Demographics
Each platform is more relevant to a particular audience than others. Snapchat, for example, is a much younger demographic with 60 per cent of users under the age of twenty-five and almost a quarter of all users are still high school students.
Facebook on the other hand, is used by pretty much everyone. 82 per cent of all 18-29 year old internet users use Facebook; 79 per cent of 30-49 year old internet users use Facebook; and 56 per cent of all internet users aged 65 years and over use Facebook. Looking at this data, no matter what your business offers, chances are, your audience is on Facebook.
The relevance of social media platforms goes further than just age demographics. Some platforms are widely used in certain countries and not at all in others. Most importantly, there needs to be reason behind why you are using certain social media platforms. Further than the reason of simply having a presence. Generally, most Australian businesses should have a Facebook page. A lot of people will search for businesses or recommend services to their friends through Facebook so having a presence there limits the barriers of customers finding your business. This also opens up the opportunity to use Facebook advertising. You can read more on that here.
What do you have to offer?
Take a look at your business and what you have to offer potential customers. If your business involves doing cool activities or fun events, you might have the chance to create some awesome video content. In which case, a snapchat account would be a great option- if you’re trying to appeal to a younger audience. Video content can then be repurposed for Youtube, Facebook and Instagram making the potential reach huge!
If you’re trying to sell products, Instagram is a powerful platform when posts are executed well. If you’ve worked on generating an engaged following, your potential to sell products is huge. Likewise, if you engage an influencer who is the right fit for your business, the returns you see could be massive. Depending on your product, Pinterest may be another option to promote your products. This is a great option for homewares and fashion with many Pinterest users purchasing products after initially seeing it on the social platform.
So, what should I use?
Look at what you’re offering and then see how a social platform could benefit your business. If creating an account on extra social platforms is not going to be beneficial, then don’t do it. It’s important to think outside the box as well. Just because other businesses in your industry aren’t doing something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be. There could be a huge opportunity that your competition hasn’t yet caught on to. Get creative, do a bit of research on each platform, and have fun with it!
