Social media has become the most popular marketing channel. In this blog, we'll answer your top questions about social media so you can start using it to your advantage.

Q: Which social media should I be active on?

A: It depends on your company and industry.

Although it is important for your brand to be present on social media platforms, which ones you should be active on ultimately depends on your goals for social media content and where your target market is most active. Each platform has a different demographic and ideal purpose, making them more or less useful depending on the industry and audience.

For example, LinkedIn is a great platform for businesses with professional clientele, and also to generate leads. Because it is a social media platform for professionals, you can target people based on their occupation, rank, and skills.

Facebook and Instagram are great platforms for identifying your target market based on their interests and demographics. More people check their Facebook daily more than any other platform, making it a great platform for engagement. Instagram is especially successful for companies that sell physical products because of its visual nature that allows products to be featured. Facebook and Instagram have the most users of any platform besides YouTube and Messenger applications. They have a wide array of demographics and psychographics and are great platforms for businesses of any industry.

Twitter is a platform that is best utilized by brands wanting to participate in a conversation, as it is a platform that thrives off of opinions, hashtags, and memes. However, it can be a quick and easy place to respond to customer questions and interact with them directly. Twitter is a very diverse and engagement filled platform with a relatively young user base.

Pinterest is a platform for creatives looking for inspiration in all industries. Whether you are a soap company, or a web design company, you can create content and reach prospective customers through the platform. The unique thing about Pinterest is the demographics. Most Pinterest users are women, and nearly 70% of its users make over $30,000 a year. The same cannot be said for the other social media platforms, which makes Pinterest a great place to target individuals with the working capital to purchase your product or service.

Overall, the best platforms for generating leads are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, but Instagram and Twitter and great places to focus on branding, communication, and recognition. The best platforms for you depend on your marketing goals, and where your customers spend most of their digital time.

Q: What are the differences between a story and a post?

A: A story is a temporary post, which disappears after 24 hours, while a post stays on your profile.

A story is an example of ephemeral content, which is content that is only accessible for a period of time (24 hours in the story’s case). Ephemeral content started with Snapchat and has now spread to many of the other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Stories are a great asset because they show up at the top of any user’s newsfeed, and are easy for users to engage with. It allows businesses to have a place to share more everyday and personal content you may not want to include on your timeline or feed. It can be a great method to strengthen relationships with your existing customers and increase brand recognition with prospective ones.

Q: How often should I be posting?

A: It depends on the platform, and your industry.

Consistency is key to a successful social media strategy, so it is important to stay on top of your posting and engagement. We recommend on average for you to be posting 2-4 times a week across all social platforms, for the best results. The more content you put out, the more opportunity for users to come across your content and engage with it. On Twitter, however, it is helpful to be as active as possible, because it’s so easy for tweets to get lost on your follower’s feed.

Q: What content should I be posting?

A: A mix of content that’s interesting to your target market, and promotional content.

Your potential followers do not want to see only promotional content from your company. Following companies that only post promotional content can feel more like a never-ending commercial, than a brand their passionate about. We recommend to most of our clients ‘The 80/20 Rule’, which says that 20% of content should promote your brand, product, or services and the other 80% of your content should align with the interests of your target market or followers. This shapes your brand not only as one who provides a product or service, but one who wants to share relevant and helpful information and tips with its followers. Some examples of content that aligns with your audience’s interests are articles, blog posts, employee highlights, reviews, behind the scenes, video content, giveaways, tips and tricks, along with many more.

Q: Can I use social media in my industry?

A: Definitely!

Some businesses don’t think they can benefit from having a social media presence, but this is simply untrue! Nearly half of the world’s population uses social media. There are more tools now more than ever that can allow you to target the specific demographics and psychographics of your target audience so you can reach them. Social media is the easiest way to reach your potential and existing clientele, no matter your industry, especially during a time where it may not be possible to reach them in person. 

If you are interested in enhancing or expanding your digital marketing efforts, click here to schedule a free consultation and start turning your browsers into buyers!