Using social media can be an effective marketing tool for many businesses. But it isn’t as simple as just starting to create social media profiles. There are many social media channels to choose from and each has its own purpose and It is important that your Social Media Management is good to make the most of these. Here is our overview of social media channels to help you decide which ones you think will work for your business.
Facebook is probably the most well-known and often the first place to start for the majority of businesses. It is a casual setting where businesses can really build on their customer engagement and build a loyal community..
With over 2.2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has the largest mix of demographics of any social media platform, making it a perfect place to try and reach potential customers.
From posting videos, status updates and joining Facebook groups to reach your customers, there are also an extensive amount of advertising options as well to help target your ideal audience.
Twitter takes shape as a public forum where people share short updates and thoughts of 280 characters or less. These updates are called tweets. They are there to stimulate conversations and Twitter can be an extremely effective way to communicate directly with customers and start a conversation with them.
Another great use of Twitter is for customer service reasons and important business updates. People often head to Twitter to discover real-time updates on their favourite brands. Twitter currently has 300 million active users.
LinkedIn is a social media channel that is steered towards professionals and is a great platform for B2B marketing, focusing on posts that are more informative and professional in nature. Businesses can use their company page to raise brand awareness and share informative content. However, companies can also successfully use the LinkedIn platform to promote job vacancies, discover and nurture potential leads and use it as a networking site to strengthen professional relationships.
YouTube
With over 2 billion unique visitors a month, YouTube is always competing with Facebook for the most used social media channel. YouTube is the most popular video broadcasting website and is also the second-largest search engine after Google. If a company has great video content to share with their customers, then choosing YouTube is a must. However, if your company doesn’t produce a lot of videos, there are still advertising options within YouTube that may be a great way to reach your audience.
Now part of the Facebook family, Instagram is one of the most visual social media platforms and currently has over 1 billion active visitors per month. A brand page can increase visibility and help reach a new audience. Profiles tend to be visual and ones that have a theme and look visually pleasing tend to perform best. Another popular aspect to Instagram is stories. Unless they are saved to a brand’s “highlights” these stories are content that only last 24 hours. They are the perfect way to keep your followers updated on company news, have competitions, show behind the scenes and just have fun with the platform and create engaging content.
Another visual platform, Pinterest is a way people can create online scrapbooks. When people are looking for inspiration, from interior design tips to recipes, workouts and much more, they turn to Pinterest to help keep all their findings in one place. Research has shown that over a third of women online use Pinterest in some way, making it ideal for businesses who have a predominately female demographic. If your business has great images, then Pinterest may be worth exploring.
Snapchat
Similar to Instagram, Snapchat stories (a collection of images and videos) last 24 hours before they disappear. Users can also send other users content that the recipient can only see for 10 seconds. The majority of Snapchat users are under 35, making this potentially a perfect platform to explore if your business is targeting millennials.
Tik Tok
A relatively new social media platform, TikTok became the most downloaded app on Apple devices at the start of 2018. It is a social network for sharing user-generated videos. These videos are only 15 seconds in length and are meant to be entertaining and funny. Typically they can include dancing, singing, and lip-syncing. Although Tik Tok is not yet being widely used for brands, it can be a great way to introduce your business or product to a massive audience and allows you to release your brand’s creative side.
Social media marketing is an essential part of the marketing toolbox for any business and when used well can not only lead to brand awareness and brand loyalty, but also makes a great customer service platform and can even lead to an increase in sales.
DBS Digital provides Social Media Management Services and Social Media Advertising Services to put your mind at ease. Our dedicated team is here to help.
