Let's face it: digital marketing is blowing up way faster than most businesses can keep up.
And when it comes to figuring out the best social media for your business? It seems like a black hole of information; information that's quickly outdated as soon as Zuckerberg changes Facebook's algorithms or buys a new social channel. Again.
At the core of your marketing strategy should be that you’re on the right medium for your message.
Right? The medium is the message is still true today. How you deliver your marketing message matters just as much as the messaging itself.
Yet with so many media options, it's hard to choose which social media channel to hop on.
So here's a quick and dirty look at which social media channel is right for your business.
Facebook has 1.9 billion monthly users as of May 2017.And, according to AdWeek, Google dominates the U.S. digital ad market, followed by none other than Facebook. By 2019, it’s projected that Facebook’s display advertising revenues will hit $23.9 billion – 43.7% of spending. This means that more and more businesses – big and small – are expected to hop on the bandwagon.
So is Facebook right for your business?
Sheryl Sandberg explaining the best social media practices for businesses on Facebook
If you're a B2C business, with a target audience in the U.S., then yes, because a massive 79% of internet users in the U.S. log on to the site.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, recently spoke about how Facebook is developing more features and tools so businesses of all sizes can take control of their advertising. Facebook offers highly targeted advertising options, all in the hope that you can create the right ads and reach the right people. It may seem overwhelming, but Facebook is actually rooting for you to make more sales or reach whatever goals you're shooting for.
Because your success is their success.
Beyond the paid advertising options, studies have shown the effectiveness of local pages – consumers trust them more than the corporate or headquarters ones. Use Facebook for your business to:
Build your brand
Develop highly targeted – and cost-effective – digital advertising
Offer customer service
Next up, Instagram
Instagram’s demographics started out young, but after a few years on the market and an acquisition, the older – and more financially powerful – generation have joined in. In all, about 59% of 18 to 29 year olds use it and 33% of 30 to 49 year olds use it.Using Instagram for your business could be beneficial for a few reasons:
Get in front of those decisions makers. According to Forbes, women still drive 70 to 80% of consumer purchasing and guess what? Thirty-eight percent of women who are online use Instagram.
Engagement, engagement everywhere. You still can't put a link in the post, Instagram is amazing for engagement opportunities, which could lead to sales opportunities. Engaged Instagram followers are worth more than those on Facebook, with an average order value of $65 versus $55.
It’s a digital showroom. For your business, this is a chance to showcase your happy customers and get creative with your branded, visual content. Like this, for example:
A word of caution: Instagram followers seems to be the golden metric, leading businesses and agencies alike to use growth hacking methods like auto-follow bots and irrelevant hashtags to attract those bots -- even if they're not in your target audience.As a business, though, you know that the better qualified a lead, the more likely they are to buy whatever it is you're selling.
So on Instagram: focus on building real followers and bringing them value. Give them something to:
Look at
Comment on
Heart
Watch
And while you may not see a ton of traffic from Instagram from your organic posts – again, because the platform is meant to share visual content, not links – you do have the opportunity to advertise here, too, and all through your Facebook ad manager.
YouTube
Arguable as to whether or not this is social media, it’s certainly a search engine with the capabilities to engage (in the comments or live) AND integrate it into a larger digital marketing strategy so it’s driving traffic to your sales page, contest, email opt-in, or whatever.
And it should be a part of your digital marketing strategy based on the sheer masses of eye balls you can get in front of each month.
That’s because 95% of online adults, ages 35 and older, watch something on YouTube. Every. Month. Also keep in mind that Google owns YouTube, so the channel is preferred over other streaming services like Vimeo and Netflix.