What is the best social network for my business?
In the digital age, social media is critical to business success. However, not all platforms are the same or appropriate for all businesses. Choosing the right social networks is crucial to maximize visibility, engagement and build a community for your business. Here we will guide you step by step to find the ideal platforms for your business.
1. Know your audience
The first step is to understand your audience. Who are they? What are their interests? Where do they spend their time online? Today it seems that everyone has profiles on all social networks, but regularly your audience will have a favorite, one that they spend more time on and where, in addition to being distracted, they look to make purchases or find the solution to their day-to-day problems. Your task is to identify which one is online.
Having this information may seem complicated, but if you already have a marketing plan, you will surely already have this information. In addition, you can always conduct surveys, analyze demographic data. Our last tip is to observe the competition and their interaction with the public, find out in which social network they are present and in which one they have the largest number of followers. this can give you a clear idea of where to start.
2. Define your objectives
Social networks can connect you with your target audience better than any other type of media, however it is not the only thing they can do for your business and another of the most common mistakes of businesses that start in social networks is that they do not have a clear objective.
Social networks besides connecting you can help you increase sales (especially if you direct traffic to your online store), they can also help you generate leads, but above all they can help you position your brand in the market.
So, the next questions you have to ask yourself is what are you looking to achieve on social networks: increase sales, generate leads, improve brand recognition?
Remember to avoid ambiguous or impossible objectives, set SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to choose the social network that best suits you and direct your strategy with better results.
3. Know the available platforms
Currently you have a very wide range of possibilities to appear in a social network, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of starting in several social networks or in the most popular, however doing this will only have you working on creating publications that may not reach the target audience, that is why our next step is to know and understand what social networks are available, because each social network has its own focus and target audience.
Surely as a user you know and have profiles in several of them, but now that you will start creating content focused on your business and you need to go further and analyze what you can achieve with each of them.
3.1 Know the types of content
Now all social networks have multimedia content, text, video, image and audio, however the platforms specialize and prioritize a type of content, it is important that you understand this difference so you choose the content with which you feel more comfortable and with which you can connect with your audience.
- Text platform: platforms such as Twitter now X and Linkedin, which are full of written content and where images and videos are relegated to second place.
- Video platform: these are platforms like Tik Tok or YouTube where there is no room for any other type of content and perfect if you want to present your customers with more attractive tutorials.
- Design platforms: this type of platform prioritizes content in images, so the physical appearance of your profile acquires its own personality. These platforms are Instagram or Pinterest.
- Audio platforms: you may think that platforms where the priority is audio are dedicated exclusively to musicians and producers, but nowadays they are open to all kinds of creators, thanks to podcasts. So, if you want to start a podcast for your business you can share it on Spotify or Podimo.
- Mixed content platforms: finally, we have the platforms that combine both video, text and images, although certainly the publications with images have better reception, but without ideals if you are interested in creating something varied. The best example of these platforms is Facebook.
3.2 Know the objective and audience of each social network
Although in general, the goal of any social network is to communicate and create a community, the truth is that each social network focuses this objective in a different way and on a specific audience.
Networks like Instagram and Pinterest focus on attracting attention through aesthetic images, regularly people who are on these networks are more visual people, so the content on them is perfect if you want to conquer your audience through sight. In addition, it has an audience of all ages.
On the other hand, networks like YouTube or TikTok are networks that require more produced content but have a much wider audience. In terms of age, if your target audience is very young, under 25 years old, then the short videos of Tik Tok will be your best ally, on the other hand if you have an older audience or of different ages you can start on YouTube. Making videos for your business can be an excellent idea especially if you want to offer content to your customers such as tutorials or tips for using your products.
If you are interested in being in contact with other professionals, then LinkedIn is the social network you need. This social network is focused on the working world, so it is perfect for those who offer services or want to make a personal brand.
If you want an all-terrain platform that also allows you to maintain a closer contact with your audience, then Facebook may be the network you are looking for. This social network is so large that it can capture audiences of different ages and you can create campaigns with different objectives and well segmented.
3.3 Investigate the characteristics of the profiles for companies.
Another factor to take into account are the requirements and costs to open a professional or business profile on each platform. Currently all social networks have profiles for businesses that allow them to access advanced features, so you should check what they are and especially what are the costs for advertising.
4. Choose the right platforms and plan your content
Now that you have all this information about your audience, platform characteristics and objectives, select the social networks that best align with your business. It is not necessary to be on all platforms, but on those where your target audience is most active.
One of the keys to success on any social network is to develop a content strategy adapted to each platform, adapt your content to the format and tone of each social network to maximize resonance with each audience.
Establishing what your content pillars will be can help you create content consistently and keep your audience engaged with your brand. Resist the temptation to have your content describe your products, it is important that your content does not focus exclusively on selling your products or services, remember that content marketing is focused on helping your customers with questions about your niche market and positioning your brand as a reference.
5. Analyze and adjust
Monitoring and analysis are essential. Use analytical tools provided by the platforms themselves or external tools to measure performance. Adjust your strategy according to the data obtained to continuously improve.
Choosing the right social networks is a fundamental step in your digital marketing strategy. By knowing your audience, setting clear objectives and selecting relevant platforms, you will be able to empower your business and achieve success in the digital world.
Ready to take your business to the next level on social media? Start today by selecting the ideal platforms and developing an effective strategy!