How To Pick The Right Social Media Platforms For Your Business

When you’re first working out your social media strategy, it can be tempting to create a profile on every site available. You want people to know about your business and people hang out on social networks, so the more the merrier, right?

Well, not really.

When it comes to social media, more isn't always better. The more social networks you try to use to promote your business, the more time you have to spend keeping up with posts, pins, and other key pieces of information.

And the worst part is, you might not even be reaching the right audience.

Understanding how to select the right social networks to promote your business will prevent you from wasting your time on the networks that won't offer the benefits your business needs.

Understand Your Customer Dynamic

What sites are popular among your customers? Knowing the social media sites that your preferred customers are visiting on a regular basis will help you understand how to better reach both them and other people like them.

A younger audience, for example, might be spending more time on Instagram, while you might find that moms with young children spend a larger portion of their day checking Facebook or Pinterest.

Your product will also help determine the site that offers you the best opportunity to showcase your business. For example, if you have a highly visual product, you might benefit from sites like Pinterest and Instagram, where customers will be able to see the product that you're offering. A business that offers a service, on the other hand, might have less use for these sites. 

By the Numbers

When it comes to social media, the more people you can reach, the more you improve your odds of increasing your customer base. Facebook, with its 1.55 billion users, stands out as the obvious choice.

On the other hand, if your target users aren't easy to be found on Facebook—or if you know that their feeds are already flooded with posts from others in your industry—it can be useful to check out other social networks, as well.

While a hard look at the size of social media platforms is key in deciding which ones you want to pursue, it's also key to understand how hard you're going to be competing for the attention of your potential customers. 

Understand The Purpose Of The Platform

Each social media platform is successful because it has a unique place and goal. Pinterest, for example, is the perfect opportunity for users to share links with one another. Facebook, on the other hand, is dedicated to social interaction with customers.

When you understand the purpose of the platform, you can develop your social media strategy accordingly. For example, you can't post long-style posts on Twitter, but you can offer a short snapshot of the latest events at your company or share your awesome blog posts.

Understanding the way each social media platform operates will give you the chance to choose the ones that will be most useful for your business. 

Develop Your Goals

What exactly is it that you're hoping to accomplish on social media? Obviously, you want to reach new customers and share more information about your company with them. But your social media goals should be more developed than that.

You want to build a social media presence for your business that correlates with your overall marketing strategy while also further connecting with your customers. Taking the time to specifically develop your social media goals, when combined with the other information you've gathered, will allow you to more effectively choose the networks that are best for you.

For example, if your goal is to make connections on a professional level for your B2B company, you might consider LinkedIn for both networking and contributing to conversations within the community. Or if you want to raise brand awareness and get more eyes on specific products, Pinterest might be the way to go.

Developing your social media strategy is of crucial importance to your business. It isn’t just a fad. Today's companies are more engaged than ever, inviting consumer feedback and providing new opportunities for customers to express their brand loyalty, feel as though they're part of a community, and learn more about the brands they've chosen to support.