There’s no denying the benefits of social media marketing for businesses; no matter how big, or how small. It’s a powerful tool for building brand awareness, engaging with customers and boosting sales and leads. However, with numerous platforms out there, businesses often struggle to effectively manage them all. The truth is, it’s often better to be consistent with just a few platforms than it is to be sporadically posting across a multitude. Not sure which ones to focus on? Here’s how to work out which ones your business should be dedicating your time and money towards.

First, What is Your Industry?

Not all social media platforms work for every type of business or industry. For instance, if you’re a training company looking to promote your training programs, your business will most likely benefit from a professional careers-focused platform like LinkedIn.

Fashion or beauty brands thrive on social platforms that emphasize images and videos like Instagram, TikTok and even Pinterest. With built-in shopping functionalities, these platforms enable customers to make direct purchases through online catalogues, making them essential for eCommerce businesses.

What Are Your Goals on Social Media?

Next, you need to define your goals for using social media platforms for your business. This will help you determine what platform is more suited to particular goals.

Goals may include:

• Increasing brand awareness. This indicates how many people know or are aware of you on social media, and the products and services you offer. Key ways to determine brand awareness include brand mentions (or tags), shares and follower count.
• Generating leads. This goal is about gathering important contact information from potential clients and customers.
• Increasing community engagement. This means your audience wants to hear from you and you want to hear from them – their opinions & feelings may influence your product or service development. You might look at the engagement rate of your posts, comments, replies to stories etc.
• Increasing purchases or conversions. This goal is all about bringing in sales or customers taking an action on your site, for example, downloading a free newsletter.

Who is Your Audience?

The purpose of leveraging social media platforms for your business is to effectively reach and engage with your audience. You don’t want to invest your time on a platform that your audience is not using. For that reason, it is necessary to know who your target audience is, and what social media platforms they are engaging on the most. Remember to consider your desired target audience and their demographics. For instance, if your audience is aged between 18 and 27, and they are mostly female, use this information to determine what platforms they are most likely to be on. If your target audience is mainly women over 60, you can more than likely rule out using TikTok and Snapchat.

What Type of Content Will You Make?

All social media platforms serve a different purpose when it comes to content. Some focus more heavily on visuals, while others focus on long-form text like whitepapers or reports. Content types you may want to focus on include:

• Industry news or whitepapers
• Webinars or livestreams
• Short-form videos
• Images
• Links to external content i.e. blog posts, ebooks etc
• Infographics
• Contests

We explain which platforms are best for each type of content below.

Main Social Media Platforms to Choose From

Facebook

Facebook has nearly 3.065 billion active monthly users. According to Statista, millennials (25 – 44) represent Facebook’s largest audience. The platform also has a higher percentage of male-identifying users. Majority of users (72%) are on Facebook purely to message friends and family, while 58.7% use the platform for news and events, and 54.3% follow and research brands and products.

While many claim Facebook is on its way out, Facebook is still one of the most popular social media platforms for businesses, both for organic content and paid social. With paid ads, almost any business will be able to find their target audience on this platform and get their ads in front of the right people. Through Facebook Ads Manager, you can target your audience based on their age, interests, behaviour, jobs, relationship status and location.

Facebook makes it very easy for businesses to share links to your website, blog posts and other news outlets. It also makes it easy for users to share any articles or posts they think are worth sharing on their own profile. On your feed, you’ll find a mix of content from news articles to business page posts, group updates and ads.

If your desired outcome is to reach as many people as possible through social advertising or to drive traffic to your website, then Facebook is a great option for your business.

Instagram

Instagram’s focus has always been on the visuals – stunning images and eye-catching videos. Throughout its evolution, Instagram introduced features such as Stories, Instagram Shop, and Reels, which have significantly enriched user experience. Additionally, Instagram played a pivotal role in popularising the influencer phenomenon. Thanks to Instagram, we also saw the rise of the influencer.

In terms of usage, as of January 2024, there are nearly 2 billion monthly active users on Instagram. Roughly 51% of the social media platform’s audience is identified as male, and over 70% of shoppers look to Instagram for their next purchase. Instagram users spend around 17.6 million hours per day watching reels. It is also important to note that the largest age bracket on Instagram is 18 – 34.

Instagram is perfect for businesses who would like to focus on:

• Sharing aesthetically pleasing visuals
• Engaging (and even trending) videos
• Selling their products through the app
• Sharing Stories for real-time marketing
• Making use of influencers or UGC creators to advertise their products/services

Brands that thrive on Instagram are generally fashion brands, beauty brands, photographers and food brands/restaurants – i.e. things that have a strong visual appeal.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the few social media platforms that purely focuses on B2B (business-to-business) marketing. In 2023, LinkedIn had roughly 745 million users worldwide, and it’s projected that the platform will have 942 million users in 2028. Worldwide, users skewed slightly higher to male at 57%.

If your business plans on sharing regular industry updates, company news and is looking to reach specific businesses or professions, both organically and through paid efforts, then LinkedIn is the best platform to use. Not only should your content help with increasing your brand awareness, but it will hopefully target your audience (potential employees or even potential clients/customers).

TikTok

Since its global release in 2018, TikTok has grown exponentially with over 1.5 billion monthly active users. TikTok has a reputation of being popular with young adults, with 18% of the app’s global audience aged 18 – 24.

Content on TikTok has undergone a notable shift over the years from short, viral 15-second dance or lip-syncing videos to longer, more engaging content. Creators and businesses now utilise the platform to connect with their audience by sharing educational content and behind-the-scenes footage. TikTok still maintains its potential for viral content and has a reputation for launching influencers and music artists to stardom. For businesses, TikTok presents opportunities for brand collaboration and influencer campaigns, making it a valuable platform to incorporate into marketing strategies.

However, the app has been embroiled in various controversies, including the removal of UMG’s music library and governmental scrutiny leading to discussions about potential bans due to increased concerns over data privacy.

If you’re looking to flex your creative muscles, reach a broader (even global) audience, foster a community, and even drive sales through paid ads, TikTok is definitely worth exploring. The key lies in consistency and crafting content tailored specifically for the platform.

X

X, formally known as Twitter, has always been a great platform for concise communication, whether it’s brand updates, industry news and engaging with customers on trending topics. It may not be as popular as other social media platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, however, X generated 368 million monthly active users worldwide in 2023. Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of X, there has been a decline in users on X with a projected 335 million monthly active users in 2024. X is the go-to platform for real-time updates, breaking news and other “in the moment” information – think rugby scores, and storm warnings. Many brands use the platform to respond to any queries or comments made by their customers. Brands and businesses who wish to reach new audiences and build a strong online community will benefit from X.

How to Use These Social Media Platforms For Your Business

Now that we’ve broken down the key social media platforms and given you a basic idea on who is using them and how to use them for your business, it’s time to incorporate them in a larger social strategy. Our team can work with you to customise a social media package to help you grow an online community and maintain a strong online presence. Please get in touch to see how we can help you out!