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Pick Which Platforms To Join \u2014 And Don\u2019t Join Them All<\/h2>\n
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Depending on your business, your brand identity, and your campaign goals, some social media platforms might be a more desirable place to hang your hat than others. Every platform is unique, with different quirks, in-jokes, and demographics. You\u2019ll want to spend some time anonymously familiarizing yourself with the communities before jumping in head first, but here\u2019s a quick rundown on some major players:<\/p>\n
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- LinkedIn:<\/strong> Pretty much every business should have a LinkedIn page: it\u2019s a great place for B2B communications, job postings, and sharing industry news and updates. Around 72% of recruiters use LinkedIn in their efforts, and it\u2019s no secret why: this is where people go for professional communications. This is the hub where workers everywhere network, make \u201cthought leadership\u201d posts to bolster their personal and professional branding, and generally try to stand out from the pack. This is the most-professional of all the social media platforms<\/a>, so it behooves brands to be more careful and deliberate in their communications.<\/li>\n
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- Facebook:<\/strong> The social media platform that needs no introduction, Facebook has nearly 3 billion users all around the globe. From an ad standpoint, Facebook supports a lot of different kinds of content, from text and images to videos and advertisements. There\u2019s been some talk of Facebook\u2019s user base stagnating, and it\u2019s getting harder to reach younger users through the platform, but it\u2019s still an incredibly-large, formidable entity. Facebook ads aren\u2019t cheap, though, and they\u2019ve been the subject of some varied complaints in recent years. Their ad policies can be unevenly applied, and it can be hard to build organic traffic to your pages. There have also been concerns about privacy issues and data breaches \u2014 and difficulties with curtailing fake news and disinformation means your ads have a chance of appearing next to some unsavory content. Still, anyone dealing in paid social will have to give Facebook some consideration.<\/li>\n
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- Instagram:<\/strong> part of the same company as Facebook, Instagram has a lot more younger users than Facebook \u2014 probably part of the reason they acquired it. It\u2019s a primarily image-based platform, with some video, so if your product or services lend themselves to stunning visuals, you might do well here. Instagram has become a powerful e-commerce platform, thanks to ads seamlessly integrated into user feeds and delivered in between friends\u2019 \u201cstories.\u201d Chances are you or someone you know has recently purchased something they saw on Instagram \u2014 their algorithm works so effectively that a persistent, unsubstantiated rumor is that Instagram is listening to your conversations through your phone\u2019s microphone, in order to deliver ads targeted to you personally. Also notable that Instagram can sometimes be unwieldy for posting outside links on individual posts, leading to the \u201clink in bio\u201d phenomenon.<\/li>\n
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- Twitter\/X:<\/strong> built around short-form text-based messages, you can also post images and videos on Twitter – but increasingly in recent years, you may wonder why you\u2019d want to. Advertisers have been abandoning this platform as of late, as a lot of decisions related to content moderation and other factors means that it\u2019s not as brand-safe an environment as it once was. The platform skews male, with 56.4% of users identifying as such, and is most-valuable as a platform for building your brand\u2019s personality and awareness, especially among the Millennials who make up the bulk of its user base. It\u2019s a forum for two-way communications, so while you\u2019re talking to your customers they have the ability to talk back, for good and ill. If you\u2019re willing to brave it, brands that embrace a strong voice and quirky personality (like Wendy\u2019s) often do well \u2014 but it\u2019s not for the faint of heart.<\/li>\n
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- Threads\/Bluesky\/Mastodon etc.:<\/strong> In the wake of Twitter\u2019s decline, a lot of other short-form, text-based websites have cropped up in hopes of filling the vacuum. In a commercial sense, Threads seemed the most promising at the start; from Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, Threads grew rapidly upon launch, but stagnated almost as quickly after. It\u2019s probably worth staking out your username just in case, but it\u2019s up in the air whether it will end up an effective player. Bluesky, founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, is taking a slower approach to growth by giving existing users invite codes to bring their friends onto the platform. It has more of the old-Twitter feel, but also hasn\u2019t opened up to advertising, and in fact only recently allowed non-users to view posts at all.<\/li>\n
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- Pinterest:<\/strong> Demographically, Pinterest is mostly women, and does great in projects like DIY, recipes, home decor, and other hobbies-based content. This isn\u2019t the place for an edgy personality, but it\u2019s a platform that knows what it is and has a very well-defined audience. Because of the intersection of interests that thrive on Pinterest, it\u2019s an incredibly-useful site for affiliate marketing<\/a> and online shopping – 50% of U.S.-based users do some form of shopping through the site.<\/li>\n
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- TikTok:<\/strong> Home to shorter videos than one would find on YouTube, TikTok skews younger, but is growing in popularity among other demographics. Reaching Millennials and \u2018Zoomers\u2019 primarily, Gen X and Boomers are starting to show up as well, and it\u2019s becoming a solid hub for brands and shopping. Much like Instagram, TikTok is a popular place for individuals to become \u201cinfluencers\u201d through the strength of their personality, content, and brand. It\u2019s a hot-button topic in the halls of Congress (as TikTok is closely tied to the Chinese government) but if you can figure out the odd rhythms and language of the platform, there\u2019s potential for you to do well \u2014 assuming you\u2019ve got the sort of product that can resonate.<\/li>\n
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Brand alignment is key, here: you don\u2019t want to look like a 40-year-old trying to pass as a high school student or do the social media equivalent of showing up to a backyard barbecue in a suit. Knowing your target audience demographics will help you realize which social media platforms need your presence and which ones don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
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![\"engagement](\"https:\/\/cool.co\/franchise-and-multi-location\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/01\/Max_Social_Media_Reach_Engagement_Rate-1024x824.jpg\")
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Keep Your Profiles Cleaned Up<\/h2>\n
