Choosing the right social media platform for your business

So you’ve noticed how many of your competitors, big and small, are doing a great job on social media and, lo and behold, you’ve developed a bit of jealousy. And that’s got you thinking it’s time your business made the leap into the social media universe.

Then you start looking around and it quickly becomes apparent why they call it the social media universe. It’s big. Really big. And kind of scary to a newbie. There are literally dozens of social media platforms out there, and you’ve only just scratched the surface.

So what do you do? Where do you begin?

How to choose the best social media platforms for your business

Social media can take a lot of time and effort. It’s not a case of simply turning up and enjoying the show. You need to have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve before you choose your channels.

Let’s start with the top reasons for wanting to use social media for your business:

1. Build your brand awareness: You want to keep your business front and centre in the minds of your customers and build trust by posting regular updates that your clients and customers will be interested in.
2. Connect with customers: Your customers will be directly engaging with businesses through platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. You want to open the lines of communication with your customers, be where they are.
3. Show off your goods: Window shopping on social media is a big thing. Someone wearing a dress on a beach at sunset is the new mannequin. Don’t be shy, show people what you’ve got.
4. Drive traffic to your website: Sending people to your website shop or blog will help you build your audience. Watching your email list and retargeting pool grow is a beautiful thing.
5. Drive revenue growth: All of the above should lead to one thing all businesses desire, the wonderful sight of the revenue curve heading upwards.
6. Generate engagement: People aren’t on social media to be advertised to, they’re there to connect with friends and interact with great content that entertains or inspires them. So creating branded content that entertains people is key.

Okay, so what’s next? Once you’ve narrowed down what it is you want to achieve, the next thing is to develop your plan of attack, then choose your social media platforms.

Before you choose your platforms, you need to ask yourself some questions:

What are your goals? What is it you want to achieve? The above should help you determine that.

Where do your customers spend their time? Are they mainly on Facebook? Or a combination of platforms?

How much time can you invest? It takes time to do social media well. Don’t over commit by jumping on all platforms at once. More isn’t necessarily merrier.

How much money can you spare? A lot of social platforms are pay to play. To get the results you’re after you need to invest some of your marketing budget. Nothing comes for free.

Do you need help? There’s definitely an element of technology smarts to doing paid social media well. And there are agencies out there that can help you do it. Speak to the right people to help you make the right decisions.

The final decision

If you’re ready to take the leap and choose your social media platform, this may help. It’s a list of the most widely used social media platforms in Australia in May 2021.

• Facebook (used by 90% of 13+ years old)
• Youtube (used by 87% of 13+ years old)
• Instagram (used by 48% of 13+ years old)
• LinkedIn (used by 35% of 13+ years old)
• Twitter (used by 31% of 13+ years old)

These are the best platforms for you to consider first. Don’t go too obscure. And remember, no one wants to see your CEO dance on TikTok (unless your audience is there!).

If you need help narrowing down your social media strategy, give Rare a call. It’s highly likely that you’ve seen our work in action as you scrolled through your social media feeds. And that you paused to read and watch. Hey, we’re good at what we do.

Drop us a line.