Which Social Media Platforms Should I Use? 10 Things to Consider Before Starting a Blog (Part 10 of 10)

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One question on the mind of anyone who starts out blogging or in business is: Which social media platforms are right for my business?

Choosing social media platforms can be overwhelming. 

Social media can provide tremendous opportunity for marketing your business or ministry but it can also be a tremendous waste of valuable time if not chosen and utilized wisely.

Which Social Media platforms should I use?

There are many social media platforms to choose from. Some are better for one type of business than others. A social media platform which drives traffic great for one business or ministry will not necessarily perform as well for all types of businesses or ministries.

Keep in mind that the more social media platforms your join, the more time commitment will be required. It is better to not have a social media account on a particular platform than to have one there which is never posted to.

When someone visits the social media page of a business or ministry and the most recent post is from a year or two ago, this does not look good in the eyes of the potential customer.

Some of the popular social media platforms which you should consider include:

How do I know which social media to spend my time on?     

There are a number of things you should consider when deciding which social media channels to use for your blog.

  • What type of business or ministry you are running
  • What are the demographics of your target audience
    •  Men/women
    •  Age group
  • Is your business or ministry local or national/worldwide?
  • Is your business one which would benefit greatly from photo’s in your marketing?
  • Is your business one which would benefit greatly from video in your marketing?

Which social media platforms are best for which types of businesses?

Before you decide which social media channels you will participate in it would be wise to do some research. Read up on the platforms you are considering and what they offer to businesses. Some of the platforms offer different types of accounts if you are registering as a business or ministry rather than as an individual.

Then visit some of your competitors social media pages and see what types of social media appears to be working for them. This does not necessarily guarantee you will have the same success on the same social media channels but gives you some idea of what is working in your industry.

Let’s take a look at a few of the top social media platforms

Facebook:

Facebook is a good choice for most businesses. If your business is local (such as a brick and mortar business like a local store) some social media platform are not great choices but Facebook works well for both local and non-local (national, etc.).  

People of every age use Facebook:

  • 82 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds online in the U.S. use Facebook.
  • 79 percent of 30 to 49-year-olds online in the U.S. use Facebook.
  • 56 percent of U.S. online users ages 65 and up use Facebook.
  • It also spans generations—83 percent of parents with a teen between the ages of 13 and 17 are friends with their child on Facebook.

The above Facebook information is quoted from the Hootsuite blog and you can visit the post here. It is full of helpful information regarding Facebook statistics.

Pinterest

If your target audience is primarily women, Pinterest should definitely be one of your social media considerations.

Pinterest is an online bulletin board where users can “pin” favorite finds from around the internet. Posts on Pinterest must be a photo therefore Pinterest is a great choice for any business or ministry which would benefit from the use of images or video’s in their marketing.

Pinterest is great if you are in any of the following markets

  • Crafting
  • Recipes/cooking
  • DIY
  • Decorating
  • Fashion
  • Anything else for which you can create great images

Instagram

On Instagram your posts must be photos so, like Pinterest, it would be a good choice for any businesses which would benefit from visual images for marketing.

If you are considering Instagram it would be helpful if you have an eye for creative and visual details.

Twitter

With Twitter you can share short text updates (140 characters max). You can also share images or links to content.

On Twitter you can also share other peoples content, and mention others which is great for community building.

Twitter is a great option for sharing quick updates or news of a product release or launch.

If you choose to use Twitter in your social media marketing find a few hashtags which relate to your niche and use them.

YouTube

You tube is a video sharing platform. If your business would benefit from the use of videos in your marketing you should definitely consider YouTube.

YouTube is the largest search engine after Google. When you create videos and upload them to YouTube if you title them wisely you have the potential to drive tremendous traffic to your blog or website.

As you can see there is a lot to consider when choosing social media platforms. Just keep in mind that whatever social media accounts you choose the most important thing is that you stay active and engaged on them, so choose wisely.

Which social media accounts do you find most helpful for your blog or business or which ones are you considering?

To read the other posts in this series: 

If you would like to read more on the topic of social media check out these posts: