Whether you are selling a product or service, social media platforms are a fast and efficient way to keep in contact with current and potential clients.
From LinkedIn to TikTok the platform you use will dictate the content required and the type of audience who will see it.
In fact, those that use social media create around 45% more sales opportunities than those with a lower Social Selling Index
However, with well over 100 different social media channels, covering all bases can be both time consuming and expensive. Therefore, knowing which channels to focus on is really important.
In this blog, we shall be covering the largest, and arguably, the most important platforms.
What social media platforms are going to be the best for you?
Google Business
Although it may be seen by many as just a search engine, your Google Business Profile is an important first step in promoting your business.
From the outset of a search, those looking for your business, or competitors, need to be able to find you fast. Without a quality Google Business Profile, you’ll be lost in the ether.
These profiles include your website (of course!), contact information, other social platforms, ratings on Google Reviews, an introduction to you and your company etc.
Questions to consider:
- What do you want to be displayed on your google profile?
- What is the quality of reviews you have received from previous clients?
- How well have you optimised yourself to come up in the search engine?
Verdict:
Google business profiles are important for all businesses no matter the size. Those potential clients looking for the type of service you provide need that information quickly and efficiently.
Although large businesses will likely come up first in searched, small to medium sized businesses need to create a footprint otherwise they will never be found.
Facebook, alongside Instagram and WhatsApp is part of the Meta family. Meta is currently the largest social media company in the world, with global monthly users reaching 3.71 billion, close to half of the Global population which according to the U.N. is set to hit 8 billion in November 2022.
According to Meta, the number of monthly Facebook users in the third quarter of 2022 is 2.958 billion people.
It is the social media that took the world by storm, so much so that they made a film about its creation.
Facebook can be used effectively for businesses, especially when using groups and communities. Sending posts to different targeted groups allow you to directly access consumers.
Music venues, bars and restaurants make use of this daily, letting the local community know about events, new menus and of course the latest and greatest beer to hit their taps.
Using the Meta Business Suite allows access to your Facebook and Instagram through one central hub. Allowing you to schedule posts, and duplicate posts across both platforms as well as answer direct messages from clients and followers.
Questions to consider:
- Does your business rely on local clients?
- Are you under time and budget constraints for your social media marketing?
- Are you looking for simplicity from your social platform?
Verdict:
Facebook is most useful for smaller businesses focussing on B 2 C marketing. It allows the business a direct link to the local community through groups and communities to keep them updated on product updates and events.
Instagram is all about photos and putting your best foot forward. As part of the Meta family, it shares a proportion of the aforementioned 3.71 billion monthly users.
Despite the bright and generally light-hearted nature of Instagram, even accounting firms like KPMG are gaining a huge following with 114,000 followers as of the end of October 2022.
Content thrives on Instagram when it’s simple, polished, and straight to the point.
Alternatively to Facebook, there aren’t communities and groups to send your content and information into. Therefore, it’s all about making use of the algorithm and using hashtags to increase the likelihood of your posts being seen by the most relevant audiences.
Questions to consider:
- What suits your business best, images with captions or longer form text?
- Are you looking for a global reach and rely less upon local groups and communities?
- Do you want to be able to view data fast and on the go?
Verdict:
Instagram is useful for all sizes of businesses as it focuses on best parts of the business. It is great for B 2 C and quickly reaching customers to give promotions over posts or give fast paced updates straight to their phones. Although videos do well on the platform, photos/ posters and infographics work best as they are less time consuming.
Again, owned and operated by the giant Meta, WhatsApp markets itself as a secure messaging service and is a great way for consumers to contact your business to make enquiries directly.
Their business platform is designed to make confirmations, shipment updates, and personal promotions for loyal customers as well as allow customers to browse products and place orders directly over the app.
Questions to consider:
- Does your business suit fast-paced customer to business messaging?
- Does your business produce goods or services?
- How many customers are you dealing with in day/ week/ month?
Verdict:
WhatsApp is great for all sizes of businesses especially if you’re looking to move away from email order confirmations and delivery updates which are commonly missed or go straight to the junk folder. B 2 C is therefore its greatest strength as it can also be used to send out promotions to certain customer lists like a bar or restaurant rewarding their most loyal customers with a short-term deal.
Commonly viewed as a professional social media, LinkedIn is the perfect place to talk about current projects, give client testimonials, and bring together all those working with you in one place.
The platform allows the business to link with those that work there as well as create the feeling of community to surround your business.
Questions to consider:
- How professional is your business environment?
- Do you work on long term projects and want to convey your process to current and potential clients?
- Is linking together those that work both for and with you something that clients will appreciate?
Verdict:
Mainly useful for B 2 B marketing and expressing your professional persona to potential clients and collaborators. It is best for explaining recent projects, showing CSR practices, and even finding potential candidates for newly open positions.
Bought by Elon Musk at the end of October 2022, Twitter is fast paced, to the point, and ever evolving with its limit of 280 characters per post.
According to Twitter Business, users spend 26% more time looking at ads than on other leading social platforms, making it a useful platform to attract new audiences, especially with 53% of Twitter users being more likely to buy new products.
Questions to consider:
- Do you want to keep clients updated on current practices in a quick and efficient manner?
- Is your business new, exciting, and changing the mould?
- Do you wish to have separate demographics/ groups to be able to market to?
Verdict:
Twitter is most useful for B 2 C marketing and getting new products out there to a range of wide eyed and eager potential customers. As a B 2 B tool it is quite poor as the character limit prevents any further detail being explained without directing away from the platform through links.
TikTok
TikTok, the new social media platform taking the world by storm. Known for its short format videos, it is used worldwide and is a great way for targeting younger audiences.
According to Statista, the number of TikTok users worldwide has grown from 465.7 million in 2020 to 655.9 million in 2021. It is estimate that by 2025 there will be 955.3 million globally.
Whether the content is information about your product or business, TikTok works best when the content is kept fast-paced, light-hearted, and entertaining.
Questions to consider:
- Do you have a younger audience?
- Would a short form video be better for you than photos or text?
- Are you trying to create refreshing and new content away from older, stiffer marketing models?
Now that we understand the different platforms available to us let’s talk about how we can create content to drive awareness and sales.
Verdict:
TikTok is a B 2 C platform when it comes to marketing, reaching a younger audience, many of which are not in the workforce yet so rely on their parent’s wallet! Being a more unprofessional form of social media, it is a great way to give updates through the fast-paced videos but should not be relied upon for talking about a major call back on a product.
Summary
Finding the best social media channels depends heavily on the industry that your business operates in as well as the type of client whether the consumer is an individual or a business.
An important question to ask yourself is:
What are you promoting?
- Are you trying to sell your goods?
- Are you creating awareness of your quality business practices?
- Are you demonstrating the care given back to the local community with your Corporate Social Responsibility?
Another option to consider is paid social ads, instead of waiting and hoping that your channels and products will grow in followers and sales organically, using a paid ad campaign may be a better option for your business (link to the upcoming blog).
If you are unsure how to go about creating profiles, here at Citadel Digital, we excel in a range of different social media services from page management to content creation and content strategy.
Don’t have enough time? Don’t have the manpower?
Get in touch to find out how we can help?