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Once you\u2019ve planted your flag in a particular social media platform, you want to optimize your profile as much as possible. What does that mean? Well, it\u2019ll vary a bit depending on the platform: some have more customization options than others, some have more constraints on how long your bio can be, the broad strokes of tending to your profile will be the same across the board:<\/p>\n
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- Make sure that your profile picture, header\/background image (where applicable) and other visual elements are the most up-to-date versions \u2014 no using the old logo. If you\u2019re the sort of company that deploys temporary artwork for holidays or national events, make sure that\u2019s cleared out when the season is over.<\/li>\n
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- Make sure your bio is filled out, accurate, updated, and provides relevant links to your company homepage, your contact information, etc. If applicable, things like business hours can also be posted here, if it makes sense for your business – just make sure you\u2019re updating regularly if anything changes.<\/li>\n
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- If there are forms or processes involved in tagging your account as the \u201cofficial\u201d account for your business, make sure you do that before some prankster attempts to squat there.<\/li>\n
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- Tend to your following list – as a business account, you\u2019ll probably want to follow any governing bodies in your industry, your competitors, possibly some of the top creators on the platform, and the personal accounts of your higher-profile executives. That\u2019ll allow you to see a steady feed of relevant content that you can react to, remix, and play off of \u2014 remember, social media is a conversation.<\/li>\n
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Develop A Consistent Posting Schedule<\/h2>\n
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Like everything else these days, social media is governed by an algorithm that helps serve up relevant content to users. Part of the way you make sure your content is seen as \u201crelevant\u201d is to keep up a steady cadence of posts at regular intervals. Having post templates you come back to during lulls, like staff bios, spotlighting features of your service, and joking around about not liking Wednesdays, are a good way to produce a steady stream of content. It\u2019s important to strike a balance, however, between keeping up your visibility and drowning people in your content. The goal is to stay in the conversation without getting on anybody\u2019s nerves.<\/p>\n
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Use Visual Content<\/h2>\n
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Even on more text-based platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, posting an eye-catching visual element is a great way to stand out from the crowd. Infographic content, action shots of happy customers, visually-appealing pictures of your product offerings are all good ways to get someone to stop scrolling for a second.<\/p>\n
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The key phrase there, though, is \u201cvisually-appealing.\u201d If you\u2019re a restaurant posting pictures of your food, the food must look good. Something you took in the dark with a previous-generation iPhone isn\u2019t going to bring in business, and might even scare some away. Having someone on staff who is good with photography and design is important if you\u2019re going this route.<\/p>\n
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Go Local<\/h2>\n
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Balihoo is all about hyperlocal marketing<\/a>, but that\u2019s because it\u2019s effective. People are always looking for relevant local content about businesses, events, sales, and more. Targeting your content specifically to the area where your business operates will be more surgical and effective than generalized language. If you\u2019re a franchisor operating all around the country, franchisees posting local content will add up in the aggregate to generate more buzz everywhere. We\u2019ve got more on the benefits of hyperlocal content here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Consider Influencer Marketing<\/h2>\n
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Influencers are personalities on social media platforms who use their branding and popularity to reach very-niche audiences of, for example, young or minority viewers. Partnering up with influencers, sending them freebies, or just getting them to talk about your product, are all great ways to get your messaging into the hands of people who might not otherwise see it. It\u2019s not without its dangers – some influencers aren\u2019t universally beloved, and it\u2019s good to vet people carefully before any collaborations – but when it works, it works well.<\/p>\n
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Test Organically, Then Promote<\/h2>\n
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One of the benefits of social media platforms is that they\u2019re free, in their basic form: you don\u2019t have to feed a coin into the machine to post a tweet or an Instagram reel. Utilizing the dashboard metrics available to you through these platforms, you\u2019re then going to be able to see in real time which assets and messaging are hitting your target audience, and driving more attention your way. Based on those results, you can then apply your learnings to your paid campaigns<\/a> – using the same language on your paid search ads or marketing materials, or even taking your most successful content and using the \u201cpromote\u201d option to boost that particular Tweet or post to a wider audience. The nice part about this strategy is that you have a free test-bed for your messaging before you have to open your wallet.<\/p>\n
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Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
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While it should be clear at this point that social media is more complicated than just putting an intern on it, hopefully, we\u2019ve helped de-mystify it a little bit and make some aspects of it easier.<\/p>\n
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- Facebook:<\/strong> The social media platform that needs no introduction, Facebook has nearly 3 billion users all around the globe. From an ad standpoint, Facebook supports a lot of different kinds of content, from text and images to videos and advertisements. There\u2019s been some talk of Facebook\u2019s user base stagnating, and it\u2019s getting harder to reach younger users through the platform, but it\u2019s still an incredibly-large, formidable entity. Facebook ads aren\u2019t cheap, though, and they\u2019ve been the subject of some varied complaints in recent years. Their ad policies can be unevenly applied, and it can be hard to build organic traffic to your pages. There have also been concerns about privacy issues and data breaches \u2014 and difficulties with curtailing fake news and disinformation means your ads have a chance of appearing next to some unsavory content. Still, anyone dealing in paid social will have to give Facebook some consideration.<\/li>\n
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