So far this month, we’ve covered the reasons why you need a social media strategy as well as the steps to take when creating one. However, there is one crucial question every company, organization and individual must answer for themselves when forming their approach to building a presence on social media.
Which social media platforms will actually help you meet your goals?
You might assume “the more, the merrier” when it comes to creating a following. But this misconception has led many to make a plethora of social accounts without having a clear idea of which platforms will help them reach their goals. “Less is more” is a better strategy when signing up for social media.
Every platform has its own purpose and attracts a different audience. By first familiarizing yourself with what each medium accomplishes, you can decrease your time spent on social media and make it more effective at the same time.
Social media gurus sometimes refer to this site as “The Wall Street Journal” of social media. It’s where professionals hang out to get connected and share content from their organizations, including blogs, new studies and promotional ads. LinkedIn is an excellent space for brands that have an audience comprised of educators and working professionals or who are B2B marketers.
According to Pew Research, just about every age group has some activity on Facebook, although younger individuals such as teens and young 20-somethings are becoming less and less active. It’s still the most logged-onto platform. Its largest demographic represented are individuals between 25-30, closely followed by those ages 30-49. Because of this, most users who are willing to pay for boosted ads to promote their product, website or campaign can generate success.
Now the second most logged-onto platform besides Facebook, Instagram is a popular hub among Millennials and Gen Zers, with 75% of their users being between 18-24, and 80% of all users following a brand account. It’s a space in which bloggers and influencers of all kinds have found significant success. For those targeting a younger demographic, especially if the focus is centered around artsy or lifestyle topics, Instagram is the place to be.
This platform is a social media outlier in the fact that it’s mostly represented by males. Not only that, but 80% of all their users are affluent Millennials. A popular space for publishing microblogs about politics, social issues or current events and telling witty jokes, as fast-food brand Wendy’s famously does, this can be an effective place for building a brand voice and reaching the Millennial crowd. Unlike other platforms, it is seen as acceptable to post multiple times a day on Twitter.
YouTube
YouTube is now the second-largest search engine in the world, behind its parent company Google. If your brand produces video content, it’s a great idea to put it on YouTube. Not only can you build a following on the platform itself, but it can help your search engine optimization, too.
The top social media app internationally, WhatsApp is accessible in most countries, making it a great place to target individuals from all around the world. Because 98% of their mobile messages are opened and read, it can be a highly effective place for expanding brand voice and seeking to create connections on a global scale with customers in a more personal way. Whatsapp was recently bought by Facebook, which means new modes of advertising are likely coming to the platform soon.
Snapchat
Like Instagram, Snapchat is mainly dominated by a younger crowd. Back in 2018, it was even more popular among teens than Instagram (though TikTok is changing this trend). If preteens, teens and young 20-somethings are your audiences, Snapchat is an excellent way to engage by promoting short videos, as the activity on Snapchat is nearly all visuals.
TikTok
One of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, TikTok is a short-format, video-creating platform reminiscent of Vine. For Gen Zers, it’s becoming a choice app on their smartphones. Already, many lifestyle influencers and even professionals, including dentists and dieticians, are building a loyal following by sharing videos that reflect the TikTok trends. If your audience is young and you are looking to stay ahead of your competition, TikTok is a great place to begin. It’s less algorithmically intense than other platforms, making it easier to grow an organic following.
Of course, there are other social media platforms about which we could speak, but these are the current most pertinent ones. Because every platform is different, there is one that can best service any brand, company or individual no matter your product, voice or audience. Start by identifying which one that is for you and concentrating your strategy on building a strong presence there.