We’ve all been there, you’ve got a great product and you want to let other people know just how great it is but how do you do that with social media? With all the social media platforms that keep popping up, where do you start and where does it end? Should you do everything, or should you just focus on one? The problem with this is that answer is different for everyone, and requires some insight on your own part. In this post we’ll help arm you with the tools you need to decide which social media platform is best for what you want to accomplish.
1. Who are your customers and where are they?
This is probably the most important question you should ask yourself. It would be a waste of time to post information on a platform that’s only used by people between 16 and 25 if you’re seeking customers that are demographically above 40. Another example is marketing your product in China. Your best choice wouldn’t be to use Facebook as Facebook is blocked there. To help decide which social network to use look at this report by Pew Research Centre to see which platform is used most by your target audience. Unfortunately, this research, however valuable, doesn’t include every social media platform therefore more research will be required.
If you are a business to business company, the tactics required to reach you audience can vary heavily. It’s common for Businesses to connect to other businesses through Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Many of the other platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr are not as relevant in this instance.
2. What would make your product shine?
After you’ve found out where you can find your target group, think about what kind of product you are selling and how you can show it off best. Could you make interesting how-to or behind the scene videos, Use YouTube! Is your product visually attractive?,It would be a good idea to use photo platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. If you are in a physical location where people can visit you, it would be worthwhile to get on Foursquare, a location based platform, to encourage people to see you in person.
3. Think outside the box!
Even though something might seem irrelevant for your product, don’t just throw it aside. Think outside the box! Sharing photos of your bicycle factory might not be very interesting, but what if you’d let your customers share photos of them riding your bicycle in places all over world? People might not get very excited about videos of the rooms in your hotel, but what if you asked some local bands to perform in those rooms and recorded that? Don’t just choose the beaten path; be original! There are a lot of companies on social media, so you need to do something else in order to really stand out.
4. Know your limits
Is there someone in your company who can work on your social media full-time? We would say, get visible on as many platforms as possible! If you can only spare a couple of hours a week, try to find where most of your customers are and what would show your product off the best and focus on that. It’s better to be very active on just a couple of platforms, than to do everything but only sporadically.