Choosing The Right Social Platform For Your Business
What social media platforms are you utilizing? Most businesses are familiar with Facebook and Instagram but what about Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tik Tok?
There are certain platforms that are built more for certain businesses. Though I believe that any business product or service based can survive on any platform there are certain platforms that will ultimately work better than others.
Social media is everything in business today! More than old school ways of marketing and advertising people spend large majorities of their days on some mobile device and social media platform. If your business is not a on a social media platform consistently there is a very large chance it will be missed or skipped over in your niche.
There are estimated 3.96 billion social media users worldwide in 2022 & more than half of US social media users aged 18 to 24 have made purchases via a social channel.
Down below we will cover the type of social media platforms and how you can make the most out of each for your small business. Click on your specific business type below to go straight to your recommendations:
Service Based Businesses
Product Based Businesses
Service Based Businesses
Service based businesses need to be utilizing visual platforms. Gone are the days where a business Facebook page is enough to sustain your business and get you in front of clients. Your clients not only want to see your service and the results, but they want to know you and the behind-the-scenes action that makes you personable but also knowledgeable. For this reason, I like Instagram and TikTok for the visual side of things.
A lot of service-based businesses haven’t quite migrated to Instagram and Tik Tok as well so having a well-managed account as a service-based business on these platforms could be at a great advantage to your company. Both platforms allow you to have static posts where customers and clients can see your work overtime and refer to the posts as well as a more live and in person aspect through stories where customers can see the behind-the-scenes day to day workings with you in real time.
Service based businesses also should look into having a LinkedIn account and professional page. In the service-based industry whether it be photography or landscaping, or networking is crucial. LinkedIn is an amazing way to network with other like-minded individuals and get recognized for the services you provide. I could go into a whole other post about networking and how crucial networking is as a small business owner in general but for now go invest some time into Linkedin and get “linked into” your industry.
Product Based Businesses
Product based businesses need visual platforms as well. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow for customers to shop through their platforms which makes them at an advantage for product-based businesses. Product based businesses need to show customers their products up close and personal and explain the ways that their products can enhance their customers life.
One of the main things we talk about in product-based business is making the product a need rather than a want and platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram make that a possibility in their video centered platforms. You can show product features and how they are to be used in real life as well as show the personality and style of your brand.
Pinterest is also a social media platform we have been easing into lately and could be very beneficial for product-based businesses. Pinterest is not only pretty pictures and recipes but is a powerful search engine that allows no political or religious affiliated material on the platform. What Pinterest does is it allows small businesses a level playing field against big brand name companies.
Much like a search engine Pinterest utilizes key words and when a customer goes to find something like blue shoes, Pinterest not only pulls up brand names like Nike but also shows small business creators and makers that have pins with blue shoes. This is really giving small businesses a level playing field without a big business price tag.
What Social Media Platform is Right For You?
There’s a lot a social media platform out there and using ones that benefit your business and that you are most comfortable with are important. For both product and service-based businesses it’s important to be visual with your clients and customers. In today’s world we want videos and pictures and are less likely to read a blog post as their first interaction with you. Making sure that whatever platform you use you’re consistent in your posting and comfortable with the platform is essential. A lot of small businesses feel as though they have to be on every platform from the beginning but that is not true.
Choose your platform carefully and utilize that platform to the best of your ability before adding on other social media so you have a higher chance of staying consistent and publishing meaningful content.
