Here at One2create, we’re regularly asked which social media platforms are best for business. In truth there’s no “best” platform; each social media site has it’s own audience and unique advantages.
However, it’s important that you understand how you can utilise each social media platform to benefit your business.
At the same time as this, you need to learn the types of content that you can publish, the frequency of posts, and the audience that are currently using each platform.
With 22.9% of the worlds’ population using Facebook, it’s by far the most popular and widely used social media platform. If your business is aiming for an international customer base, then Facebook could be for you.
As of June 2016, 62.1% of the North American population are using Facebook, and 39.5% of Europe are also regularly logging in.
In our own experience, Facebook is primarily used by B2C companies, as the type of updates that you can publish focus more on engagement and funny posts. Facebook is an exceptionally engaging social media platform, and this can work in your favour.
Recommended content for Facebook:
- Images (including “caption contests”)
- News updates
- Videos and animations
- Question-based posts
For more quick tips on how to maximise your Facebook updates, take a look at this handy infographic.
As of the last quarter in 2016, there were 319 million active monthly users logging into Twitter. If your business wants to regularly update followers on news from their company, then Twitter could be for you.
For anyone that has ever used Twitter, you’ll know just how quickly these updates can be lost in a newsfeed.
Any tweet has an average lifespan of around 20 minutes, so make sure that any updates are sent out at the most effective time. For Twitter, this is usually during peoples’ lunch breaks (between 12pm and 2pm) or when the majority of people get home from work (between 6pm and 8pm).
Recommended content for Twitter:
- Images, GIFs and Memes
- News or company updates
- Videos
- Twitter polls
For more quick tips on how to maximise the effectiveness of your Tweets, take a look at this handy infographic.
Another of the most popular social media websites is Linkedin. However, the content that you publish is significantly different compared to Facebook or Twitter.
Linkedin is primarily used as a business update or as a tool for online recruiting. Many users use this site to connect with past employees, research companies or to connect with industry influencers.
As of October 2016, Linkedin had approximately 467 million registered users, so if you work in an industry that regularly recruits or publishes in-depth reports, Linkedin could be for you.
Recommended content types for Linkedin:
- Industry insights
- Company news and updates
- Linkedin Pulse articles
For more information on publishing to Linkedin, including advice on post frequency and tone, take a look at this infographic here.
You might think that Instagram is only used by celebrities, but with over 400 million daily active users, Instagram is fast becoming the go-to social media website for companies that have products to sell, services to promote and followers to convert.
Before you start posting stunning visuals to Instagram, you need to define your content strategy. What do you want to achieve?
Are you focussing on increasing sales, or do you want to drive more traffic to your website. Do you want to extend your brand awareness, or do you want to attract more customers?
Recommended content types for Instagram:
- Customer focussed images (e.g. products that they could buy)
- Employee focussed images (e.g. charity events at work)
- Caption content images
- Videos
For more information on maximising your time of Instagram, take a look at this infographic here.
With the launch of it’s iPhone app in 2011, Pinterest is widely used as an image posting and collection website.
Users can upload photos to share with other users and create boards. These boards can be categorised by content or subject; for example web design tips, landscape photos, food recipes.
66% of pinned images are sourced from branded websites, making Pinterest the perfect platform for businesses that have products to sell. It’s ideal for visual companies that focus on blogging, fashion, interior design and cookery.
Recommended content for Pinterest:
- Make sure that they’ve been optimised for keywords, and including your brands’ watermark on anything you post.
- You can add videos to Pinterest, but these are generally links to Youtube content, so might not get as much interaction compared to images.
Google+
Google+ has over 370 million active members, and a total of 27 million unique monthly visits, so it’s definitely a social media platform you should consider using.
Using Google+ for your business has beneficial SEO implications. Search engines immediately index any content that’s posted in Google+, meaning your company is more likely to rank higher in search results.
The ability to create circles and collections means you’ll soon be connecting with your followers, increasing your brand awareness and building beneficial relationships.
If you feel that a specific piece of content doesn’t fit well with your overall page; then post it out into a community. For example, we may post out content into a Small Businesses community if a piece of content we find would be useful for them.
Recommended content for Google+:
- Videos and GIFs
- Images linking to specific pages on your website
- News articles
- Industry news and updates
- Company specific news
To summarise, each social media platform has it’s own features and benefits. Each has it’s own target demographic, and each has it’s own unofficial rules that govern publishing and post frequency.
What do you think? What social media platforms do you use for your own business? Is there one site that you use more than others? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so let us know in the comments below.
Remember, we’re experts in content marketing and social media. If your business needs help maximising it’s brand awareness or increasing your follower base, then get in touch with us here. We’d love to be able to help your company thrive in the ever-changing world of social media 😉
