Which Social Media platform is right for your business?
First of all we need you to know what a Social Media platform is.
The simple answer is this, a Social Media platform is a website that actually does not really have its own content but rather allows users to create profiles and pages and then allows them to post their own and share other people’s content. These sites also rely heavily on the ability of people to follow and track other user’s pages and posts.
In the beginning Social Media was very much like a community picnic, where everyone gathered and had a good chat and caught up with old friends. By this I mean whatever you posted would be shown to all of your followers to comment on and share.
Nowadays Social Media has become HUGE business, gone are the days where the social media website was a free conduit for you to converse with your friends. The Social Media giants realized they are sitting on a gold mine; you and your profiles have become the product that they sell to businesses that are willing to pay to advertise to you.
Nowadays if you have a business page on a Social Media platform they only show your posts to approximately 5% of your following – if you want more you have to pay for it.
So now that Social Media is anything but free you need to be selective on how you use it.
I am going to quickly mention the 4 most used platforms, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Linked In as these are the ones used by most small businesses to get their message out to prospective clients.
In today’s world you literally cannot have a business without a Facebook page unless you are 100% off grid and only barter for your subsistence needs with your fellow survivalist cult members … If you are anyone else …. Get yourself a Facebook page
I like to describe Facebook as a conversation – think of it as you and your neighbour chatting together across the back yard fence. Facebook is a place where you can put the day to day snippets about your business for your customer base to see and interact with. It is like your local community noticeboard. It’s a place where you can post things like casual Friday and office fun as well as the latest relevant news and promotions.
Your Facebook business page is the Social Media hub between your website and your actual day to day business.
Facebook is especially useful if your product or service goes directly to the end user.
Building a good Facebook presence should be your number 1 business priority.
Instagram is a different platform completely; think of Instagram as the art gallery where people go to look at pretty things. In order to grow any decent kind of Instagram following you need exceptional content, and lots of it. You cannot post pics of Sally half drunk at the office picnic. For your Instagram feed to be successful you need beautiful pictures that resonate with your target audience. Instagram is great for travel destinations, artists, photographers and fashion based companies. Any business where you can generate or get hold of lots of great looking pictures. Because that’s the thing about Instagram – to grow your page you need regular posts preferably daily.
An Instagram page should only be your priority if your business fits the profile.
YouTube
YouTube is all about video content, and it’s not just a Social Media channel, even if you only have a few videos that you want to share with your client base, then you need to have a YouTube channel. Video files are large and take up lots of space on your website and Facebook page – post them to YouTube and then use the handy link to embed them wherever you need them.
As far as a Social Media channel is concerned: YouTube is great for any business that has lots of video content that needs to be shared.
A YouTube page is useful for any business that has any video content
Linked In
Linked In is like going to a business convention. It is a place where you can chat to your colleagues and where you can express your opinions to establish your credentials as an expert in your field. Any business that deals with other businesses should have a profile on Linked in. Linked in is a great place to link up to old colleagues and school friends with the idea of converting them into future business. The power of linked in comes where you can have all of your key employees with their own profiles that link up to the main company profile.
A linked in profile is a useful tool to any business that needs to sell to other businesses
In my next few blogs I will talk about how to make your Social Media work for you to improve your overall online presence!