It’s not a case of whether your business should use social media to engage your target audience. It’s a case of choosing the right social media platform for your business and what you’re looking to achieve.
95% of all online users are on social media. This amounts to approximately 5.17 billion social media users, which is 63.7% of the world’s population. Cumulatively, those users spend 12 billion hours per day on social media, which equates to 14% of their waking hours. Over the last year the number of users on social media has grown by an estimated 282 million and experts predict that this growth trend will continue. Consequently, while having a multi-pronged marketing strategy can’t be downplayed, a key focus in that strategy must be building your presence on social media.
Most Used Social Media Platforms
- YouTube
- Facebook Messenger
- TikTok
Research shows that combined activity on all other platforms is less than 1/3 of that of active YouTube users. This equates to 6 billion hours of YouTube watching a month and an uploading of 100 hours of videos per minute. However, currently, the best ROI of any social media platform comes from Instagram and Facebook.
Each platform prioritizes a specific type of content and social communication, which in turn appeals to specific demographics. Depending on your business, different channels can serve different purposes in regards to pushing your brand message and reaching a relevant audience.
Social Media Platform Content
- YouTube: Videos.
- WhatsApp: text and emojis, images and stickers, files and documents, audio and video, interactive buttons (CTA and quick replies) and location.
- Facebook: text, photos, videos and live broadcasts, link posts, reels, and stories.
- Instagram: visual posts and photos, reels, stories, videos, live broadcasts and interactive content.
- Facebook Messenger: messages, photos, videos, stickers, audio and files, voice and video calling.
- TikTok: short videos leveraging music.
- LinkedIn: text, images, videos, documents and polls.
Outside of the specificity of each platform, the social aspect of each channel plays a part in how users engage. There are many factors to contemplate, across multiple platforms. So how do you go about choosing the right social media platform for your business?
Understanding Your Target Audience
Your marketing ecosystem has 4 key components that need to connect and resonate with your target audience. Ergo – you need to know who your target audience is and what social media platform they prefer.
You’re not going to change your audience’s online preferences. But you can engage with them using the right content and post it across the social media platforms they’re using the most. Playing to your target audience’s consumption behavior will help you resonate, expanding your online community, and growing brand awareness and loyalty.
Determining which platforms your audience is on often comes down to testing, outside of having a strong pulse on the kinds of users and content being shared per channel. That’s where an agency can come in. They help profile your target personas, where they engage, and ways to personalize content that will motivate audiences to interact with your brand.
Aligning Platforms with Business Goals
Social media goals should extend beyond merely counting post likes and shares. They need to include a holistic assessment of your target audience’s interaction, including a pulse on customer satisfaction. Beyond these more community-focused objectives, social media can support brand discovery in the form of increasing website traffic and fueling lead generation. How well your goals are defined will determine how effective your social media campaigns are. Therefore, ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Top 5 Social Media Business Goals
- Increase brand awareness and reputation.
- Improve and boost target audience engagement.
- Gain website traffic through an engaged social media following.
- Promotes sales and drive conversions.
- Acquire insights into the target audience, competitors, and industry through social listening.
Depending on your goals, your key performance indicators (or KPIs) will adjust and help assess the efficacy of your content and the platforms you’re on. Tools like Sprout Social, Dash Hudson, Sendible, and Buffer can assist you in aggregating and unpacking data in a meaningful way.
How to Choose Platforms that Align with Social Media Goals
While every social media platform serves to build brand awareness and community, not all platforms are made equal when it comes to serving the different stages of your marketing funnel.. Understanding the best use of each platform in serving your business goals will help you make the most of a strong social media mix.
Matching Business Goals to the Right Social Media Platform
- YouTube: For building brand awareness and nurturing communities through deep, engaging storytelling.
- WhatsApp: For personalized customer service, group messaging, and engaging customers with real-time updates and offers.
- Facebook: Ideal for community building, targeted ads, and content sharing across various formats to reach diverse audience segments.
- Instagram: For building brand aesthetics, showcasing products through imagery and Reels, and engaging with users through stories and influencer collaborations.
- Facebook Messenger: For direct customer service, personalized interactions, and automated messaging via bots to nurture users’ interaction.
- TikTok: For short-form, viral video content that fosters authentic engagement and brand building through creative, trending, and challenge-based marketing.
- LinkedIn: For B2B marketing, networking, and thought leadership, ideal for building professional brand credibility, recruiting, and sharing industry insights.
How to Choose a Social Media Platform
Using social media is a key part of online marketing, offering a strong ROI and a great way to connect with target audiences and communities. However, with so many platforms, each with different focuses and users, choosing the right one for your business is a crucial decision. To use a platform effectively, businesses need to understand their audience and keep up with online trends, staying flexible and responsive to changes in behavior.
At SocialQ we specialize in leveraging social media platforms to our client’s advantage. Contact Us to start your journey of optimizing social media platforms for your business.
