So, you’ve finally got your business started and now you want to get your social media presence out there to promote yourself. But where do you start?
Often when we first set up our presence online, it can be incredibly daunting…there are so many Social Media networks about now, (more than 500 in fact!) that deciding which one is best is a daunting task for many, let alone how many we need for our businesses to thrive online. How many is too many, how many isn’t enough…
No need to panic, whilst Social Media Marketing is the cornerstone of successful business today, it doesn’t need to be overwhelming, or even terrifying at all. In fact, social media is a powerful tool, and having access to so many is as well. The best place to start is to understand which networks to be on and why, and perhaps even more importantly, to understand the purpose and benefits of each platform. This will help you find out where your business falls, and which networks to approach.
But how to come to that conclusion? Well, if you consider the following things, you will hopefully have your answer!
Who’s your audience?
First thing’s first, who are your audience, and which social media outlets are they most likely to be scrolling on? The best thing to do is a little research surrounding the demographics of each social media outlet (no, not all 500+ of them of course) but look at some of the most popular networks and decide which ones your audience frequent the most. After all, if your brand centres around the elderly, you aren’t going to want to focus heavily on TikTok and remix trends…
In August 2022, these were the demographics behind the four most popular social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
Make sure to keep a handle on what the statistics are when it comes to the social media platforms you might consider using, as it will allow you to stay in touch with who is using those channels and whether those people are the audience you want to target.
What to post, and where?
So now you know where your audience frequent, but what should you be posting on those platforms? How about we look at those most notable platforms again.
- Photos and Links: Facebook is incredibly centred around photo and link sharing, BUT, video in recent years has become more popular there in recent years.
- Local Marketing: Facebook is up there with Google My Business as one of the top local business directories, and is great for setting up your own business hub to advertise yourself locally.
- Say what you need to: Facebook allows for longer form posts, unlike Twitter where you have a limit of 250 characters. You can also take advantage of Facebook Live to share new information as it happens.
- Pictures! Everywhere!: Instagram is an incredibly visual platform, including its stories and reels feature which have been the platform’s focus as of late.
- Edit away!: Instagram offers a variety of photo editing tools built into the platform. This makes it great for visual branding!
- Huge user base!: Instagram is one of the top five social media platforms in the world and growing.
- News, news, news!: Twitter is very heavily focussed on link sharing and debate, users often engaging with news and trends.
- Quick reactions: If you’re quick to hop on a trend or news with your brand, you can very easily ride the wave!
- Engaging!: Users of Twitter very actively engage with the brands they love there, 82% of them in fact!
TikTok
- Video: TikTok is purely video based, but what comes with that is an easy-to-use video editing tool, which allows you to make videos on the go and in the moment for your business, even being able to go live.
- Is it trending?: TikTok is heavily centred on trends, but this means that you could attract a wave of new customers if you use them to your advantage.
- Emotional: According to TikTok, nearly 50% of the best performing ads there have an emotional drive behind them, does your business have an emotional sell?
Managing your presence
Now that you have a better idea (hopefully) of which social media platforms are best for your business, you need to be able to handle your presence there. Rule of thumb is, don’t leave one of your platforms empty or unused, so the best way to prevent this is to have a strategy that will mean your efforts drive sales.
Typically, the best way to do this is to plan and schedule your content – not only will this mean you won’t get bogged down and overwhelmed, but it means you can plan your content in and advance and for notable dates, holidays and events. This is especially important if they’re related to your business! There are many ways to do this and loads of available software to do it with!
Now it’s in your hands!
At the end of the day there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to asking yourself: how many social media networks should my business have? A lot of it depends on your personal needs as a business and a lot of other factors such as:
- Your audience.
- What your business is.
- What product (or service) you provide.
- How much time you have to manage your social media, or whether you want to hire someone to do it for you!
- What you want social media to do for you.
What IS a definite however, is how important social media is as a part of your marketing strategy as a business today. It doesn’t need to be daunting, but it is key to growing your business and becoming successful!