How do I know which social media platform(s) are right for my business? This guide shares why you may consider using 7 leading sites and key considerations for each.
In today's ever-changing professional landscape, social media has become an import piece of business marketing and communication strategies. With a myriad of platforms available, choosing the right one for your business can be a daunting task. In this guide, we'll delve into the criteria and considerations for selecting the right platform(s) and highlight the nuances of tailoring your strategy for either B2B and B2C audiences.
Why Should Your Business Participate in Social Media?
The impact of social media on businesses has immense potential. If strategized and executed well, organic social media can be a powerful tool for brand awareness, customer engagement, lead generation, and even revenue generation. While being present and participating on various platforms can help drive reaching your business goals, it is important to be thoughtful and intentional in deciding where to use your – or your team’s – time and resources.
In our post on social media strategy, we outlined all the pillars that should be included in an annual plan. This blog shares just one part of that strategy. Let’s begin!
How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Business
With so many platforms to choose from, making the right choice is essential. Selecting the appropriate social media platform for your business requires careful consideration. We recommend having critical conversations about the time your team has available to invest in social media compared to the platforms that make the most sense for your organization. We will share key questions to ask surrounding this point, below.
Before deciding on organic social media platforms, you first need to know your audience. Discuss these question prompts with your team:
Who is my audience?
What is important to them?
What challenges do they face?
What information would be helpful to them?
To determine if a platform is the right fit, ask some of these crucial questions:
Does this platform match the messaging preferences of our audience across different stages of their journey?
Can we provide content that is relevant and helpful to our audience, instead of directly promoting our business, products or services?
Is it financially viable to initiate our presence on this platform based on our budget and available resources?
Can we maintain a steady flow of high-quality content on this platform?
Can we effectively manage community engagement on this platform over time?
Once we've established a following, will we have the capability to incorporate occasional paid content into our strategy for this platform?
If you answer "yes" to these “platform fit” questions, your brand is well-positioned to launch a presence on that channel.
To share some examples related to resourcing, if you have a team of social media managers, your company likely has the resources to participate on multiple platforms well. If you’re a marketing team of one with multiple priorities, perhaps a single platform is all you can manage, and that is ok. It’s better to do one platform well than do four platforms poorly. Furthermore, we should note that ideal participation on social media does not follow a “post and you’re done” philosophy. Active participation on any platform also requires time to respond to comments, engage with your audience and potential audience, then gather metrics and review key performance indicators to ensure your presence is achieving the goals you set. You can read more about this in our full blog on social media strategy.
The Importance of Audience-Centric Content
No matter the platform or audience, creating content that resonates with your target customer persona(s) is paramount. Your content should address their needs, interests, and pain points.
Tailoring Your Social Media Strategy for B2B and B2C Audiences
Your approach to social media should differ based on whether you are targeting other businesses (B2B) or individual consumers (B2C). Understanding these distinctions is crucial to crafting an effective strategy. For example, a B2B organization may choose to be on LinkedIn and YouTube only, while a B2C organization might select platforms the cater to directly selling, like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. We will outline the benefits and strengths of each platform for each audience next.
Platform-by-Platform Review
For the remainder of this post, you will learn business considerations for each platform, including details on reasons you may (or may not) select each for your organization. A few clarifications before we get started:
Ideal post formats: this section will share the recommended types of posts to create, especially to increase visibility, based on current platform algorithm factors. Typically, when a platform releases a new post type (i.e., when Instagram introduced Reels), that type of post is often ranked higher in the algorithm to promote the new feature.
Algorithm Insights: here, we’ll share current algorithm considerations and strategies to improve reach on each platform.
Linking Tactics: platforms want users to keep on scrolling, so some social media sites deprioritize posts that link away from their site. We do not recommend you link every post to a product page or other external link, but find a balance between linking nothing.
Platform Ranking: we’ve ranked each platform on a scale of 1-3 based on most business cases. (1) signifies the platform should be a top consideration, (3) indicates the platform isn’t always the right fit, and (2) is, of course, somewhere in the middle – there are many business-specific nuances that may apply, and we recommend deprioritizing these platforms unless you have the capacity.
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that can be a powerful tool for businesses. Its effectiveness varies depending on whether you are targeting a B2B or B2C audience. LinkedIn is ideal for sharing professional updates, industry insights, and networking opportunities. Ideal Post Formats: Posts that include images and short-or long-form videos and polls tend to perform well on LinkedIn. Algorithm Insights: Engagement, particularly comments and shares, can significantly boost your content's visibility. Organizations sometimes put together action plans to request employees, customers and friends share key updates to help get the visibility ball rolling. Linking Tactics: Include links to your blog posts, whitepapers, article mentions and other relevant content to drive traffic and conversions, but be sure to provide helpful information within the post itself, instead of a general CTA like, “Read our blog!” Business-to-Business (B2B) Content Topic Recommendations Networking and Professional Relationships: LinkedIn is an excellent platform for connecting with other businesses, industry professionals, and potential partners. Thought Leadership and Industry Expertise: Share your knowhow through articles and posts to establish your authority in your industry. Recruiting and Talent Acquisition: Use LinkedIn to find top talent and showcase your company culture. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Content Topic Recommendations Showcasing Company Culture: Give consumers a behind-the-scenes look at your brand to build trust. Sharing Industry Insights: Share relevant industry news and trends to keep your audience informed. Building Trust and Credibility: Engage with your B2C audience by providing valuable content and insights. Platform Rank for B2B: 1 Platform Rank for B2C: 3
TikTok
X (formerly Twitter)
YouTube
Recap
In conclusion, your choice of social media platforms should align with your business goals, target audience, and available resources. Consistency, adaptability, and measuring success are key to a successful social media presence. Remember that the social media landscape is ever-evolving, and it's essential to continuously analyze your audience and content, then adjust your content creation accordingly to stay relevant and effective in your marketing efforts.
Want to learn more?
Read our in-depth guide to the foundations of social media strategy. Need support in deciding which channels are right for you? We’d love to create a social media strategy, including the identification of the platforms that are the best fit for your business goals. Contact us to schedule a discovery call, or, request to book a 60-minute consulting call!