It can feel intimidating navigating the fast-paced world of social media. The landscape is constantly changing with new channels, added features within existing channels + expanded advertisement opportunities. With so many options to choose from, how do you know which social media channels are the right fit for your brand? The easy answer is to create a social profile on all channels, but that’s not usually what we recommend. It’s more important to be on the right social channels than on all of the channels available to you. Here are three simple ways to make sure you’re getting started with the right channels:
Consider Your Buyer Personas – Which social channels are they most active on?
You won’t see results from your social media strategy if your brand isn’t on the channels where your customers are active. When determining if a particular social channel is right for your brand, research that channel’s audience. Most social media channels provide information about their audience’s demographics for brands to reference. For example, Facebook + YouTube have active users of all ages, while Instagram tends to attract a younger audience. After gathering demographic information, apply those insights to each of your buyer personas to determine where your target audience is on social media.
Research Your Competitors – Which social channels do they use to represent their brand + connect with their customers?
Exploring which social media channels your competitors use is another helpful way to determine where your brand belongs. Since social media handles aren’t always an exact match to a company’s name, visit your competitors’ website + look for the social media icons displayed in their website footer. Spend some time on each channel + look at their “vanity metrics”. Vanity metrics are social numbers/stats that look awesome but don’t directly correlate to business success, such as followers, impressions + mentions.
Then, look beyond the vanity metrics + analyze their social media performance. Do their posts inspire + encourage engagement? What are they posting about that their audience is resonating with? Are happy customers leaving reviews often? If your competitor is finding success on a particular social media channel, your brand should be able to as well!
Start Small – Only create as many social media profiles as you can manage with your time + resources. You can always add more channels as you get into a good rhythm + start to see results!
A successful social media strategy has little to do with how many social media channels you are on, so avoid the urge to create a profile on every major social media platform. Instead, focus on how effective you are on your social media channels. It takes considerable time + effort to manage + grow a brand’s social media presence + it’s difficult to be on every platform in a meaningful way. Therefore, your time, resources + expertise should dictate your social media presence.
If you’re the owner of a small business without a dedicated social media manager, pick a few channels that are best suited for your brand based on your research about your buyer personas + competitors. If you work for a larger brand + manage an in-house social media team, you may have the resources to create profiles across multiple social media channels + perform the necessary ongoing work to manage them. No matter how many channels you choose to start with, remember that you can always expand your brand’s social media presence at a later time once you gain a solid following on your initial channels.
Resource – If you’re feeling overwhelmed with managing your brand’s social media profiles, audit your social channels in 15 minutes to quickly determine where to best spend your efforts.
With these three tips, you will be able to get started in determining the right social media channels to connect with your audience + grow your brand awareness within the social community while achieving ROI from your social media efforts. If you’d like some guidance selecting the right channels, or you’re ready for a fresh perspective on your current social media initiatives, we’re here for you!
We love helping housewares brands use social media more effectively to generate better results, just let us know what questions you have or how we can assist you!
