I think we can all agree social media is an important part of business. But how much effort do you really need to put in to see results? Undoubtedly, you need to put in some degree of time and effort—I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying “work smarter not harder,” the same rule applies to social media.
When it comes to social media, you have to be smart and strategic about the work you put into building your digital footprint. If you try to hit every platform, you will spread yourself way too thin and it will be hard to see results on any of them.
The idea that you have to show up 100% everywhere isn’t exactly accurate, what you want to do is show up 100% where your ideal client (i.e. your target audience) is showing up.
The best way to figure out which social media sites your business should be on is to look at your target market and ask yourself the following questions:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Who are the people within my target market?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Where are the most active online?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What platforms are they searching on most?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What niche social media sites are right for them?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The answers to those question should help to inform the BEST platforms for you to be pouring your time and effort into.
Some other things to consider when choosing which social media platform to show up on:
Is your business consumer-focused (i.e. B2C) or business-focused (i.e. B2B)? If you’re generally trying to target other companies, LinkedIn (and Twitter should be on your radar, too!) should always be on your online marketing plan of action. That’s not to say LinkedIn shouldn’t be included in your plans if you’re consumer-focused, but you should be showing up on more consumer-facing platforms (like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest) to increase your reach and visibility to possible new customers.
Factor in the demographic of your target audience/customer—what age range are they in, are they predominantly male or female? If you’re targeting an older generation, say 55-65 range, you’re not going to want to waste precious time and resources creating content on a platform like TikTok that simply does not target, or resonate with that age demographic. You can still share content on TikTok, but your main objective should always be to create targeted content that applies to your demographic, and meets them where they are.
Take notice of your competition. Just as you want to show up where your ideal customers are, you also want to show up where your competitors are—if you’re not where they are, you can automatically assume that they’re going to win over the clients you want simply because they’re showing up and gaining that much-needed brand recognition.
Do you have questions about social media marketing—how to show up, where to show up, and what kind of content to create? I’ve got years of experience in digital marketing and I’m here to help you leverage social media platforms to create the kind of conversions your business needs to succeed. Visit my website to learn how to work with me!