There are so many options when it comes to social media for your business. Which are the right platforms for your business to be on? Should you be on all of them or just some of them? Which will gain the most traction for your business?
Obviously, the answer to these questions depend on your business, who your target audience is, and what industry you're involved in. Some will disagree, but we believe there are 4 key platforms that most business owners need to consider being present and active on (yes, there are more platforms than this) but we believe for most business owners these are the key four.
Let’s have a look at them and whether you and your business should be present and active?
We would go as far to say that most businesses need to and should be active on Facebook. More than likely, your target audience is on Facebook and your competitors are engaging with them. If you aren’t, then you are missing out, your competitors already have an advantage.
If you are a B2C business, then it’s an absolute must. You should be on Facebook and be active. Your target audience are on Facebook every single day – why aren’t you?
It's an easy to use and very flexible platform with the ability to put great content out that is of help to your target audience; blog posts, videos and lots of content that will engage with your audience. Not only that, Facebook groups are huge right now, with the ability to be part of online communities that will help your grow your business.
Facebook is a no brainer for most!
If you are involved in business to business, then you need to be on LinkedIn. Again, you can post lots of great content including videos and blogs, all engaging with your target audience. Even if you're not business to business, but you're a business owner, then we would suggest that you are present on LinkedIn and active. There is lots of networking to be done.
Ensure you have a profile that represents you well and clearly explains what you do and then get active. Like every social media platform, if you don’t get involved then don’t expect results. It’s no good having a profile and doing nothing with it.
Instagram
Instagram is growing in popularity, with the ability to represent your business with great imagery. For businesses that are creative and that rely on imagery, it's the perfect platform to be on. With the ability to be found through using the right hashtags, Instagram can be a fun platform to work with.
At present it’s the most popular social platform so if you want to ensure you are bang up to date then get creative and get your business on Instagram.
Twitter is the platform that is struggling at this present time. For many, Twitter has been great over the years, but bit by bit it's decreasing in popularity. If you're not on Twitter, then to join now and to start to try and win clients and get engagement is tough going. Yes, for some Twitter has proved successful over the years and continues to do so but to try and jump in now – good luck! We are not saying it cannot be done but your time may well be spent investing elsewhere.
Twitter need to seriously innovate, or their audience will decrease.
There is no doubt that social media works but you have to be prepared to invest the time. Those that say it doesn’t work are because:
We recommend that every business understand which social platforms they need to be on, create a social media strategy to reach their audience and then get working it. The results will follow if you put the time in.
If you need help with social media management or social media strategy for your business, then do speak to us. Our team are on hand to help you grow your brand through the power of online, simply contact us here.
