There are so many social media outlets in the digital world and so little time. If you’re ready to build your social media presence, it can feel a bit daunting to choose which social media outlets your business should be on.
You don't have to be everywhere to reach everyone. In fact, we don’t recommend that you create a social profile here, there and everywhere. But even if you’re just planning to have a presence on a couple of platforms, we know you’re going to have questions.
How do I post on Instagram? What is a hashtag? Is Twitter really dying? Which outlet should I create an account with first?
Have no fear, the Nice Girls are here. Today, we’re dishing on the top five social media outlets and the perks of sharing content on different platforms.
Social Media Outlets No. 1: Facebook
With a whopping 1.59 billion monthly users, the FB is the Queen Bee of social media outlets.
Facebook leads the way for connecting people all over the world with your business. If your business isn’t on Facebook, you better stop right where you're reading, open another tab in Chrome, and start a Facebook page for your business. Go on, we'll wait.
Launching a Facebook business page costs you exactly zero dollars. Sure, if you want to have a growing business it’s gonna cost you here and there, but you can get the ball rolling fo’ free.
Facebook is the perfect platform to mix up your content strategy. Depending on who your target audience is, you can incorporate both organic content and paid advertising to reach more people with your brand messaging.
Get tips for creating a social media content calendar in 4 easy steps on the Nice Branding Agency blog.
Organic content is great for engaging with your current social followers, but with paid advertising, you can engage with more followers and potential customers. Learn how Facebook’s algorithm limits your organic content by reading our blog post on facebook advertising.
A word to the wise—don’t overuse hashtags on Facebook. On other social media outlets like Instagram, a hashtag overload can be utilized to insert your brand into trending topics and conversations, but with Facebook, the best practice is to use three or fewer hashtags. Your content could be flagged as spam if you use more than three hashtags… and ain’t nobody got time for that!
What are some of the benefits of ballin’ on the ’book? You can build brand loyalty and easily drive traffic to your website. A killer Facebook presence can even help boost your SEO. If that last part threw you for a loop, read no further, and just pick up the phone and dial 863-688-3434. We’ll get you all set up.
In the words of Beyonce, “Who run the world?” Our answer: Facebook. (Ok, and girls…)
Social Media Outlets No. 2: YouTube
Alright, so you’re totally into creating and sharing videos. This is where you want your business to shine. If you haven’t wrapped your mind around the benefits of YouTube, then no worries, we’re about to dive into all the deets.
YouTube has over one billion website visitors per month and is the second most popular search engine behind Google. Yep, you heard that right—one billion visitors! Those could all be potential clients for your biz.
Video is a powerful way to connect people with your brand. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2016 report, 60 percent of marketers incorporate videos into their marketing mix. Well-crafted, relatable videos can help increase your social engagements and allow for more people to get a more in-depth look at your products or services.
Through Facebook, you can share videos, but its overall quality, features, and organization are nothing compared to what you can do with YouTube.
YouTube sets up what they like to call “Channels” a.k.a. your company account. As a brand, this is where you store all your videos. If you regularly create videos on a variety of topics, you should create “Playlists” and organize your videos, so users can easily identify what videos they want to watch.
When your channel is user-friendly and easy for the user to navigate through, it opens up the door for more video views and more people learning about your business. Can you say winning?
Social Media Outlets No. 3: Twitter
Can you share a message in 140 characters? If so, it may be time to get your tweet on.
Twitter isn’t for everyone. When comparing social media outlets, Twitter is an awesome avenue for customer service, quick company news updates, and to have short, personal conversations with people like consumers and peers. You can also quickly monitor what people are saying about your brand on this platform.
Wendy's has done an amazing job of squashing naysayers and connecting with fans via their Twitter account. Next time you find yourself with a few seconds to scroll, take a look at their page for a few laughs.
The rumor mill says Twitter is losing users, but the facts state otherwise. Twitter has been a growing social media outlet for advertisers since 2016 with 313 million active monthly users.
Ready to start tweeting? Literally millions of people worldwide are telling their stories in 140 characters or less. If they can do it, YOU can do it!
Reach more people with your tweet by adding a hashtag or two. Twitter loves to keep users in the loop on their home page. They share trending hashtags that you can incorporate into your daily content.
But don’t look away from Twitter for too long—new hashtags can take over in seconds, and they change by the minute. A well-played hashtag with solid messaging can help you increase followers and engagements. So it’s always good to keep watch on what is hot vs. what is not. Can you say #GOALS?
For example, when the work week is wrapping up #FridayFeels may be a trending hashtag. Join the conversation by sending out a tweet with the hashtag from your brand’s account. You never know who you could connect with and what type of exposure you may get.
And while it isn’t a must-do on Twitter, we recommend including images to draw more attention to your content. It’s all about making a splash and connecting more people with your brand message. Back in the olden days, images used to take away from your character count, but thanks to Twitter’s latest release, it’s a freebie to include in your tweet. We’re starting a slow clap for Twitter.
Social Media Outlets No. 4: Instagram
If your business has compelling, visual content to share your brand stories, then one of our favorite social media outlets, Instagram, is sure to catch your eye.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, and 95 percent of users view content on mobile only. In two years, Instagram doubled their user base to 700 million people who are active monthly users. That’s a lot of people who have turned away from desktop. And it’s why you can’t post through their website—they want you posting through their app. Start your download now.
Spice up your account by publishing Instagram Stories, including emojis (but don’t get too crazy), tagging relevant accounts, and adding filters to give your brand photos a consistent look.
The girls at Nice Branding Agency are Instagram-obsessed. Follow us on the ‘gram, and we’ll double tap your posts any day of the week.
Social Media Outlets No. 5: LinkedIn
With 500 million members around the world, LinkedIn is one of the top social media outlets for connecting professionals and businesses.
You can use the platform to recruit new employees, forge deeper relationships with peers, and share company news. LinkedIn also provides incredible opportunities to position your company and its leadership team as thought leaders in your industry.
At the very least, your business should have a LinkedIn page to feature information about your mission and work. If people google your company name, your LinkedIn page will likely appear on the first page of search engine results. That alone is enough reason to create a LinkedIn page for your business. Am I right?!
Are you ready to create accounts for your business to be on some social media outlets? Start with setting up your own accounts, then you can contact our team, and we can help you develop a solid digital strategy and ensure that your social platforms are well-branded and consistently updated.
Head to the comments and tell us which social media outlet you are currently obsessed with.
