How to Make the Right Social Media Choice
There are many social media platforms to choose from, and for any startup company (or established company), it can be a daunting process to decide which platform is right for the business. “Most people and companies can't be amazing on every platform; that takes a huge amount of bandwidth and resources. Instead of having a sub-par representation in a lot of places, be awesome on a few of them.” (Source: Levy). A company should not have an account on every existing social media platform unless those platforms will truly help the company meet the business’s objectives and goals. Companies should strategically decide which social media platforms will be the right fit, based on a few factors.
Where Do the Customers Live?
A company should establish a presence on the platforms that their customers use the most. This starts with through market research and gaining a true understanding of the target audience.” When you know your target audience’s age, occupation, income, interests, pains, problems, obstacles, habits, likes, dislikes, motivations, and objections, then it’s easier and cheaper to target them on social or any other media” (Source: Daoud). Once that level of understanding is established, then an effective social media strategy can be established. A company will know what channels to frequent, what tone to use, and what type of competition the audience will prefer. “These data-driven insights will ensure that your strategy, and the channels you choose, facilitate the most relevant, targeted approach possible, which in turn will increase your chances of conversion” (Source: Smith).
Don’t Follow the Masses
A company may think it’s a good idea to utilize a social media platform simply because there is a high number of users. Don’t. Sometimes social media platforms can be at risk for a high number of spam accounts, which can inflate the number of users for that platform. A company should perform in-depth analysis of the demographics of each platform, versus choosing based on which one has the most users.
Social networks, ranked by monthly active users:
- Facebook: 1.28 billion
- Google+: 540 million
- Twitter: 255 million
- Instagram: 200 million
- LinkedIn: 187 million
- Pinterest: 40 million (Source: Lee).
Looking at these numbers, it would appear that every company should be on Facebook in order to engage with a large number of potential customers. But, if the company’s target audience is not actively using Facebook, the engagement will be wasted.
Check out the Competition
It is also a good idea to see what platforms the competition is using and whether they are successful. “Checking how active your competitors are on social media, as well as how well their followers engage with what they post, will provide you with valuable insights that you can then replicate to guarantee success for your own strategy” (Source: Smith).
A Place to Call Home
Choose one social media platform to consider the home base. A company should use one platform as the central hub for all information related to the company, but the other platforms should amplify the overall social media strategy.
Best Use of Resources
Who will handle the company’s social media accounts? Will there be a team or one person handling it all? These are keys questions to ask to determine how many social media platforms the company can handle. One person handling 7 different platforms is probably not the best use of time or resources. Content and responses will be at risk of being sub-par.
“Growing your presence on social media takes a fair amount of time and money. However, different channels can cost you more than others. For example, creating and sharing videos on platforms like YouTube or Vine requires more of an investment than sending out a tweet” (Source: Rampton).
If the business is smaller and does not have the budget or resources to handle a large social media strategy, it is important for that company to choose platforms wisely. Choosing the most effective social media platforms will have a better return than trying to follow what competitors with a larger budget can manage. Automation platforms such as Hootsuite or Buffer can make the management process easier for a company that has a smaller budget or limited resources.
Conversation vs. Content
Social media should be used as a way to connect with the target audience. “You can also judge the value of a social network based on how well it fits your content and strategy. If you create content that your audience loves, you’re likely to find your audience on social network” (Source: Lee). It should not be a one-way interaction–always pushing content about the company to its followers. "A company should create a healthy balance between promoting content and conversation. Engage and interact with followers. Social media can be a great tool to build a relationship with the target audience.
When deciding the best social media platform for a company, it is not a one-time decision. A company should continuously assess the performance of the social media platform. Is it working? Is the target audience engaging with the content and interactions?
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteGreat information! Doing the research to uncover target audiences is imperative for brands! As you mentioned, there are so many choices as it relates to social media. A brand’s audience can help them determine how to wade through “the muddy waters” and utilize the right platforms. A brand that has done a great job using a lesser mentioned platform is Sour Patch Kids. This brand has a younger target audience and decided to engage them on Snapchat. An article on Entrepreneur.com provided insight into this saying, “Some brands may steer clear of Snapchat because it's more popular with a younger demographic. But that fact hasn't stopped countless other brands and marketing execs from jumping on board. Sour Patch Kids, the infamously sour, delicious treat has made its way to Snapchat. Sour Patch Kids quickly gained popularity among followers by pulling off a variety of public (and harmless) pranks, as well as launching outfit contests to help build buzz around the brand. Its stories also feature Blue Kid, a life-sized Sour Patch Kid let loose on the world. The original campaign gained Sour Patch Kids 120,000 new Snapchat followers” (Patel, 2017) This is an excellent example of a brand engaging their market through a non-traditional social media platform.
Resources:
Patel, Sujan. (2017, February 6) 7 Brands That Are Killing It on Snapchat. Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/286147
I agree...great information!
ReplyDeleteI do have a thought on competition, however. While knowing your competition is important, I don’t know how much weight I would give to being on the same platform unless there were no other choices open to me.
Do you really want to try and be very successful on a platform where your competitors are already successful? Maybe. But the bigger factors should be your audience and their preferences. If you do end up on the same platform, you need to do something that sets you apart from your competition. All too often, everyone has a "me too" site.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYou provide a lot of good information in your post. To be honest, I was one of those people who believed that every company should be on Facebook. It is the largest social network, so it must be the best, right? I like how you point out the fact that you should know your target audience well enough to recognize which social media platform is best.
I am reminded of how one of our classmates used the example of a product called "Orthofeet" in one of her discussion posts. She was talking about whether or not she should use Facebook Ads or Google AdWords, and she made a very well-informed decision. She knew that the target audience for Orthofeet products were senior citizens, over the age of 65. She also knew that those customers were not regular users of social media, including Facebook. Therefore, it made more sense to use Google AdWords to help the target market find Orthofeet products when they conducted a search online.
I think your advice to not follow the masses is a very good one. Any good business owner needs to know their target market well, and know which social media platform(s) are most effective to meet their customer's needs.
Ashley, I like how you really broke down what is effective and truly going to get results when using social media platforms. Many companies are adding millennial outreach to their marketing plans and think social media = millennial, but we all know that is no the case. I like how you stated having a true understanding of the target audience, because once you know that, you can create efforts that will actually drive results.
ReplyDelete