Promoting your business on a social media platform can be a valuable step when it comes to marketing. Not only is it usually free, it’s a great way to:
- Reach new audiences that you might not have been able to reach otherwise
- Establish a direct line of communication with your potential customers or clients.
- Stay in touch with previous customers and clients
- Share valuable information and establish yourself as an expert in your industry
- Build a relationship with your audience that builds trust in your brand
With these benefits in mind, it’s common for business owners to feel that they should be active on all the major social media platforms. Over the years, I’ve read many different articles by marketing experts explaining why a particular platform is absolutely essential for a business’s marketing strategy. Not only that, but these marketing experts also stress that a business should stay active on the platform by posting frequent updates and images for their audience. I’m talking Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest and more…. I’m ready for a breakdown just at the thought of finding time for all that… !!
As a business owner, time is your most valuable resource. Juggling a variety of different social media accounts is a huge task and can often lead to balls being dropped. Don’t try and manage a variety of different platforms half-heartedly. Instead, choose only the social media platforms that will be most beneficial to your business and your ideal customer – then do them very well.
So which one is best? Well that depends…
Where do your customers/clients hang out?
This is the #1 question that you should ask yourself before creating a profile on a new social media platform. Consider your target market. Where are they most active on the internet?
At Bizboost, we find that the majority of our current clients and target market use Facebook frequently. So this is where we focus the most of our energy. Our business clients catering for younger generations may find that visually appealing photographs on Instagram or Snapchat works better. If you’re a B2B company dealing with professionals, you may find LinkedIn an efficient way of networking with potential customers.
Does the platform suit your business?
You may find your business is naturally suited to one type of social media, more than another.
For example, consider a business that creates stylish and beautiful handbags for their consumers. Sites like Instagram (which has a huge focus on visual aesthetics) may be the perfect place for them to feature striking photos of their products with side notes on how best to style them for each occasion.
Many of our Sheep Stud clients will take videos of their rams leading up to a sale and post it to YouTube. It’s a way of showing off their sheep in a much more natural way then a still photograph. You may also find YouTube useful if you create a product that can be used in a variety of different ways. For example, a business that sells spice mixes could create instructional videos outlining different recipes that can be created with those spices.
A public figure who makes a living by promoting their personal brand may find Snapchat useful. It allows them to keep their audience up to date on what they’re up to day by day.
So when considering whether a new social media platform is right for your business, first have a think about the type of content you would need to create for that platform. Videos? Images? Written information? Is it something that fits naturally with what your business does?
How much time do you have?
Last, but not least, consider how much time you have to dedicate towards your social media strategy. Better yet, can you delegate some of these tasks to your staff or others? How much time do they have? With this in mind, be careful not to bite off more than you can chew.
Consider the similarities between some platforms and whether you can use the same content for each. For example, can that beautiful image of your product that you posted to Instagram also be shared on Twitter and Facebook. Can your next video on Periscope be recorded and uploaded to YouTube or Facebook. Can that blog post you shared on Facebook also be shared on Twitter, Google+ and more.
If you’re new to social media, perhaps start with only one platform at a time. First learn the ropes and what works in that space. Over time, what used to take you half an hour will only take you ten minutes, which allows more time for you to then experiment with a new platform.
So when you’re next finding yourself feeling overwhelmed by choice and unsure whether to jump on that new social media platform that is supposed to do wonders for your business… stop… take a breath. Go make yourself a cup of tea and consider the three questions above. Is this something that is really going to be right for your business?