There are 420 billion active social media users. Taking this into consideration, it’s important for businesses, large or small, to use the social media channel that’s right for their target audience.
Social media is a great way to extend reach and increase brand awareness, but it’s not a one size fits all approach and there can be pros and cons. So, we’ve gathered a list of some of the top social channels with tips you need to consider when improving your social media presence.
Twitter is a social media platform that allows you to connect with others using tweets. These tweets are short snippets containing up to 280 characters. These real-time updates can also consist of images, videos and even polls.
With over 192 million active users, Twitter can be a great way to share news of products and services. Twitter makes sharing easier with its retweet function, which gives users the opportunity to share someone else’s tweet on their own timeline. You’re also able to use hashtags, giving you the opportunity to extend the reach of a post.
Like most social channels, you can also advertise on Twitter which also provides an effective way at targeting specific audiences using location, language, keywords and even social handles.
Nonetheless, compared to other networks, Twitter’s growth is lower. The introduction of algorithms has also impacted the timeline. Twitter is less of a lead generator but should be seen more as a place to build brand awareness and a way to provide quality links back to your website, which will help you rise in search engine results pages (SERPs). Furthermore, gaining a following on Twitter requires a lot of time and effort, a privilege not every business may have. But, if you’re a start-up business looking to increase brand awareness, Twitter is a channel to use in conjunction with others.
Facebook is a popular social networking site that allows users to connect with each other by sharing updates with images, videos, articles and even music.
As a social media giant, it’s no surprise that businesses want to grow their social presence on Facebook.
With over 2 billion monthly users, Facebook is a good place for businesses to begin increasing brand awareness. Not only are you able to reach your potential target audience, but you can also easily set up your business profile quickly, so you have immediate presence.
Regard Facebook as a search engine, if your company is present, it provides comfort to someone looking for your products or service. Plus, it provides those all-important quality links to your website when you share a post which is key for link building for search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes.
If you’re looking to go beyond organic social with a paid for campaign, then Facebook ads are also relatively cheap when compared to traditional advertising methods such as print.
Features such as ‘Page Insights’ allow you to analyse how your audience interact with your content, and ‘Audience Insights’ gives you a better understanding of who your audience is. Both these tools, when used in conjunction, give you the ability to tailor your content to your audience.
However, disadvantages of using Facebook for business include issues with posts not getting the views you desire due to the nature of the algorithm. Instead of showing posts chronologically, the algorithm deems what is more relevant to the user. So, you won’t be in total control of who sees your post and may in fact miss out on views because of this.
Used by a vast number of businesses to grow their professional network, LinkedIn is an exceptional marketing tool when used appropriately.
You have the option of creating both a company and individual profile. We’d recommend a business creating a company profile to benefit from features including ‘about us’, the ability to share updates, polls and most recently LinkedIn Product Pages. All innovative ways to ensure your audience is kept up to date with your business activities. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create an individual account. So, if you’re not already registered on LinkedIn then we’d highly recommend that your sales, business development and marketing colleagues have their own profiles set up.
Ultimately LinkedIn is all about networking, so this provides a great way to reach your target audience in a personal way.
With over 30 million companies on LinkedIn and 675 million users, LinkedIn’s a good place for businesses to increase brand awareness. Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator also allow users to find the relevant profiles using search filters, helping you find relevant leads.
LinkedIn is also a great way to improve your website’s SEO, due to the fresh new content that’s constantly being uploaded, and LinkedIn’s high domain authority. This combination means that when people are using search engines like Google, LinkedIn pages are likely to come up on the organic search pages.
Even so, one drawback to be taken into consideration is that building a successful LinkedIn profile can be time consuming. This could be one of the reasons why only ¼ of LinkedIn users are active. Another reason for inactivity is that since everyone is on there doing the same thing, there’s a large influx of spam messages. It may take a while for you to distinguish between spam and messages you should respond to.
Clubhouse
With an initial release of March 2020, we’ve seen Clubhouse increase from 600,000 in December 2020 to 10 million weekly active users. This is proof that Clubhouse is steadily becoming more popular. An invitation only social media channel that allows you to network with others by creating audio ‘Rooms’ in which you can discuss topics. This exclusive new app has featured tech geniuses, such as Elon Musk, and entertainers, like award winning rapper Drake, alike.
Clubhouse gives businesses the opportunity to connect with their audience and other businesses through conversation. As a speaker, you’re able to lead conversation and provide useful insight into your chosen topic. This is an excellent way to showcase your knowledge and awareness with your audience.
As a listener, you’re able to learn from the market leaders that you may not otherwise have had access to. You may even have the chance to get to ask your own questions during these conversations. This makes Clubhouse a great way to network with other likeminded individuals.
Still, Clubhouse does have its drawbacks. Due to the growing popularity of the app, it’s becoming more difficult to find ‘Rooms’ that are helpful. The smaller ‘Rooms’ are more interactive, and easier to digest and share information. This contrasts with the larger ‘Rooms’ where communication becomes more difficult as more and more people want to speak and there are often a lot of cases of people speaking over each other.
Some information may need to be taken with a pinch of salt rather than as fact, as the persona people portray may not match their reality. You may often find that when you do your research on some speakers, they lack credibility on certain topics.
Social Media agency Croydon
Although there’s a lot of information to take in, hopefully this has helped you to consider what social media channels suit your business the best.
Incorporating social media into your marketing strategy can raise brand awareness and online presence. Visit our blog for tips on how you can improve social media presence.
If you feel you need support in getting your business noticed on social media, then get in touch with Smart Cow Marketing to discuss your needs further.