Twitter, Facegram, Instabook, Tiktok, Linkedin - which one do you choose?
Does your business need a business presence on all of these platforms to gain any traction?
No.
But Big Brands use all of them, shouldn’t I use them too?
I think it’s easy to get caught up in this dilemma if you’re a startup who’s just cooked up a product with the devs and need to start getting users in.
Surely, the more platforms I post on, the more people will see my product and use it.
Not necessarily.
I’m going to talk you through the things you need to understand so you can choose which social media platforms you need to be active on so you can grow your business.
Don’t worry, the decision can seem debilitating, but making the choice is much simpler than you think.
Understand where your audience is
The most important thing that you need to understand is:
Where is your ideal customer?
I don’t mean where they are physically, but where are they digitally, where do they hangout?
The most important thing that you need to understand is: Where is your ideal customer?
Is it on Snapchat or TikTok, Instagram or Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.
Do your research. Understand who your ideal customer is.
Sprout Social have a great article that explains and shows demographics across a variety of channels.
Based off the information in this graph, we can see that Facebook is a great place to be if your audience is between 18-49.
This graph tells us that Instagram is not a great place for people aged between 50-64.
There are many learnings to be had from taking a look at data.
Be sure to actually go on the platform and have a look at the general feel of how people are responding to the industry at the moment.
You can use the Facebook Ads Library [2] for example, (other platforms have their own versions) to have a sneaky peek at your competitors marketing activity and see how other players in your industry are using the platforms.
If a competitor is very active, chances are they are having success from that platform and it’s something that you could consider too!
Understand how your audience consumes in the digital space
The second thing I want you to consider is how your ideal customers use the digital space.
How do they consume on digital?
Answering this will tell you exactly what types of content you need to be producing and exactly which platforms you need to be on.
It’s not as easy as looking at a graph to figure this one out unfortunately.
It requires some digging around.
How do they consume on digital? Answering this will tell you exactly what types of content you need to be producing and exactly which platforms you need to be on.
You need to:
1. Look at what content your competitors post
- Figure out what the engagement is like
- If it’s good, chances are that’s something you can draw inspiration from and improve on (no copycat’s, within reason)
- If it’s not good, then steer clear for now. Of course what doesn’t work for a competitor might work for you, and that is why testing is such an important part of growing and scaling in digital marketing.
2. Talk to any potential customers you may have already, figure out where they spend their time and what they enjoy watching, what catches their eye, what stops them from scrolling.
Understanding these things will give you a much clearer picture of how your potential users are consuming in the digital space.
BUT, above all the most valuable source of information to consider is your own. So sift through your activities and see what’s working and what’s not.
Do more of what’s working and less of what’s not, generally.
