Do you know the right social media platform for your business? In today’s world, social media has become an indispensable tool to connect with people online and promote businesses. With 3.6 billion people using social media worldwide, it is easy to see why most businesses brands are taking advantage of social media to push their marketing goals and reach a wide range of audiences.
Are you looking to integrate social media into your marketing strategy? Or are you creating a social media strategy and need to figure out the right social media platform?
In this article, you will get a guide into choosing the right social media platform for your business in 2021.
What are the benefits of investing in social media marketing?
As a business owner, you might be wondering – what are the benefits of investing in social media marketing?
Here are five benefits of investing in social media:
- Builds brand awareness: Social media is an interactive platform with billions of people all over the world. With social media marketing, you can expose your brand to a wide range of people and increase brand awareness.
- Improves customer loyalty: According to research, 64% of consumers want to connect with brands on social media. Customers are more likely to buy from a business they connect with on social media.
- Increases conversion rates: Through social media, you can connect with potential customers, build trust and loyalty and increase conversion rates. You can also utilize social media advertising to generate leads and drive sales.
- Increase website traffic: Social media is an effective platform to drive website traffic. You can leave a link on your social media platform to direct customers to your website.
- Since most people use social media to connect with brands, you can keep customers updated with the latest deals and offers in your business.
3 Step Guide to Choosing the Right Social Media Platform
Here’s a simple 3 step guide to help you choose the right social media platform:
- Identify your target audience
- Set your social media goals
- Identify the right social media platform
Step 1 – Identify your target audience
The first step to choosing the right social media platform is to identify who you are trying to reach on social media. Who is willing to buy your product or service?
Consider the following questions as you try to identify your target audience
- What is their age group? Are they millennials, Gen Zs, or perhaps baby boomers?
- Are you targeting a specific gender? Or is your product or service more generic?
- Where are they located?
- What are their occupation and income level?
- Is your product or service affordable to the target audience?
- What are their fears or challenges?
- What are their goals and motivations?
Go deep into understanding the behavior and lifestyle of your target audience. What are their values and personality? The more you understand who your customer is, the easier it is to choose the right social media platform and draft your marketing message.
You could create a buyer persona that represents your ideal customer. You might also have several target groups. Narrow your audiences down and draft the write messaging for each of your target groups.
Step 2 – Set your social media goals
Defining your social media goals is an essential step to choosing the right social media platform. When you know what your goals are, you can identify which platform to help you achieve them.
So what are your social media goals? Do you intend to introduce a new product or service? Do you want to build brand awareness? Or perhaps grow your customer base?
Make sure your goals are SMART and well-defined. Avoid defining your goals based on a large following on social media. A large following does not equal business success. Instead, seek to grow an audience that interacts with your brand on social media.
Step 3 – Identify the right social media platform
The final step is to find your identified audience on social media. You will need to consider what platform your target audience is on. For example, if you are targeting Gen Zs, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are great platforms to reach them.
Here are a few popular social media platforms in 2021:
Facebook is a large social media platform with over 2.7 billion users. The largest group falls between the ages of 25-49 years. With this large number, Facebook is a great platform for building a community and increasing brand awareness. Facebook also offers powerful analytics and advertising tools that can help you target your audience via age, gender, behavior, and more using a low advertising cost.
Instagram is a popular social media platform, especially among young people. Its largest group falls between 18-29 years. Owned by Facebook, Instagram has interactive features that require image and video content, making it a good platform to share your brand story.
You can use stories and reels to engage with your audience in a unique way. You can increase conversation among your audience and generate leads using the Instagram platform.
YouTube
YouTube has become one of the largest search engines in the world. Through this platform, marketers can educate their followers using lifestyle and educational videos. With YouTube, you can demonstrate the features and benefits of your products and reach a wider audience.
TikTok
TikTok is a growing social media platform taking center stage in 2021. Its largest group falls between 13-24 years. The platform is perfect for younger audiences and features short and entertaining videos from users on the platform. Businesses are also taking advantage of the platform to reach the younger audience and to increase brand awareness.
LinkedIn is a unique social media platform with a more narrow focus. The platform is great for B2 lead generation, recruitment of employees as well as networking. You can create a LinkedIn page and post business-related content that establishes authority in your field. The platform also has advertising opportunities to promote your content and reach a wider audience. Its largest group falls between the ages of 25 – 49 years.
There are other platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Conclusion
In choosing the right social media platform, find out who your audience is, define your goals and align them to what each platform offers. You can use more than one social media platform to increase your reach.
Do you have questions or comments on social media marketing? You can check out our article here to find out how businesses can use social media to generate additional revenue.