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When using social media for your business, start with prioritization. You can’t be everywhere at once and create quality content for every platform (especially if you’re just starting!). If you know your customer demographic, explore what social media platform is right for your business. Below we’ve outlined a few of the largest, most used social media sites and how they’re used, along with content best practices, and some tips to help set expectations.
Use the Best Platform for Your Business
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is where people go to connect with other professionals, find career resources, and gain industry insight. Businesses offering B2B goods and services should consider LinkedIn for their social strategy. On LinkedIn, it’s normal to reach out to someone you do not know and ask to connect to expand your network. Be careful you’re not going in with a hard sell or a pitch. It’s obvious and will turn people away. LinkedIn offers a variety of paid ad options, including InMail and sponsored content. Ads on the platform are more expensive than many other options available to small businesses, so make sure it fits with your budget.
Instagram
Instagram is a storytelling platform. It’s used for B2B, B2C, and individuals who want to share strong visual content. Instagram allows business to curate their brands through photos, captions, and hashtags. Whereas the main Instagram feed tends to feature more polished images, Brands use Lives and Stories to show audiences behind-the-scenes or in-the-moment looks, which help to add authenticity.
Facebook
The largest social media platform, Facebook is powerful with data and targeting. Brands use the platform’s messaging capability and company pages to communicate with customers. Facebook groups are an approachable, accepted way to get to know others on the platform and build community. From a paid perspective, Facebook’s functionality allows for simple paid ads. Buttons for boosted posts can help increase your post’s reach with a spend. However, be sure you outline goals and track performance when spending on ads. This helps you measure success relative to your desired business result.
Twitter
Users go to Twitter for in-the-moment information and updates. Twitter highlights trending topics on the homepage, so people use it to stay well-informed on what others are talking about. This can be valuable for a business interested in researching a topic or its competitors. Companies use Twitter to provide customer support, broadcast announcements, and deepen their understanding of customer conversations.
YouTube
Owned by Google, YouTube is a video search platform. People use YouTube to solve problems or explore topics with the help of video tutorials. You may want to consider YouTube if your audience prefers visual step-by-step instructions. Whether creating a tutorial or demonstrating a product, be sure your video helps to solve a customer problem. Your product or service may or may not be a part of the solution you showcase — your content will be more approachable if it adds value independent of your brand.
Expand Beyond Promotion
Regardless of platform, build a strategy focusing on quality content rather than promotion. People do not go to social media to see ads — they go to connect with others and solve problems. Use your social media channels to provide valuable information to your audience. Don’t avoid promotions — paid ads on social media can be effective if targeted and managed well — but promotion alone will not build you a quality social media presence.
Set Realistic Expectations
Early adopters may make managing and monetizing social media look easy. Be realistic with your expectations. Focus on quality content and engagement, which take time. Authentic, valuable followings and communities require commitment. Don’t pay for your audience or participate in “like-for-like” engagements. Avoid fixating on “vanity” metrics like likes and followers that don’t show business outcomes. If you build a large audience of people who are not your core customer, or who are not engaged, this is a huge miss. You’ll be spending time and resources creating content for the wrong crowd. Keep in mind that organic content is for audience exploration rather than awareness — only a very small percentage of your content will be seen — but it’s still important to help interested customers better understand your business.
Social media is an exciting tool to leverage for your business. You can develop a smart strategy for little or no cost. However, you’ll need to be clear on your audience, platform, content, and expectations. Select a social platform, learn its best practices, and start engaging.
