“One third of consumers agree that they will inspect a brand’s social media presence before making an online purchase if they have not purchased from their website before.” Yellow Social Media Report 2020 – Consumers
Will your clients find your business on social media? Will they like and trust what they see as they get to know your business there?
With one third of consumers inspecting socials before purchase, getting social media right has never been more important.
Choose the Best Social Media Platform for Your Business
LinkedIn. Facebook. Instagram. TikTok. The list could go on and on. Let me start by assuring you that you don’t need to be on everything! To begin, it is always best to choose one or two and focus your energy on getting it right.
To choose the right social media platform for your business, consider:
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the content your business most naturally produces
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the social media platforms your audience frequent and how they use the platform
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how much it will cost you to invest your time there consistently
Consider the Content You Want to Produce
If you are on social media, you have probably noticed many platforms shifting to incorporate (and give preference to) video media. Whether we like it or not, Insta reels, Facebook lives, and TikTok videos appear here to stay. But you still have options.
LinkedIn remains more article-based, and Twitter still works with words and memes. Instagram allows great swipe options for multiple slides to peak interests and Facebook’s carousel with up to 10 still images is a great option if you can’t use or don’t have capacity for video. Carousels will reshow your content with a different image each time encouraging customers to click through on your content.
Your job is to decide what you are most comfortable producing and make sure it is the right style to grab the attention of your business audience.
Find the Social Media Platforms Your Audience is Using
To find your ideal audience, you will need a customer avatar. Once you have identified your clients by building your avatar, you might explore the various social media platforms yourself, checking out similar brands or hashtags. Alternatively, you can consider reports like the Yellow Social Media Report 2020 which has great statistical information. Whilst the top 5 social media platforms used in Australia are Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter (equal with Pinterest), it is useful to note:
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Facebook remains most popular, used by over 88% of people surveyed and across all age groups.
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YouTube is accessed by 67% of 18-29 year old’s surveyed, as well as 35% of 65 plus age group making it the second most used social media platform for older Australians whilst still being popular in younger demographics.
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Instagram is most popular among the 18-29 age group.
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LinkedIn use peaks at 30-39 years old.
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Twitter is more popular among males, and in the under 50 age groups.
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TikTok and Snapchat are gaining popularity in the under 40 age groups.
Once you have found the platforms that best overlap your content preference and your client base, consider which of these you can most afford to engage with regularly.
Consider the Costs of Engaging Regularly
Let’s pretend that you are a jewellery maker who loves making videos and knows that your ideal audience spends a lot of time engaging on YouTube. That’s great if the videos are easy to produce, but if they take you away from jewellery making for a full day every week – is YouTube really the best platform or might your clients also be elsewhere? Similarly, if you hate being online, and would need to employ someone else to post multiple times a day on Twitter. Can your business afford that financial outlay? Social media engagement, like life decisions and business generally, can be about compromise. Maybe Facebook lives are more practical than curated YouTube videos. Perhaps you can show up more consistently to Instagram because you are more comfortable there yourself. Work a balance that will allow you to engage regularly and consistently on whichever platform you choose to invest your time or money.
Be Consistent in Showing Up and Branding
“Over 50% of participants surveyed by Yellow are more likely to trust a brand if they interact positively with clients on social media, regularly update their content and keep it relevant and engaging.”
61% of those who research a social media account say it often leads to a purchase. Make sure when they arrive at your socials they see the best possible representation of your business. Whichever social media platform you choose to focus on, start with the basics:
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Consistent branding including colours, tone, and imagery. A similar appearance allows people to recognise your content easily.
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Regular posts. What is considered regular differs across platforms. Know what you are investing in to give yourself the best chance of success.
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Consumer engagement. When someone comments on your post – respond. When someone asks a question on social media – answer it!
Once you have the basics covered, pay attention to which posts get the most engagement. Consider the time of day, style of post, number of shares and comments. This way, when potential clients come to your website, they see social proof of your product or service through other clients’ engagements, as well as your consistent branding and regular posts.
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