Differences in Social Media
Social media can be invaluable for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, improving traffic, and filling your sales funnel. Social media also provides a platform for businesses to better interact with their audience.
However, with the plethora of social media platforms available, determining which ones to be on for optimal results can be challenging. But without a solid social media strategy, you’ll have to settle for a haphazard approach, which will produce little to no results.
As a business owner, that’s why it’s important to know the main distinguishing factors between the major social media platforms. That way, you can identify the specific platforms that will have the most positive impact on your business. Let’s briefly examine some of the major social media platforms and their unique selling points.
Facebook
Founded in 2004, Facebook was created to connect families and friends online. Over the years, it has grown to be the largest social media network with over 2.24 billion monthly active users. With this vast user base, there’s a strong chance that your potential audience is either using Facebook for personal or business use. This makes Facebook a large advertising platform. Hence, it’s important to have a Facebook presence – just like we do at The Real Social Company.
Your company’s Facebook page is a great place for you to share your core values and company culture with your audience. It’s perfectly suited to give outsiders a sense of who and are what you value. That’s why many people looking for a product or service search through Facebook pages of companies to learn more about them.
Instagram
Instagram is a social media platform that emphasizes photo and video sharing via its mobile application. Purchased by Facebook in 2012, Instagram has developed a full-fledged life of its own with over 1 billion active million users. If your company is visual, Instagram is a great fit for you.
Through Instagram’s focus on aesthetics, you can showcase your brand using high-resolution, eye-catching pictures to attract people. Instagram even makes it possible for users to make purchases via the app. This makes Instagram extremely valuable to B2C companies. Instagram hashtags make it easy for your post to reach a wider audience.
One major drawback of Instagram is the inability to copy links in individual posts. Therefore, ensure to put all necessary links within your bio. However, this limits your ability to generate more web traffic from your Instagram account.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social network specifically designed for career and business professionals to connect, share, and learn. LinkedIn boasts over 300 active monthly users, of which about 90 million of them are in decision-making positions. This makes LinkedIn perfectly suited for B2B companies to form and build professional relationships.
Since the primary focus of LinkedIn is professional development, you can easily connect with your audience by posting industry-related content. Similarly, posting employee updates, company news, and milestones are well-suited for LinkedIn.
Individuals make use of LinkedIn to showcase their resumes, post articles, and interact with potential employers. As a business owner, LinkedIn is also a good place to seek out talents for your company.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a social site that allows users to share images, videos, infographics, and all kinds of predominantly visual content. Over 320 million active users use Pinterest as a visual discovery engine for finding ideas – including recipes and styles – to spark inspiration.
Since Pinterest isn’t like your typical social media, many businesses ignore this platform in their social media strategy. But by uploading eye-catching visuals on Pinterest to show your expertise, you establish yourself as a brand with something to offer. Users can click through from Pinterest to your website. Therefore, all you need to do is offer visuals that people are searching for, and they will find you.
TikTok
TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos on any topic. Just founded in 2016, TitTok is expected to soon surpass the 1 billion mark in monthly active users.
TikTok is all about fun and visually appealing content. Therefore, it isn’t a place for serious sales pitches. If you do that, then expect to get shunned by TikTok users. TikTok also offers a unique opportunity to businesses, whose primary customers are young. About 60% of US TikTok users are aged between 16 to 24.
By creating fun and creative videos, you can position your brand as a classy, and possibly a trendsetter. Hashtag challenges also provide you with the opportunity to allow users to interact with your request in a personalized way, thereby improving engagement.
Twitter
Twitter is a microblogging system that allows you to send and receive short posts called tweets. For current news, industry updates, and technical blogs, Twitter is a great way for businesses to engage with their audience in real-time. As of 2020, Twitter has over 330 million monthly active users.
The great thing about Twitter is the 240-character limit per update, as it forces users to keep their messages concise and compelling. For businesses, Twitter is a great place to communicate with customers on-the-go as you constantly have to share updates to remain relevant in your audience’s feed.
Twitter hashtags make it possible to start and join trending conversations. Twitter’s platform also supports poll creation and feedback collection.
Google My Business
With Google My Business, you create a listing for your business on Google. Moreover, you can manage your company’s appearance on the world’s largest search engine. Because most people make use of Google to search for products and services, the ability to manage your online presence across Google Search and Maps can make it easy for customers to find your business. Business verification on Google My Business further helps your customers find you and learn about your story.
While Google My Business isn’t your Business Profile, it can help boost your Business Profile’s visibility and effectiveness. Asides from highlighting your business, you can Google My Business to engage with consumers, gain insights, and perform local SEO.
Wrap Up
Knowing what social media platform is best for your business requires the skills of an expert. The Real Social Company can help you identify the platforms you should focus on.
