake recipe and instructions
Facebook – Pictures of recent orders and customer promotions
LinkedIn – Baking industry news, facts and informative articles
Delivering quality content is essential in ensuring you gain followers and expand your platforms’ reach, as well as holding on to those important connections you already have.
Achieving success
When you have established your goals and your audiences, the next step is to build your brand on the social media platforms you have chosen. This means developing assets such as cover pages, banners and visual content.
Consistency is hugely important. Customers should be able to recognise your brand whichever platform they are on through its visuals and tone of voice. Plan how your campaigns are going to translate through different platforms and compliment each other to deliver a consistent message.
Seek help when you need it
Managing multiple platforms can be overwhelming and time consuming. To get the most out of your social media, your key investment is time. The more time you spend on your content and activity, the more potential customers you are going to reach.
As your business grows, there will come a time when you will want to outsource this activity to allow you to focus on other areas of your business. When this time comes, Squish Marketing offer a range of social media management services that will support your business at any stage.
Contact us today to discuss your social media requirements.
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