What social media platforms are worth spending your time on?

by tova
7 replies
As someone new to business and marketing and all of that fun stuff, I am finding myself getting overwhelmed with all of the options that are out there! Do I use Facebook? Do I use Instagram? Do I use Snapchat? Do I use Twitter? Do I use LinkedIn? Do I use Youtube? Do I use Musical.ly? Do I use them all?!

I'm trying to build my social network and really take advantage of the online resources available to me to help grow my brand and improve my connections to the industry. Each platform appeals to me in some way, and so I guess I'm looking for some advice on how to pare down my options and hone in on the social networking platforms that are actually worth having time spent on them.

Facebook is interesting because it's one of the most well-established social networking platforms. But I'm worried it's a little too behind the times - is business promotion only useful on Facebook when your business is solely targeted toward a small geographical community?
Instagram is neat because of the way in which you can represent your brand through imagery. It's easily digestible and can really add to the aesthetic of your product. However, it's limiting in how you can provide information to prospective customers. Nobody wants to read long captions or see weird long links to other sites in the description.

Twitter is very immediate and to the point. You can link things effectively through twitter and the re-tweet function is really key, I think! But I worry about it falling behind in some ways like Facebook. Is it really still so relevant? And again, how likely are people to want to access information about my product beyond the limited, bite-sized snippets on Twitter?
Now, Snapchat and Youtube are video platforms, and by most people's standards might seem to be a pretty big waste of time for businesses to get involved with. But what about brands and branding deals? I don't think our product or company would ever be in front of the camera with its own channel and everything, but couldwe not look in to getting well-known Youtubers or Snapchatters to endorse our product/brand? How would we go about doing that? Does it even reap that many benefits? How much do you have to pay the individuals?
Lastly (because Musical.ly was a joke), LinkedIn seems like an obvious yes to me. It's one of the more professional, polished, and well-received social networking for professionals platform out there. It's something that I know a lot of employers and head hunters rely on. Is it something you think a investor would want to look at? And is it actually valuable beyond proving your professionalism and keeping an address book? How often do you think the posts of individuals and the forums and such as looked at?
Maybe I need to combine a couple of platforms to get everything that we want out of a social networking experience? Sorry if this is long-winded or seems super obvious. It's just that time is money, you know, and I want to get our name and brand out there, but in the most efficient and effective way possible.
#media #platforms #social #spending #time #worth
  • Profile picture of the author andyfyou
    I've had most of my success using Instagram and Facebook so I'm going to touch on a few things that stood out to me.

    " However, it's limiting in how you can provide information to prospective customers. Nobody wants to read long captions or see weird long links to other sites in the description. "

    I tend to disagree with you on this - you can provide a tonne of information through visuals of your product or service, you just have to get creative. And for links - you can always use Bit.ly to shorten them.

    "Youtubers or Snapchatters to endorse our product/brand? How would we go about doing that? Does it even reap that many benefits? How much do you have to pay the individuals?"

    I would be super careful with doing this - have utilised online influencers before - you want to make sure that you do your due diligence on them to ensure that their engagement levels are in fact what they say they are. The best way to get in touch with them is just to reach out - most provide their emails or contact on their given platforms.

    It all depends on the niche or service you are in of course - but feel free to shoot me a DM if you have any other questions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Digitallabz
    The best social media platform depends on your type of business (visual product, services, b2c or b2b), demographics of your target audience (age, location, male or female). If you want more of the middle-aged crowd go to facebook, for the younger audience you can reach them more through YouTube and Instagram.
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  • Profile picture of the author DGSEO
    What social media network(s) you choose to focus on should depend on two things: what your business is and who your potential clients/customers are.
    Let's talk about each one in order:

    What your business is

    Some businesses lend themselves more easily to one type of business or another. If you're constantly working on new products, hosting interesting events, or doing innovative things in the office, you'll have lots of photos to post on Instagram and/or Pinterest. A freelance professional who works from home and usually uses other people's stock photography for their website will have an easier time keeping up with less visual-focused social media such as LinkedIn or G+.

    The other thing to remember is that social media isn't only a great way for communicating with your customers, it's also a great way to communicate with other people in similar industries, and different types of social media attract different types of professionals. There are groups for almost every job under the sun on LinkedIn but only some of them are active, mostly communities focused around fast-paced but highly professional industries like the energy and finance sector.

    If you're interested in networking with other professionals in your industry as well as developing more client-focused social media accounts you should ask other entrepreneurs in your industry where they hang out online to figure out where to start.

    Who your business is for

    Of course it's also important to be where the market is. As Digitallabiz said, you'll find the middle aged crowd(and even older people) mostly on Facebook, people in their 20's and 30's on Twitter and Pinterest, and teens on Instagram and Snap Chat. Of course there are significant numbers of every age group on all these networks, but each one is dominated by a specific age group.

    Youtube's huge variety of content means there are millions of people in each age group who use the site but if you're talking about endorsing Youtube shows and podcasts with a film element you'll probably be exposing yourself to people who are mostly under the age of 35.

    Certain websites are also particularly useful for reaching other demographics. The example I'll use is Pinterest, which is and always has been a female-dominated social network.
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  • Profile picture of the author gingerninjas
    What is your business specifically, this will also determine which social media networks might work best for you and where you might best spend your time.

    I am a marketing agency and I spend my time on Instagram and Facebook mainly, LinkedIn is up and running but I don't spend too much time on this.

    Twitter I don't do, Snapchat i don't do and Youtube I don't do.

    I aim to focus only on social media platforms that I have the time to update. I would need someone working for me almost full time to update each of the channels if I have more than two active ones plus my website.

    While I am in the business of marketing, I do have to focus on only updating and communicating on channels that get engagement and drive business, otherwise I find myself wasting time and I don't have a great deal to spare.
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  • Profile picture of the author Funtobesocial
    I personally like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in that order.

    The best by far yet is Facebook you just need to be willing to spend some money. If you put advertising dollars into Facebook it is usually worth it if done right.

    Twitter and Instagram are still great for organic (free) reach. Instagram is starting to take the reach away slowly so that you spend money on there too.
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  • Profile picture of the author DenniseTan
    I've been spending much time in promoting on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. But it will really depend on your target market and the type of your business. Check on what social media platform your target market is more likely to use on a daily basis and focus on that. Use the other platforms as a back up to improve engagement.
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    ~Dennise
    online casino
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  • For me, the best social media platforms ate Facebook and Twitter because that's where I get the most engagement. But for best results, it really depends on your business, audience and how you create your content.
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