Which Social Media Platforms Should You Use?

In our last blog, we looked at the reasons you should consider using social media as part of your marketing and customer retention strategy. This time we will look at which platforms to consider for reaching your customers and prospects.

Search Google for “How many Social Media platforms are there”, and it’s hard to find a definitive result. You do find listings saying, “The Top 200 Social Media Channels you need to know!” so I think it’s fair to say there are quite a few, and many of them have huge audiences; as of July 2023, 15 social media platforms have at least 400 million active users, out of the 4.89 billion people who use social media.

So, how do you go about choosing which platforms to use? Well, you start with your customer profile. Who is your target audience, what are they interested in, and where do they hang out? This could be guesswork, based on your demographics, or you could try the unusual approach and actually ask your best customers – the ones you like and want more of that is – what platforms they use.

If you are basing your strategy on demographics, not hard data, then you next do your research to find social media channels that cater for your audience. Now, of course, there are some general guidelines, but it’s not always what you think. For example, it’s widely accepted that the Facebook audience tends to be older and female. In fact, men between the ages of 25 and 34 years make up Facebook’s largest audience, accounting for 17.6 per cent of global users. Additionally, Facebook’s second largest audience base is found with men aged 18 to 24 years. *www.statista.com 2023

If you are looking for a business audience, then LinkedIn is going to be your first port of call, but don’t forget businesspeople are people too, so maybe catching them on Facebook during their downtime might be the better route. (NB: Facebook drives more visits to our website than all other platforms combined, and we are firmly B2B.) If your audience is younger, then Instagram or TikTok might be your best route.

Twitter (X) is interesting in respect of its audience. Its usage is way lower than you might expect. OK, 540 million users are a lot, but only 16% of Facebook’s 3 billion! However, it does have a high profile amongst journalists, senior influencers, and politicians, so if that’s your target market – or route to your target market, it’s worth considering.

Think outside the box; if you are international, or like us in Exeter with a university with a large Chinese population, then WeChat (inc. Weixin 微信), has 1.3 billion monthly active users.

However, for most businesses, it’s advisable to stick to the tried and tested, so let’s do a whistle-stop tour of those:

Facebook: With billions of users, Facebook offers a diverse audience base, suitable for most businesses. In fact, it’s so broad, carving out your own niche is essential. It supports many content formats like posts, images, videos, and links. Groups, pages, and advertising options provide a wide range of promotional opportunities.

Instagram: This is great for visual industries, fashion, lifestyle, and creative businesses, especially those targeting younger demographics. The content is focused on images and short videos.

Twitter (X): Businesses aiming for real-time updates, news, and quick engagement, often in tech, media, inferences, journalists and other opinion formers or customer service sectors. Started as a microblogging site, but recent changes allow longer posts (on paid plan) as well as video hosting, which X has promised to focus on. Content creators who get high engagement can get advert revenue share!

LinkedIn: B2B businesses, professional services, and industries where networking and business connections are crucial. It’s a professional platform for sharing industry insights, connecting with peers, and building a professional brand presence, although a smidge of personal content – often with a tenuous business link – can present a friendly face and deepen your network.

Pinterest: Ideal if you are a business with a strong visual aspect, like fashion, home decor, travel, and DIY. Great for hobbies, such as cookery. Content is images, infographics and short videos.

YouTube: Throwing a curve ball here, as many people don’t regard YouTube as a social media site, but it is. (It’s also a search engine!) Create engaging video content, tutorials, product demonstrations, and informational content.

TikTok: It mainly appeals to a younger demographic, making it suitable for brands targeting teenagers and young adults. Create short video format (15-60 seconds), creative filters, effects, and a highly engaging user interface. (Disclaimer, I’m not a TikTok user, so talk to the younger members of the team if you want help here!)

Now that really is a superfast run-through, just a flavour of how you might think of each platform. Then within each platform, there are niches and groups that you will need to consider when carving out your audience.

And of course, there is nothing to stop you from using multiple platforms, indeed, whilst you are trying to figure things out, trying different platforms is a great idea. Repurpose the content across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. and see what works for you. Note that I said “repurpose” not “copy”. Each platform has its own algorithm preferences, so use a similar message but amend the content to suit the platform.

Which leads nicely to Content. What should you post on your social platforms? In my last blog, I promised to look at which platforms to consider, what content to post and how on earth you will find the time! However, after writing the “which platforms” section, this blog was turning into an essay, so “what content and time planning” will roll over to next time!

Hopefully, this has given you an idea of what social media platforms to consider. If you want to connect with me, I’m on LinkedIn. If you want help defining audiences or choosing which platform is for you, then please do get in contact with the team here.