Marketing

What Social Platforms Do I Need in 2023 and beyond?

Can’t tell your TikTok from your Snapchat? Or your Twitter from your Insta?

social platforms sq

Which social platforms do you really need to use and how do you get the best out of them? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. 

First of all – we get it. Navigating the world of social media can feel a little daunting to begin with – even scary. It’s one thing knowing you need social media for your business, but where do you start and which platform should you use? 

One thing is certain in 2022. All businesses need a social media presence, but it’s not just a case of having an account, it’s knowing what to do with it and how to use it. Choosing the right social platform (or platforms) for your marketing strategy can make or break your business so it’s important to get it right.

Thankfully, we’re here to help. We can tell you which social channels to use, how to use them, what each is good at, and crucially, how to get the best of the platform. 

So, which social media platform should I use for my business?

The very first question you need to ask yourself is, what are my business priorities? In other words, what do you want to achieve? Is it all about sales? Or expanding your reach and growing your audience? Do you want to build brand awareness? Generate more leads? Or engagement with your content? 

The answers to these questions will be the basis of your business’s marketing strategy (don’t worry, we can help you with this too) and its overarching objectives. This will also help you work out your social media strategy (yes, you need to have a strategy) and goals. 

Social media can be one of the best ways to make your marketing plan a success, but you need to know what you want to get out of it from the outset. Once you do, you can then pair up where you want to get to, with the best ticket to get there. In other words, identifying what success looks like for you is one of the keys to understanding what social platform (or platforms) you need to use. 

Every social platform has its own strengths, weaknesses, unique perks, and characteristics. They also appeal to different audiences and demographics (although there is naturally some crossover). Which will give you the best results and work best for your target audience? 

To work this out, you need to hold up a mirror to your brand. Is it highly visual or does it rely more on witty wordplay? Is your audience fun and informal, or sober and professional? What are you known for as a business? Do customers understand your brand values from your marketing? 

Now, how does all this impact your choice of social media? To give you a simple example, businesses with strong visuals may find Instagram a good fit, whereas organisations with a customer service team that loves to talk directly with customers, may get more out of Twitter. Of course, it’s more nuanced and complex than this (some platforms can do a bit of both for instance), but you get the picture. In short, it’s all about playing to a platform’s particular strengths. 

Next tip, we recommend quality over quantity. There are a growing number of social platforms out there and your first instinct might be to create an account on every single one, but just because they’re there doesn’t mean you have to sign up. In fact, our advice is to focus on a key few and work on mastering those before expanding (if you really need to). 

When choosing the social channels to focus on, think about your audience i.e., the people you want to reach and the type of content you have to share with them. If numbers are important, look for the social channels with the most active users and which one taps into your target audience.. 

After that, let’s look at the type of content you create. It’s well known that particular types of content work better with different social media platform. You can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to creating content for social. What works for one platform might fall flat on another. You will need to think about how your content will look on each platform and how the different users of each channel will engage and interact with your post – and that’s just the beginning. Content can include everything from images and video to text and social posts, livestreams and reels, blogs, events, and much more. There is a reason that they say content is king and that’s because it is. Regardless of which social media platform you choose to use, it’s ultimately just a channel for your content. That’s why content is everything. 

We talked earlier about your marketing strategy and the importance of knowing what you want to get out of it.

It’s just as important to know your social media goals. These could include: 

  • Drive sales and engagement
  • Find new business leads
  • Build brand awareness 
  • Connect with new audiences
  • Understand your customers’ needs 
  • Create a channel for customer service

These goals will help you map out your social media strategy, which will help shape and guide the content you post, including the style and tone of voice, as well as the audiences you reach out to. 

  • Written by: rahuladmin
  • Posted on: July 14, 2022