There’s no denying that social media has brought us closer together, made communication that be easier and well, social media marketing can be very effective. Yet being in this more connected world, are people - particularly children, lonelier than ever before? I know as someone who works within social media marketing I should be beating the drum for social media and I can't d ...
Social media is a lot more than cat videos and scrolling through holiday snaps of someone you knew a decade ago. When used as part of your business’ communications and marketing strategy you can really target the right people and effectively get the message out about your brand. In fact, 95% of marketers who use social media at least 6 hours per week indicated their social media efforts increased exposure for their businesses.
Many companies are drumming up new business as a result of using social media and it’s a great way to build up a buzz and community around your brand. Yet, there are still businesses which haven’t got on board with social media. Social media isn’t a passing fad and tapping into the right social platforms can really increase your revenue. Not all social channels are here to stay but there are some with longevity. Likewise, not all social media platforms will be right for your businesses.
Who is your Target Audience?
With a growing amount of social platforms to choose from it can become overwhelming to know how to embark on a social strategy when you don’t know which ones to use. Each platform attracts a different type of audience demographic.
Customer Demographics
The most effective social media strategies are informed by social media demographics. These data-driven insights will ensure that your strategy and social channels are sending out messages to the right people as much as possible, ultimately increasing your chances of conversion. Use a tool such as Sprout Social http://sproutsocial.com/ to analyse who your current followers are.
Which Social Channels to use?
Once you’ve established who your target markets are, you can then gauge which platforms to use. As there’s no point in trying to promote your business offering to over 60’s on Snapchat if it’s not popular with that group. Sometimes it seems that audience demographics can change overnight, particularly when looking at millennials who are on a range of channels. Below is a snapshot of the different channels and their audiences to start you off.
LinkedIn is a site predominantly for professionals, so if you’re looking to work on a B2B basis then this platform is ideal in helping you connect with other businesses and decision makers. If you’re looking to position yourself as an industry leader, then create thought leadership pieces and post these on LinkedIn. You can also support your advertising efforts with paid promotion to boost your posts. LinkedIn’s advert facility also enables you to drill down and really target the right people you want to share information with. 34% of 18–29 year olds use LinkedIn and are actually the highest usage group.
Facebook has an average of 1.15 billion active users each day and is still the most popular social media site out there. Typically women are the main users of the site. 88% of 18–29 year olds use Facebook, although we’re increasingly seeing that Facebook is the favoured platform for those aged 25 – 55.
Twitter is increasingly becoming the favoured platform for customer service. With 34% of people now preferring to use social media for customer service. Twitter isn’t a channel to be ignored.
In terms of gender usage, female and males are pretty much even. The main users are those aged 18-29, with 36% of this age group using Twitter.
Snapchat
Snapchat enables users to send and receive photos or videos that disappear after a few seconds. However, if you post them onto your Snapchat stories they last for 24 hours. This site is popular predominantly with those aged 18-24, although users as young as 13 can have access to the site.
This video and image social sharing app has over 600 million active users. The main users are women and those aged 18-29 - with 59% of this age group using the platform. Instagram has a range of users including celebs posting perfectly polished pics of themselves.
Predominately those aged 18-29 used the site but we’re seeing an increase in those aged 30–49 using Pinterest. The clear majority of users are women. Pinterest enables users to create a board with images and a collage of ideas and thoughts, you can also see boards created by other users. These boards can be aspirational and you can use this platform to showcase your products in a creative way.
Time
Choose one or two social platforms that are right for your business, as there’s no point in spreading your time too thinly and not getting enough out of your efforts. If you do have multiple channels which you’d like to syndicate your content out to, use Buffer which enables you to send out a message to multiple channels easily. It also lets you tailor your messages for each platform.
If you’d like help in devising a social media strategy, 10 Digital can help. Although we’d recommend community management of your own channels, we are here as an extension of your marketing team to help you get the most out of social media for your brand.