’)By now marketers have figured out social media isn't going away – in fact, it's gaining more traction than ever before. And if you want to have a comprehensive online business, it's time to start finding the right social media channel. We can help with some free tips as well as do your eCommerce web site design in San Diego from our shop at an affordable rate.
Now, if you’ve been behind when it comes to social media that doesn’t mean you should start an account for every channel and start posting this second.
While this process won't take a lot of time, it will take a little. Plus, once you decide which social media channel is best for you, you're going to need a strategy.
Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision:
Demographics
You should already have an idea of who your target audience is, but if you don’t, go ahead and figure that out before you choose a social media platform.
Let’s say that you have an e-commerce site that sells modern kitchenware and décor. Your target audience will most likely be men and women who are in charge of their household and do the majority of the cooking, ages 30-49, living in a suburban location, and making anywhere between 50K-74K a year.
While not every single person who buys modern kitchenware and décor is going to fit into this demographic, you'll capture a good majority of those who would be interested in your products.
Based on this information, you might start to think about Facebook and LinkedIn, since Facebook is very popular for women in this demographic and LinkedIn will capture the men.
Competition
Now, using the example above, LinkedIn won't be as competitive as Facebook. However, you will have to cater your content to appeal to a business crowd that goes home after work for dinner. Facebook is highly competitive, and if you don't have the time or desire to keep up with all of the noise, then maybe a network like Reddit with less competitiveness will work better.
Relevance
Before you sign up for a social media network, you want to ensure it’s relevant for what you’re promoting.
Using the example above, say that your modern kitchen e-commerce store is thinking about Facebook and LinkedIn, but then you discover that Pinterest has a lower threshold for competition and women in your demographic are hang out there in abundance.
On top of that, modern kitchen items are very relevant for the audience on that network. Now, you have an excellent place to start and you can create a social media strategy for Pinterest.
Narrowing down your choices
It can be easy to want to join each and every social media platform because, after all, you’ll just be reaching at least some potential customers…right?
Well – not exactly.
Having a positive presence on social media will take planning, time, and upkeep, and if you don’t have that, then either your feed will grow stale, or you'll rush the process and get little to no results.
Start with one social media channel and then branch out as you become more familiar with it and start seeing some action.
Have a unique posting schedule
If you do decide to sign up for a few different social media platforms, make sure you change it up. When people follow you on Facebook, they'll likely follow you on another platform as well.
Plus, each network is focused on a different audience, so don't treat them as if they're all the same. Instagram and Pinterest lean towards images versus content, LinkedIn is centered around business, Twitter has character limitations, and the differences go on.
Options and then some
Now that you know what to look for in a social media channel, here are some of the options you’ll come across:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Reddit
Vine
Tumblr
Snapchat
And there’s more coming out everyday. Just like websites, over time we'll start to see more niche social media networks like Foursquare that focuses on the town you live in and the places you've been.
After you’ve made your decision
Once you've decided what social media network to start with (or add to the list of your current ones) then take the time to make a plan that involves a posting schedule and engaging content, as well as sales content.
And don’t be afraid to test out new ideas. It’s going to take some trail and error, and mistakes are inevitable, but soon you’ll start to see the benefits of getting your business on board with social media.