Social media marketing has become necessary for businesses. The truth is that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can be powerful tools for any business, regardless of industry.
At the same time, automating and personalizing your social media campaigns is critical to your online presence.
But not all platforms are equally effective for a business. Choosing the best social media channels is similar to hiring the right copywriter for your digital content. That’s why, in this blog post, we will take a look at the best tips and tricks you can use to decide which platforms your business should use,
From an overview of tools like analytics and competitor research to an exploration of the pros and cons of each social media channel, nothing is left out.
How Can Choosing the Best Social Media Platforms Affect Your Business?
In 2022, more than 90% of marketers worldwide utilize the power of social media for their clients. With more than 4.6 billion users across all platforms, that’s more than reasonable. And the best marketers know that choosing the right channels for a business is the only path to success.
But how can this decision affect your success in the long run? Well, the benefits of choosing the best social media channel for your business are plenty. With a skilled internal (or outsourced) marketing team and the right platform, you can achieve the following:
- Reach your target audience / Attract new customers
- Connect and interact with your existing customers
- Boost your online presence
- Promote your products/services
- Increase your business reach
- Improve your marketing ROI (Return on Investment)
- Analyze and ultimately outshine your competitors
It becomes clear that choosing the best platform for your business is not a decision you should underestimate. After all, this is the first step to automating a successful social media marketing plan. After that, you just need to find the right team and the right tools for the channels you decide to use.
Suppose you opt for Instagram as your main social media channel. If that’s the case, your team should be familiar with the platform and have tools to fasten and automate the process. For this to happen, you can start by finding a top-notch Instagram post template and editing it to match your business needs and preferences.
This brings us back to the initial question. How can you decide which platform is right for you? Let us dive deeper into the steps you can follow.
How to Choose the Correct Social Media Channels: 5 Must-Know Tips
There is a certain methodology you can use to ensure that the social media channels you choose offer everything your business needs. In fact, most of the steps we mention here have to do with your business goals and preferences. If you stick to the 5 tips below, you’ll be one step closer to success with your social media marketing strategy.
1. Conduct Market Research – Competitor Analysis
The first thing you can do when selecting social media channels is market research. By analyzing how your industry behaves on social media, you’re one step closer into finding which channels are the best for your business.
For example, if most of your competitors aim on LinkedIn, there’s probably a good reason for that. This is the step where you can analyze your competitors’ activity, find their strong points, and take advantage of potential weaknesses.
2. Analyze Your Audience
You probably already know everything about your target audience. If you’ve already created a customer/buyer persona, that’s even better. But, choosing the right social media channels requires a quite different analysis.
You are called to compare your audience’s preferences and characteristics with the pros and cons of the available channels. For example, TikTok and Instagram focus on younger audiences and are full of appealing visuals. Conversely, LinkedIn and Twitter are better for valuable lead generation and attracting professionals.
3. Use your Business Goals and Character
Your business goals and values should also play an important role in your decision. We have already mentioned that each platform has certain benefits and is tailored to specific audiences. It all has to do with your business goals.
Let us explain. If you want your social media campaign to revolve around well-designed visual elements (images and videos for posts/stories), then Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are probably the best channels to use.
Of course, that does not mean limiting yourself to just those platforms. For example, if you also want to improve your brand authority and build a strong network, then LinkedIn and Twitter are very effective. Therefore, the right balance depends 100% on your business goals.
4. Adjust According to Your Budget
The budget you set for your social media channels is also very important to your final decision. Some of the largest companies in the world, such as Apple, have a strong presence on almost all available networks.
But this is reasonable because they have a huge budget and a well-trained marketing team. And that’s not the case with every company on the market.
A successful social media marketing strategy takes time. That’s why most companies focus on a small number of channels (1 to 3) that appeal to their target audience and thus meet their goals.
5. Identify the Pros and Cons of Each Platform
All of the above tips have everything to do with your needs. Once you’ve identified your marketing goals, it is time to find which channels will help you achieve them. Let’s have a quick overview of the seven most popular social media channels that businesses use in 2022:
| Social Media Channel | Target Audience | Business Goals / Tools Provided |
| Broad Audiences | Organic traffic, paid advertising, network generation, brand awareness | |
| Younger Audiences | Influencer marketing, event promotion, brand awareness, network generation | |
| Broad Audiences | Community building, customer engagement, event promotion, organic traffic | |
| Professional Audiences | Lead generation, B2B marketing, onboarding | |
| Broad Audiences | Customer engagement, product/service promotion through visuals, organic traffic | |
| TikTok | Younger Audiences | Influencer marketing, brand awareness, event promotion, network generation |
| YouTube | Broad Audiences | Organic traffic, paid advertising, network generation, brand awareness via testimonials |
| Threads | Younger Audiences | Social Network like Twitter, Community building, customer engagement, event promotion, organic traffic |
Remember that the benefits analyzed are not always the rule. At least not for every industry out there. For example, creative professionals are likelier to succeed on visual channels like Instagram and Pinterest.
But that does not mean a graphic design agency can not find new B2B contacts on LinkedIn or Twitter. Each of the above platforms has something valuable to offer a company.
But focusing on all of them at once is difficult in terms of time and money, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. That’s why you can choose suitable platforms for your current marketing needs and gradually invest in new channels.
Wrap Up
In this guide; we tried to explain how you can choose the correct social media channels for your brand. We know that this isn’t an easy decision. But you can make it easier by analyzing your competition, identifying your audience, setting your goals and adjusting your budget.
By the end of this process, you will be able to say which social media channels are the best for your business.
