Marketing has made a dramatic change over the last ten years. The days of placing an ad in your local phonebook are long gone. The age of social media marketing is in. You know you should be using social media in your business, but do you know which social media platforms are best for marketing purposes?
Each platform requires a different approach. In this two-part series, we’ll break down the top seven social media channels that businesses can use and how they’ll help your business
Facebook is the social media channel. It surpasses every other social media platform in users. Think about it, even your mom has a Facebook account. A Facebook business page is a must-have for anyone looking to up the social media game.
The great thing about Facebook is that it allows you to share a variety of content. You can connect with your followers through these options:
- Website links
- Images
- Videos
- GIFs
- Live videos
- Messaging
The downside to Facebook is their ever-evolving algorithms. Facebook is constantly changing how many people see your content organically. As more people interact with your content, Facebook shows it to more people. Most businesses have to pay for people to see their content.
Regardless of the challenges with Facebook’s algorithms, it is still a critical platform for your business to be on.
Twitter is designed for short messages (under 140 characters.) Most users are looking for news. They follow companies to find out the latest details or to look for deals. Twitter is great for sharing links and photos, but they can count towards the 140 character count.
Twitter is a great place to interact with your customers. Because it was set up with the intent of sharing snippets and short messages, it is a great place for dialogue. Many businesses use Twitter as a customer service tool. You can easily promote the good things people say about your business through retweets and you can address any complaints or concerns your customers have.
If your company thrives on visuals, then Instagram is the place for you. What started out as a place to post pictures of your day, has turned into a perfectly curated platform for stunning images. If you want to be successful on Instagram, you must create a visually appealing feed. People are more likely to follow and interact with content that catches their eye.
Instagram recently rolled out “Stories” which let you post photos and videos that are deleted after 24 hours. This is a great way to show your customers the behind the scenes of your business. Stories’ main competitor is Snapchat; however, businesses are more drawn to Stories because you don’t have to build a new following. Anyone who is already following you on Instagram can see your Stories.
LinkedIn is the best social media platform to drive people to your website. It has the highest conversation rate of any social media platforms, especially for companies whose focus is business to business marketing.
The purpose of LinkedIn is to connect professionals together. Because of this, the content shared on LinkedIn is a higher grade. A funny meme isn’t going to go over very well on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn, 6 out of 10 users are looking for industry insights. When you post to LinkedIn make sure that you are providing valuable content.
