Which Social Media Platform Do I Choose for My Business?
If your business isn’t on social media, you’re leaving money on the table.
It has never been easier to market a service or product than right now.
In 2021, 72% of the US population had at least one social media account. This is great news for business owners because you can have certainty that your audience is online.
But social media can be daunting, and a lot of business owners don’t have time to be posting on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter every single day. So what platform(s) do you choose for your business?
How to choose your primary platform
When I say “platforms”, I’m referring to the major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
Some marketers will say you should have a presence on every single platform, but I think it depends.
Big brands have the money to hire several people to create unique content for and post multiple times a day on multiple platforms. But I know that most people, especially small business owners, don’t have the time, creative power, or desire to do that.
Here’s my advice: If you’re just getting started and don’t have a consistent habit of posting on social media yet, choose one platform to start with. The platform you choose should be where your target audience hangs out the most. Don’t complicate this. If you’re marketing to Gen-Z, you should be on TikTok. If you’re marketing B2B, you should be on Linkedin. Also consider the type of content you’ll be sharing. If you’re a cake decorator, a jewelry maker, or a makeup artist, you’ll probably want to be on Instagram (a highly visual platform). If you’re a business consultant, therapist, or another thought leader with a lot to say, you might want to choose YouTube or LinkedIn (two platforms that support long-form content).
(And hey, if you’re not sure who your audience is, start by setting aside a few minutes to get very clear on this. This will make creating content so much easier. As the saying goes: “If you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one.”)
Next, ask yourself, “What can I realistically commit to? How many hours a week do I have to put into this?”
Make it a habit to post
Just like setting a New Year’s resolution to run 3 miles every day and then abandoning that goal by January 4th, don’t overcommit. Be realistic. Integrate posting on social media into your already-existing habits. Do you walk your dog every morning? Make a habit of hopping on Instagram stories to say hello to your audience while you’re on your walk. Do you like a Sunday afternoon latté? Plan out what you’re going to post the next week as you’re enjoying your coffee. Integrate it into your already-existing routines. This will make it easier to stay consistent.
If you do feel strongly about being on every single platform, consider repurposing your content. Repurposing will keep you from feeling like you have to create something unique for every platform and burning out. For example, if you’re making Youtube videos, you can cut clips and post them to Instagram and Facebook. Or (my favorite method) you can write one long-form blog post and then find creative ways to share that content across your platforms (an interesting takeaway to post on Twitter, an excerpt turned into a carousel post for Instagram, a controversial opinion you unpack in a Facebook live, etc.).
For example, I have a client who has a lot to say with a hard time parring it down. She does extremely well creating content for YouTube as long-form videos thrive there (she wouldn’t do as well on TikTok, where the absolute longest video you can make is 10 minutes). The way we repurpose her YouTube videos is by creating short teaser clips to post on Instagram and Facebook. It’s less work for us, and we keep her audience engaged by posting something different on each platform.
Embrace the unknown
Yes, you want to make money selling your service or product. But there’s not one cookie-cutter strategy for every business (if there was, everyone would be doing it). Accept living with uncertainty, and that you’ll probably have to go through some trial and error before you find what works best for your business. And learn to pivot - social media is constantly changing, and what works for your business one day might not work the next.
You got this!