How are you spreading ‘the word’ about your organization? Now more than ever social media has made it easier to get in front of your customers and potential clients.
So, how are you choosing the social platforms that best fit your business and customer audience? We often hear from new clients, when talking about social platforms, that they want to be everywhere. And, with marketing automation tools making it easier to cross populate the same posts on social media platforms by simply hitting copy and paste there is a common misconception.
You’ve likely come across this scenario – you see an organization’s Facebook post only to then see the same message posted on your Twitter feed. What was your impression? Perhaps you took a mental note of the disingenuous message and dismissed it off the bat.
It’s time to alter the perception that we need to be everywhere and instead think strategically. Which social media works best to reach your particular goals, audience and messaging.
First off, not all social platforms should be treated alike.
Think about why you use different social platforms. Here’s how the platforms describe themselves at a glance.
- Facebook, aka the social network, keeps you connected with peers, business profiles, and family.
- Instagram, an easy and fun way to capture, edit and share photos, videos, and messages.
- LinkedIn, the professional network to keep you connected with colleagues and to share business news, trends, and insights.
- Twitter, where you go to get breaking news and entertainment updates in a fast and more condensed format.
Yes, these platforms do overlap in that they allow you to connect, post messages, and share photos– which makes it easy (almost too easy) to copy and paste the same message on all of them. However, the intentions, conversations, and context of them differ considerably.
By presenting the right content on the right network you have a better time capturing your customers’ attention.
Learn More: Why Organic Social Media is Important for B2B Marketing
For instance, a business sharing a white paper on LinkedIn, company news on Twitter, and product or employee photos on Instagram is taking the time to “read the room” and match content to the interests of users on each individual platform.
While it’s great to customize the content and “be everywhere”, you have to be realistic. A social media best practice to post on a regular (weekly, often daily) basis. Which takes time and manpower – adding to your bottom-line. Sometimes, depending on your business and products, the necessity of being everywhere doesn’t always translate to more clients, higher conversions, or an increase in KPIs.
In an effort to avoid spreading your resources too thin, decide which social media channels work in tandem with your particular goal and target market. To do this, we recommend developing your customer profiles. Take the time to examine your customers and their online behaviors. To help you do this we’ve assembled five questions to ask yourself before hitting post:
Who’s your audience?
Identify key customer personas by speaking with your sales team and your current clients. You can also use a survey to identify customer patterns. Once you have the data, hone in on a few key personas.
Read More: Six Factors for Better Buyer Personas
Why are they going on social?
Are they looking for quick news, professional insights, or to socially share a video with friends? Determine what their goals are while online so that you can choose the social network that fits their wants and needs.
When do they go on social?
Think about your personas’ schedules. When do they typically go on social media? Are they busier in the evenings or mornings? Perhaps they go on during lunch hours. Post when your persona is online to ensure optimal reach and visibility.
What’s your goal?
Are you trying to increase your brand awareness or increase registrants for a webinar? To promote brand awareness or a new product you may want to use a platform that’s more visual, like Instagram or Twitter. But if you are trying to get professionals to sign up for your next webinar, you may want to use a more professionally driven site, like LinkedIn.
What’s the content?
Last but never least, determine the content that fits your audience and the platform best. Never forget that content – and more importantly, the right content – is king.
Learn More: 3 B2B Examples of Excellent Content Marketing
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