Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Pinterest. Linkedin. Holonis. Snapchat. YouTube. Reddit. NextDoor. MeetUp. Foursquare. Google+ (haha).
Is it overwhelming if you’re just getting started on social media or what?! If that list of platforms has your eyes bugging out (and that's just a small sample of the 200+ channels out there), let me help you figure out where to get started.
What social channels should I use for my business in 2019?
The short answer, in my opinion, is to join whatever platforms you’re most comfortable with, and which ones you will actually log into and use. Never been on any social channels? Getting started with your business on social media isn’t the place to try and learn, and I'd encourage you to hire a professional for that.
If you want to take your social media strategy to the next level then the long answer is, well, long...and complicated.
But I’m here to help, so let’s dive in.
In this day and age, every company and brand needs some sort of presence on social media. At the very least, you need to own your name on every platform that makes sense for your brand/business so that no one else does and so you can control the messages coming from your name.
One of the biggest ways I see businesses fail on social media is by using and prioritizing the wrong channels. And it’s so easy to see why. Social media is trendy and audiences can be unstable. Common things I’ve heard from clients are, “My Facebook reach is down so should we focus on Instagram more now?” or “I hear my kids are on Snapchat now all the time, so I should probably join that.”
My ultimate tip - don’t sign up for every social media channel because they are new or popular. Determine which is most relevant to your business. It's better to be excellent on one or two channels than mediocre at five or six. With a solid plan in place, your audience should stay engaged with your brand on the platforms you're on that make sense. That way, when new or niche platforms may come it will be easy to prioritize them because your strategy on the big platforms is solid.
Another huge piece of the equation is social media takes commitment. Commitment and consistency. Many business owners I’ve met don’t have a ton of time to commit to running their social channels, which makes sense why they have found themselves reading this blog. So, I’ll tell you this - before I give my clients any sort of recommendation I always need to know the answer to these two questions:
1. What’s your overall goal from social media?
2. Are you B2C, B2B, or both?
Those are the questions you need to be asking yourself to get started on a social media plan. If you know your answers to those, then it will be easy to decide the best two to three channels to commit to using consistently.
1. What's your overall goal from social media?
If your goal is to build brand awareness, generate leads, drive traffic to your website or shop, or book events, using social media is the right idea. Knowing each platform a little better can also help you determine your messaging to increase your ROI from social. If you just want to use social because you think you should, I would encourage you to think about your goal and what you're hoping to seek from your time and effort online.
2. Are you B2C, B2B, or both?
Knowing if your company is B2C or B2B changes things. Our society isn't at a point in the consumer journey yet to be shopping directly from social media sites - but we are ALMOST there. There are exceptions—like looking for local goods on Facebook’s marketplace or using the product button on Instagram and Instagram Stories—but in general, people on social media are at the very top of the sales funnel.
In general, the best B2C channels are Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. The best B2B channels are Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.
In the end, social media should be fun and the easiest way to make it fun is to be on the right spots to reach your target audience. Your brand can have a huge impact on using the right social strategy.
Looking for an absolute "these are the sites to be on" answer? Contact me for a customized social media audit. From an audit, I can give you even more personalized data and recommendations.