We first wrote about this topic two years ago – about how one of the toughest things in getting started with social media is picking the channel you’ll use. There are so many options out there, how do you decide what to focus on? Do you go with the oldest, the newest, the fastest-growing? Maybe you sign up for each! Actually, don’t do that – that’s one my patented* Social Media Faux-Pas, and is a guaranteed way to lose focus and dilute your efforts. There are two key points to take into consideration when you’re deciding which network is right for you. The first is figure out the overall purpose for your account, and the second is to figure out where your target audience spends time on the Internet. To help you get started, take a look at a few of the top network’s pros and cons.
With 1.5 billion users, it seems like everyone in the world (and their grandma) uses Facebook, so a lot of companies choose to start there. But who are those 1.5 billion people, and how do they use Facebook? As of May 2015, the 18-24 age range is still the largest demographic on the site, and the United States still provides the largest user base. Plenty of companies take advantage of that huge user base, and market strictly through Facebook. One way that Facebook encourages this is the “Facebook Login” – allowing other apps and sites to use Facebook authorization for their users. So marketers can target Facebook users across multiple websites and applications, regardless of how much they actually engage on Facebook. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the recent changes to Facebook’s algorithms. In January 2015, Facebook dramatically decreased the organic reach of company pages, meaning that companies could either watch their content get ignored, or pay for Sponsored advertisements. Some companies reacted by closing down their accounts, others decided to spend the money to get their content to their audience. In my opinion, you shouldn’t rely on Facebook as your sole content platform – quality content should live on your site, and Facebook should be used to direct people to that content. Then, if you’re running a promotion or holding a sale, you place a Sponsored post on Facebook to, again, get people to visit your site. Facebook used to be the place to hang out – now you need to think of like a road map.
In 2006, Twitter started out as a “micro-blogging” platform, and was a way for users to share small snippets of their lives as they happened. Over the past 9 years, the network has shifted to become a combination of breaking news, instant messaging, viral jokes, and a rallying place for social movements. Twitter skews younger than Facebook, and only 12% of adults aged 50-64 use it. Men and women use it about equally, but the number of male users has increased over the past few years. So where does your brand fit in? Well, some brands use Twitter for responsive customer service, taking care of issues and providing solutions in real time. Other brands link to their latest products and releases. Some brands monitor trending hashtags and post relevant content, and that’s where you can both benefit and suffer. Oreo, for example, got a lot of attention during the 2013 Superbowl for “Dunk in the Dark” tweet during the blackout. DiGiorno’s, on the other hand, got raked over the coals for jumping into a hashtag without actually checking what it was about. Mostly, Twitter is about conversation – so talk to people! Don’t just talk about yourself, respond to people, ReTweet their Tweets, and engage in conversation. The more you engage, the more your followers engage.
When it launched, brands didn’t really know what to make of Pinterest. It seemed geared more toward hobbyists, crafters, and fashionistas. But over the past few years, Pinterest’s user base has grown, and so has brands’ interest. In 2014, Pinterest launched Promoted Pins – advertisements that would appear in Search results and Category results. Last month, Pinterest launched Buyable Pins, allowing users to search for products and buy them right in the app. But even without paying, brands can take advantage of Pinterest’s photo-focused site with gorgeous images that link back their website. And brands should remember that both men and women use Pinterest – in fact, more men are joining the site than ever, and using it for a variety of purposes.
The networks that I mentioned are just a few of the many social networks out there. As I said two years ago, don’t try to be part of each one – rather, think about your marketing goals and your target audience, and choose a network that can help you reach them both. It’s better to do well in one social network than poorly in many.
*Not actually patented.