We live in an increasingly digital world. Today, more than half the world uses a smartphone meaning we’re more ‘online’ than ever before. Although some may see this as a negative thing in terms of physical interaction and socialising sans screen, for business owners, things have never been better. Gone are the days when advertising was limited to TV ads, flakey posters and glossy magazine features; social media platforms are the new billboards and they’re open for your business.
Understandably, the prospect of using social media for advertising your business is extremely enticing. However, choosing the right social media platform for your business is essential when making sure you’re heading in the right direction. We’ve created some handy tips for all you business owners out there who are looking to branch out into social media.
Know your audience
Before you jump into creating a business account on every social media platform, take some time to think about who it is you’re going to be targeting. You’ll most likely already know who your target audience is, so taking this information and applying it to social media usage will be a big helping hand. For example, this report from Sprout Social shows that 83% of users are female and 88% are aged between 18-29.
Knowing who frequents your site the most and then seeing which social media platforms they use will allow you to focus your efforts in the right place. In short, there’s no point in creating an outstanding Instagram account if the majority of your audience prefer scrolling through Facebook.
What do you do?
This may seem like a silly question but it will ultimately help to refine your choice of social media platforms even further. Are you specialising in eCommerce or B2B sales? If you’re providing products such as clothing or furniture, choosing a platform which relies mostly on visuals is going to work in your favour. If, on the other hand, you communicate solely to other businesses, investing your time and efforts in a networking platform like LinkedIn will be your best bet.
If you’re in eCommerce, utilising a platform such as Pinterest is a great opportunity for you. Topshop, one of the world’s largest and most successful retailers, has a great Pinterest profile. With over 188k followers, Topshop have the perfect platform to advertise not only their products but how to style them too.
Customers could also come across your brand through related searches and, more recently, Pinterest’s image searching. This is the perfect platform for you to work on with Instagram too.
What are your business goals?
Now you’ve decided on the platforms you’re going to be using, you need to decide on what it is you want to get out of it. Will it be to increase revenue or to create new relationships between your business and another? A profile like LinkedIn, which has over 500 million users worldwide, is ideal for networking and approaching prospective businesses; this is great for B2B but not as efficient for B2C.
If you’re still unsure which social media platform to choose for your business, why not contact one of our social media wizards today. Or if you need advice on your PPC or SEO strategy get in touch today.
