Ask the Marketer: Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business Part 1: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
It seems like we hear about a new social media platform every day. While I know it’s not quite true, the reality is there are more social media platforms than any marketer can handle effectively. If you’re working with a small marketing team, selecting the right social media channels for your business is a critical decision, and one you’ll want to revisit every few months.
Facebook: The Powerhouse of Mass Marketing
If you’re looking to reach the broadest market, Facebook is where you’ll need to be. I would argue you need to be there no matter what and 93% of all marketers surveyed by Social Media Examiner earlier this year agree. Nearly every marketer trying to reach a consumer or donor audience is active on Facebook. B2B players are there, too, providing content, education, and community.
Biggest Challenge: Everybody’s there. It takes effort to stand out and build a community that drives business.
Biggest Trend: Video. Once you’ve loaded your video to YouTube or Vimeo, directly embed it in your Facebook Page. Then target it for broader reach.
Biggest Opportunity: “Target” your ads; don’t “Boost” your ads. You get much tighter targeting with better analytics.
Learn from: Mari Smith
Twitter: The “Grapevine” for Getting Your Message Out Now!
Tweets are 144 delicious characters of juicy news and conversations. Don’t expect your messages and conversations to last very long– unless they are tied to an unfolding world/community story or event that really matters to your audience. Instead think of Twitter as the way to spread the news the way our grandparents used the party line back when towns and neighborhoods all shared a telephone line. Use Twitter when you’ve got a special offer, a big announcement or to comment and engage on other people’s stories.
With 42% of Twitter’s users following brands, it’s a fertile ground of marketing opportunities. It can spread awareness of your brand, generate leads, drive traffic to your site, build a loyal customer base and much more. – Andy Vale
Biggest Challenge: Mobile. Twitter is for in-the-moment engagement. That means you — and your website— must be ready for mobile visitors, mobile engagement and mobile marketing.
Biggest Trend: Change. Twitter is revamping and bringing on new features and partners, like Periscope and Vine. And they’ve unlocked the 144 Character limit on Direct Messages. So keep your eyes and ears open because the trend is ‘change it up.’
Biggest Opportunity: Influencers. Find influencers on Twitter who are also looking to build their brand. You can have a formal relationship where you ask them to RT something specific, or you can engage with their Twitter activity as a member of the community. Either way, you’ll get more exposure and build a link to an influencer.
Who to Follow: Eric Roach: @veroach
Instagram: A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words
A recent study conducted by BI Intelligence last August found Instagram’s audience is skewed towards urban, youthful women. This is an exciting market for many brands, and for natural and organic skin care brands, this audience is into socially responsible companies and products, and organic and natural are at the top of the list of buying preferences.
Candace Kuss, Director of Social at Hill + Knowlton Strategies says:
I think of Twitter as the voice of the brand vs an Instagram which is the look of the brand.
Instagram helps you tell your story with pictures and photos. With more than 70,000 images and videos shared each day, you’ll want to stand out. That means fewer quality images are better than lots of not-so-great ones. Your strategy on Instagram is to engage people with your images, hashtags, and taglines. As they fall in love with you and your brand, they will curate you into their social stream.
Biggest Challenge: Advertising is coming. Mega brands like Ben & Jerrys are already advertising. It won’t be cheap to advertise on Instagram so you’ll want to find ways to build a loyal and engaged audience using great content.
Biggest Trend: Showcase beautiful experiences relevant to your brand. If your brand is all about, oh say using organic honey in your products, then you can share beautiful images of bees, flowers, beehives and so forth. If your brand is built on luscious self-indulgent products for busy women, then you’ve got all kinds of opportunity to share indulgent experiences.
Biggest Opportunity: Partner with a good cause that supports your brand’s values.
Who to Follow: Jeff Bullas
Crystal Clear?
Jumping into social media can be overwhelming but oh so rewarding. Start with one or two and get your community rocking and then expand to those platforms where your clients and customers are most active and engaged.
We’ve included a handy guide to the best images sizes and layouts for different social media platforms.
What social media platforms do you use? Do you have burning questions about social media? We’d love to hear from you.
Happy Marketing,
Alex
By the team at Start A Blog Today
