Which Social Media Platforms should I be using for my business?

Part 2 of 2

Last Week: What Platforms should I use for my business? Part 1 of 2

• Brands need to consider time, resources and content strategies when using Social Media
• Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are the 3 most popular Social Platforms in Canada
• Focusing on a strategy and staying consistent is the only way to see real results

Another filter that may help narrow down exactly which platform your brand should be on, is to consider what kind of users are on these platforms in the first place. Let’s take a quick look at the different social platforms, what their purpose is, and what kind of users are engaging there.

Facebook:Socialize, connect, catch-up with friends and family.

This is a great space for a brand to share it’s story, one that connects with family, friends and tradition. There are over 1 billion monthly Facebook users and with those kind membership, it is safe to say that there is definitely a truly diverse group of individuals that use this platform, you can use this to help hone in on users that could be potential customers.

Twitter: Micro bits of content, upgraded using images or vine videos, character limitations challenge you to do more with less.

Gary Vaynerchuk’s insight is, “Twitter is a cocktail party, where everyone is invited but you have to follow the rules”. Similar to Facebook, Twitter users are global and diverse with over 255 million monthly active users, twitter is a great space to reach out to others. Recently, Twitter has been refining their business model. Companies can now use tweets to convert users to purchase a product or get buy-in for further communication.

LinkedIn: The social network for professionals.

LinkedIn allows its users to give their resume a home as a digital identity, it allows networks to flourish by allowing communication to a unique audience and it allows for professionals to seek new employment opportunities, while giving companies a pool of professionals to broadcast their postings to. There are over 187 million monthly users on LinkedIn, users who access their processional network very similarly to Facebook, with a professional finish. LinkedIn is the ideal place for B2B businesses, HR departments or professionals searching employment in any sector.

Instagram: Click, filter, share.

Originally created as a utility app to help non-photographers take better pictures, Instagram has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms leading to it being bought by non-other than the behemoth we call Facebook. According to a blog post by Digital Insights, “23% of teens say that Instagram is their favourite social network”. Instagram is a great place for businesses to share visuals that are genuine, relatable and emotional to form an audience. Instagram is best used to promote and engage with an audience on a lifestyle level.

Google+: Google’s business and people directory

The social network that was meant to rule them all; kidding aside, Google+ has been pretty unfairly scrutinized for its lack of utility or purpose. Being the giant that Google is, G+ has seen positive results thus far and is trending on it’s way up. Google+ boasts a very healthy 540 million monthly active users of which are primarily male, tech oriented nerds. It is a social network worth investing some time in considering that Google is the worlds largest search engine, being active here might definitely provide you with some residual effects in the form of becoming more discoverable. Google+ is best used to promote and engage with an audience that is mid-aged and male.

Pinterest: The social network with beautiful arrangement of boards and pins.

This network is dominated by females accounting for over 80% of its users, with a whopping 92% of “Pins” being pinned by women. This is a space where users come with the intent to purchase in mind. Pinterest is definitely a place for e-commerce brands to explore and promote their best looking items. Pinterest outpaces Facebook as the platform users choose to make purchases on.

Tumblr: Entertaining Animations

A jack-of-all trades blogging platform that allows users to ‘blog’ or share content in more ways than just plain text. David Karp built Tumblr for this very reason, some of us are not great writers, so we share videos, pictures and surprisingly animate GIFs that tend to work very well. This also lends Tumblr to skew heavily towards the Artist and Fashion crowd that enjoys displaying their work in new, creative ways.

Vine: Short, sweet and on repeat!

This 6-second video looping app has changed the way we look at and consume video forever. Limiting the length of video and then looping that clip, opens up a crazy new addiction for this self-proclaimed ADHD generation of users. For business,t means you must get creative with how you place your product or service within the confines of Vine, it’s a difficult task but if you make vine worthy content the 40+ million user base is primed to consume it.

Snapchat:The behind the scenes app

This last app that we want to share with you is actually one of the biggest game-changers in the social media landscape since Facebook. The premise of the app is simple, share 15-second videos or pictures and once these are viewed they are gone forever. That last part is the key, the content is completely wiped from your phone once you’re done viewing it. For marketers this one simple statement solves an age old question, if I build it will they pay attention? In this case if you don’t pay attention, you miss out, so the the user is required to focus on what they are looking at. I am going to allow you to use your imagination to think of how a brand can leverage this attention to grow more brand awareness — leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

What are your thoughts? How do you find yourself using social media for either personal or business purposes?