In this day and age, your business needs to be on social media. There are so many social media platforms today it’s hard to know which one you should be on. Should your business just be on Facebook or should it be on all social networks? Which network has the most return? The answer is: “It depends”.
I say “it depends” because there is no right or wrong answer. There are many factors that should be considered when it comes to your business going on social media. When deciding that you want your business to be on social media, you need to consider all types of factors. What is the type of business do you have? What is your customer demographic? What role will social media play? How much time do you have to invest in social? All types of factors like these need to be considered.
Let’s say your company produces a tangible product that everyday consumer needs. At this point, your options are fairly open. You could find value in almost any social network and you should try to be on as many as possible to increase your reach. When you narrow your business and the audience down, that is when you need to get selective with which social networks you are going to use.
Okay, now let’s pretend your business makes a product that young, single men need. It wouldn’t make sense to invest a lot of time on Pinterest where 85% of the user base is female. It’s more valuable to spend time on the social network that provides you with a return. If people can purchase your product directly from your website, you can send loads of traffic to your site with Facebook.
Maybe your business is B2B and your goal is to increase brand awareness. You want to attract more businesses to work with you. LinkedIn is a great platform to get your message in front of a specifically targeted individuals who would have an interest in working with you. Another example is producing video content on YouTube. Creating a show based on educating what your business can do for others is an easy way to get a lot of exposure quickly. It might take some experimentation to find which social network gets your business the best return, but you won’t know until you try.
It’s hard to suggest one specific platform without knowing all the details about the business. Take everything into consideration and decide which platform makes the most sense. After that, dedicate time every day to improving your presence on the platform(s). It’s one thing to create a Facebook business profile, it’s another thing to consistently work on your social media presence. You’ll find the more time you spend optimizing your social presence the more return you will see. Pick the networks that make sense and put forth a serious effort on the platforms and I promise you will see a return.
