What social media platforms are right for me?

Today, social media is an integral part of the marketing mix. Different platforms offer businesses the chance to communicate with people in a variety of different ways, creating individual social media personas which engage and communicate with audiences on many different levels. Social media also plays a role in turning message communication into sales – something which many business are now leveraging.
Engagement is key to successful social media content. It is important to consider your audience – Who are they? What do they relate to? But how do you ensure that you are using social media as effectively as possible? And what platforms work best for your business?
Today, there are over 200 social media platforms available on the World Wide Web. Therefore, before you embark on your social media journey, it is important to consider what platforms would suit your audience.
If you are consumer focussed business the use of image led platforms (Instagram) or platforms which lend themselves well to conversation (Facebook and Twitter), work especially well. Historically, Facebook and Twitter tended to generate businesses’ more followers – however, there has recently been a shift towards Instagram creating higher engagement rates.
Instagram has seen rapid growth since it was bought out by Facebook in 2014. There are now over 400 million users of the platform, including well known brands (Topshop, John Lewis) and celebrities (Jamie Oliver, The Kardashians) in addition to independent bloggers who build huge followings (Deliciously Ella, Joe Wicks). It’s simple to use layout and structure enables people to leisurely scroll through images, therefore if you’re a brand which has a focus on aesthetics, this platform could be particularly beneficial to you.
If you are focussed on driving B2B engagement, LinkedIn offers businesses a platform which, if used correctly, can help drive leads, recruit new employees, and position brands as experts in their field. There are over 460million users on LinkedIn and these users publish over 130k of posts each week. The B2B focused platform has 50% of buyers using LinkedIn when making business decisions. All pretty juicy statistics if you’re looking to up your game on social media!
With over 200 social media platforms available there is a platform for every business to utilise. Whether you have a B2C or B2B business, there is a social media platform which is right for you. Up-skilling your team in social media content writing and management will help to ignite discussion and generate interaction across your social media platforms. Ultimately this will position you as an authority within your sector and build your reputation within your client base, supporting your business as a whole.
Stats were found from;
Hootsuite
RivalIQ