Figuring out which social media platform to focus on for your business can be difficult.
As business owners we tend to think more is better.
That’s not often the case online.
When we try to be everywhere we usually end up doing social media very poorly.
What we should be doing is figuring out which social media platform our target market is spending time on.
This should be the primary indicator for where on social media we spend our time, effort and dollars.
In today’s video I discuss what some of the trends were for 2016 and what things you should consider to find where your audience is hanging out.
Deciding Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business
How Old is Your Target Market?
Age is a huge factor in figuring out which social media platform to use.
Nearly every new popular social network nowadays starts out with a very young audience.
Then it ages up.
it’s exciting and new and all the young kids (12-24) are hanging out there.
The “older folks” (25-35) start to try it out and learn the ins and outs.
About this time the 12-24 year-olds have lost interest and move on to the next thing.
Then about the time the 25-35-year-olds master the platform the old fogies over 35 jump in with both feet.
By now the kids 24 and under have mastered the next thing.
And on and on we go.
The point is that platforms age up over time.
Where does your target market fit with regards to age?
This is critical to having success figuring out which social media platform to commit resources to.
Look at the demographics for Facebook and Instagram below.
It’s pretty easy to see the massive age difference between these two platforms.
While Facebook dominates most every demographic, we can see that Instagram has a much younger crowd on their platform.
What Kind of Images & Video Would Interests Your Target Market?
Your target market is looking at pictures and watching videos everyday on social media.
Do you have great products to share using images?
Can you demonstrate your unique talent or service in a video?
How about live video streaming at your events or workplace?
All of the most popular social media platforms are primarily visual mediums.
With Instagram and Pinterest, images are the primary focus.
Instagram is a younger crowd while Pinterest is dominated by female users.
In both cases, creating unique, high quality images are key to finding success for your business on these platforms.
Video is the most widely viewed medium on social media today.
Its projected that over 80% of the content consumed online by 2019 will be video.
The platforms that are hot for 2017 for uploaded video are Facebook and YouTube.
For live streaming video it’s Facebook, Periscope (Twitter), Instagram and Snapchat.
Regardless of your target markets demographics they are definitely watching videos online.
That makes Facebook, with it’s tools and ease of use for video, a must for every business owner.
Do Your Target Market Belong to an Existing Community?
Where is your target market hanging our and discussing their interests?
Is there already a blog, Facebook group, LinkedIn Group or Pinterest board that they are active on?
If you can create a tribe for your business then you have a good chance at success.
A tribe is a group of people with similar interests and passions. Where's your tribe?#socialmedia #socialmediamarketing Share on XFind the discussion around your industry and get involved.
When you do that you’ll be able to figure out how to create your tribe and build your community.
Does Your Target Market Consist of Businesses?
LinkedIn is not just for getting your resume out there.
It is a powerful platform for networking and selling your services or products.
If you are selling to other businesses then you NEED to be on LinkedIn.
Companies’ decision makers are on LinkedIn.
Professionals from every industry are on LinkedIn reading articles and submitting their own content.
Create content around your product or service.
Like all the other platforms, if you put value into the platform you can see huge benefits for your business.
I hope you found value with today’s post.
If you did please remember to like, comment and share.
To Your Success!
Steve Stark
Call Any Time: 262-378-0234
Follow me on Twitter: @stvstark
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