Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a business owner tried to promote his business on every social media platform that he could get his hands on. He spent day after day tirelessly creating post after post and publishing them to not one, not three, not even six, but ten different social media platforms, thinking that this was the best way to grow his business.
And do you know what happened, ladies and gentlemen? He got burnt out. He spent so much time exhausting his social media efforts and not enough time actually working on his business that his campaigns weren’t successful. Not even a little bit. And his business failed because of it.
Now, kids, what’s the moral of the story here? Repeat after me: I do not need to be on every single social media platform available to me.
Why not? Well, frankly, because that’s just time consuming as hell and it’s most likely that your target audience isn’t going to be on every single social media platform available to you. If you’re DIYing your own social media marketing, then you need to utilize the platforms that are going to do the most for you in the least amount of time so that you can spend the rest of your time on your business.
I think that a Facebook Page is a must-have for everyone. I think it is the most versatile of all social media platforms and you can post any kind of company-related news and updates on it and get your voice heard.
There are two caveats with Facebook though.
- If your product is geared towards teens and very young adults, then you shouldn’t use this as your primary platform. The age of Facebook users has consistently grown older and younger people seem to enjoy other social networks above this one.
- If you want to have a successful Facebook Page, then you need to create content that your users will engage with (if your engagement rate is high, then your content is more likely to show up in your followers’ feeds), but you also need to have some capital to put behind your posts. You don’t need to promote allof your posts, but Facebook has turned more towards paid advertising than social media marketing so a small Facebook budget is ideal.
Twitter is great for a number of things: sharing quick updates (less than 140 characters!), relevant articles, jokes, one-liners, and asking questions of brands and friends. This is another platform that doesn’t cater to any particular niche and that absolutely anyone can benefit from.
Twitter is my personal favorite platform and I believe that any B2B or B2C business or blogger will see great results from this platform if they use it correctly.
If you are in an industry that provides something visually appealing, then you need to be on Instagram.
There are a number of different types of companies that this platform will work for. If you sell a product, whether it’s clothing, baked goods, home decor, or even tech stuff, then you should absolutely use this platform to showcase your product. If you provide a service, such as serving food (everyone loves a good foodie Instagram), or design services, whether digital or print, then this is also a great platform for you.
Others can use Instagram as a more “behind-the-scenes” type of platform, but don’t put too much focus into it.
Note: Make sure you download a brand new Ebook I just created called How to Make Money on Social Media. You can download the free Ebook here. This Ebook contains 9 platforms that can help you put your products In front of your customers on social media.
People equate this platform to the DIY/recipe/homemaking niche more than anything. Every time I talk about Pinterest to someone who isn’t as familiar with it, they always say that the platform is too girly (which just tugs at my feminist side) or that it’s just for pictures and nothing of value.
And I tell them that we need to sit down and have a looooong talk because Pinterest is nothing if not valuable.
Personally, I say that if you have a blog for your business, then you need to take full advantage of Pinterest and its traffic-driving potential.
Pinterest is also ideal for businesses to promote their products (especially with their new buy from pin options) and services.
Check out these posts on How to Gain More Pinterest Followers and How to Get More Clicks On You Pinterest Pins to help with your Twitter presence.
Google+
This is the platform for professionals, techies, and bloggers. It is also the only social media platform that will really boost your SEO, so if that’s core to your business, then you need to be on Google+.
Google+ also caters well to B2B strategies and easily integrates with all of Google’s other tools like Blogger and Drive.
If you choose to use this platform, there are a few great tools to take advantage of: Communities, Collections, and Hangouts. Each of these can really add value to your blog/business and your Google+ page.
If you’re a B2B service provider or a freelancer, then you absolutely need to be on LinkedIn. Not only is this a powerful social network, but it’s an incredible place to find work.
A majority of B2B marketers agree that LinkedIn is proven to generate leads and bring in sales. Using your personal page is ideal for bloggers/solopreneurs. Check out LinkedIn’s publishing platform, be active in groups, and make sure that your connections are valuable connections. Make conversation with them so that they know who you are and will come to you if they ever need your services.
There are a number of other social media platforms like YouTube (use this if you share tutorials or for product showcases), Tumblr (use this if your product caters to teens and young adults), and SnapChat (use this as a behind-the-scenes, using your SnapChat story to share bits and pieces from throughout your day), but these six are the most popular. If you’re curious about whether a less popular network might be more helpful to your particular niche, then please feel free to ask me about it.
What social media platforms are the most beneficial to you and your business?
Note: Make sure you download a brand new Ebook I just created called How to Make Money on Social Media. You can download the free Ebook here. This Ebook contains 9 platforms that can help you put your products In front of your customers on social media.
