In today’s world, there are a ton of apps and social media platforms your customers are using throughout the day. Each platform has the power to educate, bring attention to, and highlight your company, services, and products to your customers. As a small business, you might think you do not have the time needed to really develop a social media strategy. With that mindset, I know you are missing out on the magic of social media and the growth it can unlock for your business. You don’t have to be on every social media platform or network, the truth is you shouldn’t be. I am going to help guide you in selecting which platforms you should be investing in.
Know your market
First off, knowing your market and having a developed in-depth buyer persona in your pocket is key to any successful marketing and sales strategy. But let’s simplify and focus on your business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) model.
Social platforms for the business-to-consumer model
A B2C, or "business-to-consumer," company sells directly to individual consumers. When it comes to marketing on social, this model should be more focused on community engagement and awareness. In turn, these are the platforms that I believe have the most potential:
Facebook - Ah, one of the OG social media platforms. With over 2.2 million monthly active users, please don’t sleep on the potential this platform has. Facebook has the capability to reach your audience with your branded messages and influence the buyer’s journey. But here is the caveat, you NEED a paid budget to actually see worthy results. 94% of marketers are running Facebook paid campaigns to maximize their potential reach and increase engagements. Why? This platform allows you to serve highly targeted ads based on specific demographics, interests, and locations. No budget? Having a solid profile goes a long way to drive traffic to your website or CTA. However, with the change of social media algorithms boosting your ad budget is totally worth it. For reference, on Facebook, the average reach of an organic page post hovers around 5.20% of your followers. If you can’t math, that is not a lot. If you’re in a position to either spend $200 on marketing mailers or [insert promotional product here], make the call to switch over to paid media and develop ad targeting.
Pro tip: Post 1-2 times a day. Most studies agree that once per day is optimal, with a maximum of two posts per day. Hubspot found that pages under 10,000 fans experienced a 50% drop in engagement per post if they posted more than once per day. At a minimum, you should post to your Facebook pages 3 times per week.
Instagram - Not only is Instagram a perfect platform for your visual content such as imagery and videos, don’t turn your eyes away from the stories feature. Brands are seeing great metrics in engagement by creating this type of relationship with their customers. From behind-the-scenes looks, polls, A/B testing, highlight user-generated content, this is a great way to increase overall engagement. Selling merchandise? Set up an Instagram Shop. According to Instagram 130 million, Instagram users tap on shopping posts every month. Meaning your customers are willing to buy from the brands they follow. You can tag shopping products in posts, Stories, and IGTV. Did I mention this is a FREE feature?
Pro tip: Your brand needs to engage on this platform. Like, comment, and follow other accounts. Respond to every comment/DM, and pin top comments to your post to increase the likelihood of similar comments and increase page engagement. Post at least 3 times a week to your grid, 3-5 times a day on your story and 2-5 times on Instagram reels. Using hashtags? Good. Now interact with the tag 30 mins before posing and 30 min after posting. Seems excessive? I think so too, but hey… it works.Twitter - This channel is all about rapid communication! Customers flock to Twitter not necessarily to buy a product or service but to engage with a brand. Think customer service, troubleshoot, satisfy customers with fast responses, etc. Thinking about events? Twitter has become a leading social media channel during events. Think live-tweeting during conferences, sporting events, concerts, etc.
Pro tip: Showcasing your brand’s voice and personality on this platform goes a long way. A good mix of awareness posts and capitalizing on cultural moments can help your brand stand out. Post no more than 5x a day.
YouTube - I am sure by now you are very aware of the increase in branded video content. There is a reason for this! According to Alexa, there are over 2 billion active users on YouTube, and according to Alexa, YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine and second-highest ranked site. What does this all mean? YouTube is a great platform to get in front of your customers. Either in terms of publishing branded content, partnering with an influencer in your space, or creating targeted ads to appear on like-minded content.
