In short, it depends. The longer (and better) answer considers your business goals as well as who your customer is. Yes, this requires research and patience! But stick with it, and I promise that you’ll eventually find the answers you seek. Social media network can find the answer to your lacking of awareness to your brand.
Used by both men and women, Facebook has always appealed to the younger generations. Recently, older adults aged 50+ have joined the conversation. All in all, most everybody is on Facebook these days. Thus, it’s a great option for many businesses. Aside from creating a business page, you also have the ability to form and join groups! Brands that sell services often find success using Facebook groups as a niche community where members can share problems, solutions, encouragement, feedback, network and more.
Another great tool in Facebook is Lists. Because a list can be made private, it’s a great secret weapon for watching your competitors! Although not a new feature, Facebook Ads are still a cost-effective way to get your message out. Though to be fruitful, you must have a deep understanding of your customer and a supremely valuable piece of content to give away for free!
A social media network site at heart, LinkedIn is ideal for connecting and growing your business network. Think of LinkedIn as your very own public relations representative, albeit at a much lower cost! It’s a wonderful way to get your information in front of key decision makers.
Use LinkedIn’s publishing tool (Pulse) to put out new as well as existing content from your website or blog. Find and connect with businesses that compliment your own. Start a referral system with a few strategic business partners. These are just a few ways to use LinkedIn to your advantage.
When you want to know what’s going on at this exact moment, get yourself to Twitter. It works wonderfully for event promotion, brand updates, breaking news and further education of your own industry.
Make a list of influencers in your business, then tag and retweet their content alongside your own. Do a Twitter chat to connect with influencers and share your knowledge with others! Do you have an email list that you’d like to utilize? Twitter Ads allows you to target your email subscribers using their “Tailored Audience” feature.
When your Twitter feed gets too crowded, it’s time to start building your lists. You can start your own, or use one’s that have already been created.
It may be tempting to squeeze in various #hashtags, but try sticking with one to two. Studies show this to be the sweet spot for tweets. Use tools like Hootsuite or TweetDeck to monitor keywords your customers are using in conversation, and then start engaging!
YouTube
This massive video-sharing website usually has businesses scratching their heads. Successful strategies grow your subscriber list, increase the number of people who watch your videos, and also collect valuable data from customers.
YouTube works incredibly well for any type of demonstration. Fitness, cooking, makeup and crafting tutorials are all examples of brands that do well on this platform.
Just like with Google, you’ll want to rank high in YouTube’s search. Include educational keyword phrases such as “How To” in your video titles, and don’t forget the description! This is a great spot to add a link to your website as well as to use other relevant keywords that your customer may be searching for. But don’t just list them all randomly; include them in a blurb that adds value to your video.
This platform remains predominantly female-driven, so if that’s your customer – listen up!
Pinterest has proven to be a valuable tool for businesses with products to sell. The Pin It button allows you to link each product on your website to an applicable image on your Pinterest page. Buyable Pins are a newer feature which allow your customers to purchase your products without ever leaving Pinterest.
If you’ve been writing a blog for the past year, make sure you create a Pin for each and every blog post. And don’t forget to add a description! Grow your repins by creating additional boards to show off your brand’s interests, as well as your own expertise.
Although visuals are vital to all of your social media marketing, they’re arguably most important on Instagram. Experiment with filters until you find a solid collection to use with your posts. Keep your feed lively with an assortment of photos from your life. Get as personal as you feel comfortable with.
Research and use popular #hashtags that are relevant to your topic and customer. Unlike Twitter, you want to use as many appropriate hashtags as possible! Aim for 10-15 per post, and soon enough, you’ll have worked your way up to the maximum number of 30.
Not sure which hashtags to start with? Check out other businesses that post content similar to yours. You can also use tools like Hashtagify and RiteTag to find current and popular hashtags.
Post often, at least once a day if not two to three times. When posting events, ask users to tag a friend who might enjoy attending. Be on the lookout for quality content your customers are sharing, and feature it via your account. Don’t forget to credit the creator!
Snapchat
Highly appealing to the 18-24 crowd, Snapchat is starting to gain popularity with more and more brands. Early adopters have successfully used it for sneak peaks, brand updates, product reveals and VIP access at behind-the-scenes events! For those taking advantage of Influencer Marketing, this fun platform presents the perfect partnering opportunity.
Remember, it’s difficult to be amazing on ALL platforms. Estimate how much time you have, then decide which and how many platforms to tackle. The ones you choose require consistent engagement in order to be effective!
If what you’ve read makes sense, but seems overwhelming – we’re here to help! Contact us to learn how we can grow your business through digital marketing.
