How to Choose the Best Social Media Platform for Your Business

By Haines|Published On: May 26, 2016|

When you’re looking to use social media to find new leads for your business, it’s important to pay attention to which social media platform (or platforms) you use. Time is valuable, so you only want to spend it on the platforms that will actually generate a return for you.

Here are five steps to help you determine where to put your social media efforts.

1. Create a Customer Persona

Who is your target demographic? Each social media platform has different demographics that use it. For example, LinkedIn is more for established business owners or recent college grads, but Snapchat is used mostly by Gen Y and Gen Z.

Once you know who your target customer is, it’ll be much easier to find them.

2. Understand Your Social Media Goals

Are you looking to establish more serious business leads or is your business a bit more fun? Can you incorporate personality into your voice or is your business about a more sensitive topic?

Knowing what you want to get out of social media helps you determine which platform is best for you.

3. Research Where Your Competition Is

Conduct an industry analysis to see where your competition is present online. Pay close attention to how well their social media pages are performing. If they’re doing well on a particular platform, you may want to create a presence there as well.

4. Understand the Platforms

Each social media platform is different. If your business is visually focused, Instagram may be your best bet. If you want to incorporate an online storefront into your social media, you may want to concentrate on Facebook.

Know which demographics frequent what social media and what you’ll get from each platform to determine which is best for your business.

5. Realize When Something Isn’t Working

Just because a particular social media platform seems like the perfect match for your business doesn’t always mean that it is.

If you’re spending time on a platform and it’s just not getting you where you want to be, stop putting your energy into it. Move that platform to the back burner and focus on a different one.

Your business does need to be on social media, but it doesn’t need to be on all social media. Use these tips to find the social media platform that is right for your business.

Ready to find new leads on social media? Download our step-by-step guide to help you find untapped leads on social media using social prospecting.