As you know, social media has become a key factor in the advertising and marketing world. When it comes to using social media, selecting the right platforms for your business is crucial. There are many available platforms to choose from, such as: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, to name a couple.
Businesses should be knowledgeable of all of these wonderful platforms, but focusing on only a few platforms (that align with their industry and company goals) will have the most impact.
If you’re not sure if your business has been wasting it’s precious time on Pinterest instead of LinkedIn, take a look at each of the platform descriptions below to decide where you should spend your time.
Facebook is essential for ANY type of business, mainly because of its flexibility, popularity & reach.
- On Facebook, your business page is a place where a company can share its logo, pictures, insights, as well as connect with many fans.
- Facebook lets business owners have multiple conversations, create personal relationships, as well as advertise their products all in one spot.
All industries should be utilizing Facebook as a social media platform regardless of their target market.
Twitter is great for companies who have constant updates, news and information they frequently want to share. Users tend to follow others on Twitter for easily accessible information, on any subject matter.
How and When to use Twitter?
- Twitter is useful to reach both males and females, as well as communicate back and forth between each other.
- Any industry can use Twitter to share helpful information and news to their followers.
- Twitter has some useful features such as Direct Message, Mention, Retweet and Favorite that allows users to interact with their followers. It is a great tool when the business is trying to reach out to a certain segment of their followers.
YouTube
YouTube is a platform that provides extreme benefits if useful videos are uploaded. If a new product hits the market, a video may be the only way to explain it.
- How-to videos are engaging for customers, especially to describe services in a visual way. More recently, monetizing YouTube videos has become common if you have a popular video that generates a lot of users’ engagement.
LinkedIn is an important networking site. It can be used to build connections as well as share information for others within the same industry.
Benefits of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a way for other companies to get a better understanding of what your business does, just in case they may need your services. LinkedIn is great for B2B servicing companies, most businesses, and business owners.
- Joining LinkedIn groups of your industry can be a great way to expand your network and connect with like-minded professionals.
Pinterest is a visual content sharing site, in which you can create a “virtual pin board” that allows you to pin and share pictures and videos with others. It is a fun and creative way to show your interest, your brand, and engage with users who follow your boards.
Who’s on Pinterest?
About 80% of Pinterest users are female, affluent and educated, and are using Pinterest to gain information on all sorts of items. If your company can sell your product or service through a picture, then Pinterest may be the social platform for you.
- For example, interior decorating, floral arrangements, restaurants, and fashion design, are popular successful industries on Pinterest.
Why Google+?
Google+ is beneficial for search engine optimization purposes. A Google+ page is similar to Facebook, but has less interaction with customers. Although it is not a popular platform like the others, it is tied to Google, which has the majority of the market share in website searches.
- Each Google+ post comes with a unique URL, when the content is interacted, it can help increase search rankings.
- Google+ is very beneficial for bloggers, marketers, technical and engineering companies.