Recently, I received a message from a good friend asking me to follow the newly-created twitter profile for his Performing Arts Company. Being a Social Media Strategist, the first thought that crossed my mind was “Will a theatre company benefit by being on Twitter?” This compelled me to think further. Hence, the question, “Which social media platform is appropriate for YOUR brand?”
Before we get into further discussion, I want to bust a popular myth – “the more social media profiles I have, the higher my visibility.” This is untrue. One’s visibility won’t necessarily go up just by having more profiles. A single profile, if well managed with good content, can serve the purpose.
Each Social Media Platform offers a different set of features, possibilities, and audience segments. For example, a news channel would benefit more on twitter by updating it with the latest happenings and current affairs on a regular basis. A fashion brand might do better on Pinterest by reaching out to an audience that will have an appreciation for their designs.
How To Choose Your Social Media Platform
Before you make a decision on which platform is right, you need to address these four questions as part of your branding exercise:
- Type of content you’ll be sharing – Most content performs well on any given platform but there are a few platforms which are meant for a specific type of content. For example, Instagram only allows images, while Vine shares only short loops of videos. While images do well on almost all platforms, the type of images you are sharing should also influence your decision. If you’re going for high resolution photography, Flickr or Google+ would be a good option. If you’re going for infographics, Pinterest is a better option.
- How frequently you’ll be posting – This is a very important question every brand needs to understand. If you will be sharing time-sensitive updates frequently, Twitter might be apt for you. But if you will be sharing a few updates once or twice every week, Facebook will serve a better purpose.
- Where is your Target Audience – What kind of an audience are you targeting? Men/Women? What age group? Which profession? Are they more likely to be on LinkedIn or YouTube? Will they be the type to check twitter constantly, or login to their Google+ once every month? The answers to these questions can help further narrow down your choices.
- Your expectations from a Social Media Campaign – What are your expectations from online campaigns? Do you want to have an online presence or are you simply looking for online conversions? Conversions could range from attaining more followers to generating more traffic or leads for your website, or driving sales. Facebook works great for conversions as it provides a specific ‘Call-To-Action’ button for every page and paid campaign.
In most cases, having a presence on more than one platform definitely helps – but the choice between these platforms is what will determine your social media success. While being on Facebook is a must for every brand because it is the most popular Social Media Platform, choosing an alternate platform using the above methods can help in reaching out to the correct audience!