Wondering which social media platform is the right one for you? Should you use Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Periscope, Pinterest, SnapChat, Twitter, Google + (does that even exist anymore?), LinkedIn…. have I missed some?
The quick answer to the question of which one is best is … the one that makes you money!
Social Media can be a massive time suck, super frustrating and completely useless in creating an income for your business if you’re not using the right option for you or you’re not using it effectively. I need to let you know I am not a Social Media Expert, I am just a Profit Loving gal watching lots of women in business get Social Media very wrong.
So here are my top tips for helping you decide which platform is right for you!
Where do your target market (tribe, potential customers, posse) hang out most often?
It is pointless spending time and effort posting on a platform if none of the customers you are looking for are hanging out there. It’s like going to a party full of vegans and passing around a tray of sausage rolls. No one at the party wants your sausage rolls.
How can you best show off your product?
If you’re a florist, photographer, cake decorator, fashion label, dog groomer …. photos will beautifully show off your offerings. Instagram and Facebook are great for that purpose.
If you want to really connect with your audience by sharing your knowledge; like a business coach, life coach, accountant, lawyer, social media expert etc.. you can do that using video. Let your customers feel like they really know you by helping them connect visually. Share high value content specific to your market (just talking about how awesome you are won’t win you business, sharing content to make your potential customers more awesome will). Youtube, Facebook and Periscope are great options for video.
If you fit more into the corporate business to business market LinkedIn might tickle your fancy. There is a more business-y feel over there and plenty of opportunities to share your knowledge. If you’re into networking events LinkedIn is a great way to connect online with the people you met offline without feeling like a stalker.
If you’re a superstar reality TV person with too much time on your hands and a penchant for posting selfies SnapChat might be for you! The posts disappear after a few seconds. I don’t get it. It seems kind of pointless. I am too old for SnapChat.
I have no clue what people do on Google + so you’re on your own there.
How long do you have to prep and post content?
It is so much more time effective to choose one or two platforms and focus on doing them really well. Many women in business spread themselves too thin by trying to use too many platforms at once. Each platform takes time to learn, manage and grow. You can do one or two really well or five to six badly. I know which I would choose!
Obviously pretty images with text are quick to post (Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook) whereas creating and uploading a YouTube video can take more time or going live on Periscope can be daunting. Here is the tricky bit, you might find that one video makes more of an impact that 1000 images so it is actually more time effective in terms of results. Trial and error is the only way to figure that out.
Can you link your platforms together?
Many platforms link together so when you post on one you automatically post on others. I have my Instagram linked to my Facebook Business Page, when I post an image to Instagram it ends up over on Facebook without me doing anything extra. When I post on my Facebook Business Page it is connected to Twitter so I send a Tweet out too! Now I don’t really use Twitter or Instagram to grow my business so these are not platforms I focus on, automating them makes it time effective to post anyway.
What is your overall strategy?
Posting stuff is fun. Posting stuff and then making money is super fun, but generally not the way it works. Social Media is a marketing tool, not a selling platform. Marketing and selling are very different. Marketing is catching attention and education, selling is a transaction.
Yes, you can sell on Social Media for sure. There are businesses that have thrived doing exactly that, it’s the exception though, not the rule. Most businesses won’t make a whole lot of impact by using a Social Media platform alone.
My strategy is to use Facebook Ads to drive traffic to either my blog or my opt in page. My blog has high value info AND a freebie offer of some sort (I try lots of different ones) and my opt page has a free template, trainings, etc.. The ads are highly targeted and monitored closely. I then invite people to like my page and join my free group where I can post cool stuff to keep people engaged. *Strategy taken from Natalie Alaimo! I didn’t try to figure this out at all – I just went straight to the lady in the know.
The end result is to make sure people who follow me on social media end up on my database (newsletter list). Posting pretty pictures is nice but it isn’t a strategy.
Are you a “fluffer?”
Every time you post a piece of content make sure you know why. What is the purpose? If you fill people’s feeds with random stuff that doesn’t really relate to them they will quickly lose interest in you. Feel-good and funny posts are ok once in awhile, using them to fluff out your posts on a regular basis doesn’t help your followers learn more about you and your business.
Are you recycling your goodies?
It doesn’t matter what platform you use it is rare for all of your likers/followers/minions to see all of your content. Facebook shows you exactly how many people saw your post and I can guarantee it will be small percentage of the total number. Don’t continually create new content, use the stuff you already have.
Are you suffering from FOMO?
Did you jump onto Periscope the minute it was launched (like me) because everyone else was doing it? Let me use a mum-ism… “If all your friends jumped off the bridge would you do it?” No. No you wouldn’t.
Don’t jump to the latest trend or fad, like I mentioned earlier each platform comes with a learning curve. If you’re jumping around not only will you waste time you will fast become frustrated and time-poor. Frustrated, time-poor people don’t make great business owners. #fact
So the moral of the story… or everything summed up if you skipped straight to the bottom
- Choose a couple of platforms where your customers hang out
- Learn to use them effectively
- Map out a strategy
- Don’t post content without a purpose
- No one knows what Google+ is for
Melanie
Great tips Melanie! Deciding which social media platform will best serve your company’s needs can be tricky. What I suggest is Start with the one that connects you with the right audience, aligns with your business’s needs, and one you can regularly manage.