When it comes to Social Media Marketing, as a small business owner, coach or consultant, it can be confusing as to what social media platform you should be on. In this post, I will cover the two main things you need to consider when deciding on a social media platform for your business.
1. Your Target Market
The first and one of the most important things you need to consider is your target market. In order to decide the appropriate social media platform that you should be on, you need to decide what social media platform your target market is on in large quantities.
Each platform attracts a different type of demographic and can also attract a different pyscographic, so it is important for you to truly know your target market including their demographics and pyschographics before selecting the right platform for your business.
A great resource to use to find out the demographics of the most popular social media platforms is the Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms by Pew Research Center. This article explains in detail the demographics and usage of key social networking platforms.
The following chart from the article shows the percentage of online adults who use Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, from 2012-2014.
Although Facebook has the highest percentage of use by online adults, it may not be the best social network to be on to reach your specific target market.
For example, if you are targeting women between the ages of 40-50 who make over $50,000. Your chances of connecting to that target market is stronger on Pinterest than Facebook, so you may want to consider Pinterest as a part of your overall Social Media Marketing Plan.
However, there is something else that you must consider when deciding on the right social media platform for your business.
2. Your Business
Some platforms showcase certain types of businesses better than others. For example, Pinterest and Instagram are visual platforms, therefore they lend themselves well to companies that have very visual products.
Companies in the home decor, wedding, fashion, beauty, or food industries can do well on Pinterest because than can visually inspire their followers with the pins they create for their products.
On the other hand, companies who are more service oriented and their products are less visual have to be more creative on Pinterest to attract their target audience because their products are less visual, so creating visuals such as picture quotes or infographics would be an option for service-based businesses on Pinterest.
If your business is very content and news driven, then a great platform would be Twitter. As a micro-blogging site, Twitter is really great for companies that have a lot of content, articles, blog posts, etc. It can help drive traffic back to that content on your website or blog.
Of course Twitter is also great for starting conversations with people in your industry or your clients and customers, so if content and conversations are good for your business, Twitter is a platform you should consider in your Social Media Marketing plan.
So when deciding the best social media platform for your business, be sure to pick a social media platform that your target audience is on in large quantities, and one that will help you to do a good job of showcasing your business.
What social media platforms are you? How did you decide what social media platforms are right for your business? Be sure to leave a comment below and let us know.
Also, be sure to download our checklist 21 Things You MUST Do in Order to Get Amazing Results from Your Social Media Marketing!