In today’s world, social media is one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal to grow and promote our businesses. There are plenty of options out there, however, that can be overwhelming and difficult to keep track of. So which platforms should you focus on? And how do you choose which ones to use?
Let’s take a look at the top social media platforms that you can use to help grow your business today.
Facebook:
According to research by BizSugar, 92% of consumers connect with brands on Facebook. If you’re looking for a way to engage and nurture leads, create new business opportunities, and connect with your customers in meaningful ways, Facebook is an excellent place to start. Make sure you set up business pages for both your brand and individual products/services. A personal profile doesn’t allow you access all of Facebook’s features and can come across as unprofessional (not great if potential clients are checking out your page). Additionally, don’t forget about Groups! These can be a great resource for interacting with your customers and networking. Set up groups based on common interests or geographic areas—whatever makes sense for your company.
Instagram:
This is one of my favorite social media platforms because it’s easily accessible on mobile, there are interesting interactions and engagement within a user’s story, and you can use different features to draw in your audience. It allows you to post pictures, videos, or just text based posts. The ability to share something as simple as your location gives people a glimpse into what’s going on in your life at that moment. If you have an event coming up or would like for others to see something specific about your brand, it’s a great way for them (and others) to get involved!
Pinterest:
The visual powerhouse is often overlooked as a business tool but can be an extremely effective way of expanding your brand and promoting your products. The site already has some 53 million users in North America alone, many of whom are women aged 25–55. It’s also filled with potential customers: studies show that, if you pin your product on Pinterest and make it look appealing, 20% of users will click through and purchase it. Promote products using clear, bright images that really pop out from all their competition and reap those benefits! For example, one innovative e-commerce company pinned its entire catalogue of clothes onto its boards—so shoppers could see all their items at once.
LinkedIn:
One of top social networks that is commonly used by professional in business environment. LinkedIn provides large variety of connection between business owners and professionals, which may be helpful if you’re a small business owner who is trying to attract other professional for joint venture. You can find several relationship or connect people from different field such as business, medical industry, real estate etc. Linkedin is not just for work related but also it is widely used by job seekers and recruiters in finding candidates or opportunities from various job sources such as careers section on Linkedin website and several other external sites that related jobs on daily basis. LinkedIn should be your first social media platform if you are looking for professional connection with other companies or businesses online through internet. It will help you to grow your business network faster and easier than any other social network available today.
Twitter:
Many businesses (including Twitter itself) use Twitter as a social media platform for marketing purposes. It allows you to quickly update your followers about deals, new products and promotions, breaking news, etc. This is an excellent social media tool for gaining exposure. Just be sure that when using Twitter, your account is in line with your business goals—are you aiming to attract customers and grow sales? Or are you simply trying to engage and entertain? Knowing your answer will help determine how best to use Twitter in relation to your other marketing strategies. For example, if you’re working on driving traffic back to your website, don’t include more than a couple links in each tweet; otherwise it could end up hurting rather than helping. And if one of those links leads people back here—great!
YouTube:
With close to 1 billion users, YouTube is one of the best platforms for growing your business. It’s an amazing way to share product demos, Q&As and tutorials with customers, and it works especially well if you have a visual product like cookware or clothing. While YouTube has been around for more than a decade, it really took off in 2012 as businesses jumped on board. You can earn advertising revenue from views or clicks on videos, too. Users also have access to a built-in messaging service that can be used in tandem with your website chat tool to make communication easier for customers. Some advanced marketers are even using simple software scripts that allow them to do live chats within YouTube itself!
Reddit:
You’ve heard all about Reddit, but you don’t know what it is or how it works. Or maybe you do know, but don’t understand why anyone would use it for business. Basically, Reddit is a social news and entertainment website where registered users submit content in the form of either a link or a text self post.
One of its most useful features for businesses is that users can vote on submissions, causing more popular ones to rank higher on category pages—you just have to make sure your submission isn’t spammy!
A properly done AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread also does wonders for garnering interest in your product from an active audience already interested in your niche. Its functionality can be somewhat limited compared with other platforms but well-crafted subreddit threads are amazing ways to find new audiences easily without having any previous subscribers.
It can be hard work if done incorrectly so remember: nothing will kill an AMA faster than bad grammar and basic questions that could easily be answered by reading your FAQ page or doing research on Google.
The Bottom Line:
With so many social media platforms available to you, it can be hard to choose which ones are the best for your business, and how to effectively utilize them in your marketing strategy. Take some time to consider these top social media platforms and how they can help you grow your business before deciding on which ones will work best for you and your company’s specific needs.
What do you think? Let me know by commenting below!