Choosing the right social platforms
When it comes to figuring out which social platforms your business should be present on, it’s a good idea to stop and reflect first. Many brands jump right into posting without a clear strategy that can guide them towards their goals. Here are a few important questions to consider before choosing your social platforms.
Identify Your Audience - This sounds easy, but so many companies can’t clearly articulate who they are trying to target for their business. Often times companies have multiple audiences, which makes things even more complicated. Do yourself a favor and hit the pause button. Sit down and clearly identify who your IDEAL audience(s) is. Start by asking yourself these questions:
What group or groups of people do I want to attract to my business?
Why do I want to focus on this audience?
Does my target audience make purchasing decisions related to my product or service?
What do I want this audience to do once they begin to interact with me?
What is my ideal outcome for this audience?
Figure Out Where Your Audience Is - If your a B2B company, you probably don’t want to spend all of your time on SnapChat. Conversely, if your target demographic is teenagers, you probably don’t want to dedicate too much budget to LinkedIn campaigns. Those are obvious examples, but for most the answer to “where is my target audience spending their time?” isn’t that easy. It may take some research, so don’t just assume you know. Consider the following ideas when finding your audience:
Where does my audience currently go to purchase things similar to my product or service?
What other interests does my target audience have?
Do I want to reach this audience in their personal or professional lives?
What do I think their top three platforms might be?
Be Realistic About Your Resources - Each social platform requires different skills, amounts of time, and types of content to achieve success. You might think Instagram is ideal platform, yet lack the skills or resources to produce quality images and videos consistently to perform well there. Once you identify which platforms you are interested in, spend some time figuring out what it takes to perform well on each, and if any of them fall outside of your comfort level or abilities. Take some time to think through:
Who in your company will be contributing to your overall social media strategy execution?
What are all of your possible sources of content?
How much time can you dedicate to managing various social media accounts?
What is your social media budget?
Know Your Competition - I list this one last because more often then not, I find my clients obsessing over what their competition is doing. While it is good to be grounding in your industry and be tuned to trends, focusing too much on competitors can become your biggest road block to achieving YOUR goals. Don’t try to be your competition. Don’t feel like you are constrained in any way by what others are doing. Your brand is one of a kind, and it should be treated as such on social media. When evaluating what others are doing focus your energy on things like:
Following large accounts that are trying to attract your same audience
Keeping up to date with trends related to your specific platforms
Discovering resources and tools that will help you improve your content and performance
Continually finding new ways to attract your ideal customer
My biggest piece of advice for brands is to start with fewer platforms, and grow from there once you’ve established yourself. It is far better to be a master one just one social media account, then a novice at many. Social media is an ever evolving complex beast, so don’t expect to go from zero to sixty overnight. Set smaller, achievable goals while you learn your audience and your channels, and most importantly be adaptable! What works for you today, might not work for you tomorrow, so it is vital to continually reflect on all four areas above.
If you are looking for someone to help you think through your social media strategy, or if you need help augmenting your current resources, be sure to reach out to schedule a free consultation call. We can discuss your specific needs and figure out if Clever Hawk Branding might fit into your strategy!