Pro tip: Keep your videos in HD and aim for videos that are 14 min or longer. Similar to other platforms, video comments strongly correlate with higher rankings. The higher your content is ranking, the more the platform will show your content to its users. Ask questions, create a comment giveaway, etc., to get people engaging and talking on your post.TikTok - Considering marketing your brand/products on TikTok? You’re not alone. The platform is something you definitely want to tap into and a good amount of market share is there. First things first, understand the platform! “For you page” vs. “Following” page and how users are using them. Keep an eye on trending sounds and cultural moments that your brand can jump on. The real magic happens when brands go for fun, unique and creative content at the right time.
Pro tip: Utilize hashtags and hashtag challenges. Invite all users to participate and create content around your campaign theme. Build your presence - Keep a pulse on your brand and your competitors' brand to find creators with influence to 1. interact with and 2. create partnerships with. Tapping into like-minded creators aligned with your brand values and voice can only help your brand succeed.
Social platforms for the business-to-business model
A B2B, or "business-to-business" company provides services or products to other businesses. B2B on social platforms should be more focused on “professional” types of content and messaging. If you’re selling a service or product to other businesses, you should focus your attention on these three business-savvy platforms, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and let me tell you why.
LinkedIn - By far the best platform for a B2B model to develop a marketing strategy on is LinkedIn. Not only does it have the largest professional market in the industry, but target marketing is also unpaired, reaching high-value prospects. Where I see businesses miss the mark on this platform is that they fail to understand why people are on the platform, to begin with. LinkedIn users come to the platform with a specific focus: their jobs and career. How does your content excite your clients? The biggest opportunity for businesses here is the ability to create a strategy filled with content that focuses on visibility, and community. By providing your audience with solutions to a work-related problem or satisfying a working curiosity, you’re setting your brand right up for conversion success.
Pro tip: Diverse content is on the ride on this platform. Experiment with video, live streaming, and writing your thought leadership articles on this platform.
Twitter - Think quick/fast messaging and customer engagement. Twitter gives B2B companies the opportunity to communicate in real-time to audiences in a way that’s unique in compassion to other social media platforms. Post timely updates, answer questions, be a part of cultural moments, engage with influencers, and more. Twitter comes in 2nd to LinkedIn as a place for thought leaders to really develop themselves. Insider tip, don’t try to sell on this Twitter. I’ve seen too many B2B orgs go wrong on Twitter by trying to post-sales or very technical content there. I hate to break it to you, but the Twitter user base isn’t in the buying space when logged onto the platform. It’s best to see users as all being in the “awareness stage,” and your job is to spark their interest. In my experience, they are interested in the high-level assets that target a specific problem or need.
Pro tip: Short messaging is key! Think bite-sized and snackable pieces of content that grab attention. I.e., 15 sec or less videos, pull quotes, or engaging questions.
Facebook - When you think Facebook for b2b, I want you to think all about retargeting. Facebook’s magic helps businesses create long-term connections on this platform with a targeted approach. With the possibility of high visibility, your decision-makers are likely on this platform with over 2.7 billion Facebook users, 1.56 billion visit the platform daily. Facebook retargeting lets businesses take full advantage of their website and social connectivity. Retargeting allows you to reach out to users who’ve visited your website and left early. It will display relevant ads from your company in their news feeds, also in the feeds of people with similar interests, and people who’ve visited companies much like your own. In other words, Facebook is the perfect platform for attaining clients’ attention. As mentioned above, organic visitability is virtually none on this platform. But don’t fret! Did I mention that your budget goes further on Facebook than any other platform as well, with a considerably lower CPM (“cost per mille”—or thousand—impressions).
Pro Tip: Tips from above still apply here! However, B2B should note that once a connection is made, Facebook is a great place to generate brand awareness and listen to customers. What you find here can really influence the growth of your business.
Key takeaway
Sure, you can jump on pretty much any platform, but let’s face it, you can’t be good at everything, and unless you have the budget to maintain a presence paired with a strategy for each platform, you’re missing the mark. Whatever platform you decide to join just remember the key reason you’re on that platform - to build a community. Take the time to really engage with your audience and listen to the conversations happening on the platforms. Pivot strategy and test content to find what works best for your brand and your followers.
Good luck with your social strategy and feel free to comment with any questions you might have.
Thanks for reading.