What social media platforms should your business be on?

Social media has changed the way we do and think about business. It’s become the to-go way that most people research a business and what they’re selling. But with so many different social media platforms out there, which ones should your business be on?

Most businesses need to be on at least 1 social media platform in order to compete in their industry. Before jumping on every possible platform, there are 3 questions you need to ask yourself:

- What type of business are you? B2B or B2C?
- Who is your target audience?
- What is your overall goal?

What type of business are you?

The majority of platforms out there are best suited for B2C businesses due to their visual nature and ability for organisations to engage directly with their customers, however there is a space that B2B dominates – LinkedIn.

Choosing the right channel is also based on the industry you are in, for example an FMCG company would use a different platform to a company software provider. Along with the industry you are in, the number of platforms you choose will be determined by your resources – yes there are a ton of social media management tools out there but the more platforms you choose, the greater the resources required.

Who is your target audience?

Targeting is so important, and a lot of money can be wasted if you are targeting the wrong audience. All the major social media platforms have great targeting capabilities and you want to make sure you are taking full advantage of this (without being too niche and compromising reach/scale). The basic targeting opportunities would be age, gender, location and interests.

What is your overall goal?

All the main platforms are predominantly used for top of funnel research and brand awareness (with the exception of Instagram Shopping). However, there is a space for lead generation on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Whatever your overall goal is, this needs to be determined at the beginning of the campaign in order for the platform’s algorithm to find the right people that will fill out your survey, buy your product or watch your video.

Which one is right for you?

Each of the major social media platforms have their own benefits. We've summarised the best parts of each:

Facebook

• In 2022, Facebook has 1.9 billion daily active users around the world and around 9 million daily users are from Australia accounting for close to half of their entire population who log in each day.
• Mainly used by B2C businesses but can be used by B2B
• Option to use organic or paid advertising, so it’s perfect for all budget levels
• Targeting capabilities are vast and the audience available is even greater
• Suited for businesses with a broader audience
• Can be used for brand awareness, reach, lead generation, website traffic, engagement, online conversion, app installs, video views, product catalogue sales and store visits

Instagram

• Very visual platform, if you can translate your selling proposition into something visual it will work
• Instagram is owned by Facebook (or technically, Meta) which means you can integrate the platforms to post content across both simultaneously.
• Mainly used by B2C but can be used by B2B. Companies in the automotive, fashion, beauty, travel and retail industries use this platform a lot
• Option to use organic or paid advertising
• In 2022, 56% of Instagram's ad audience in New Zealand are female, while 44% were male, so the platform tends to be used more heavily by females.
• Instagram supports short format videos in the form of Reels, and longer format ones on Instagram TV, which can be perfect for product demos, interviews or fun brand videos.
• Can be used for brand awareness, reach, lead generation, website traffic, engagement, online conversion, app installs, video views, product catalogue sales and store visits

Twitter

• It may not be quite as prevalent in Australia and New Zealand (yet), but Twitter has 217 million daily active users worldwide, and is heavily used in the US
• Mainly populated with individual accounts (think of it as Elon Musk's playground), it is also used by businesses in a more casual, and often humourous way (peep the example below).
• Option to use organic or paid advertising
• Targeting includes using geographic areas, the followers of a notable account or peoples' interests
• Can be used for the following objectives: brand awareness, tweet engagement, increase followers, website traffic and app installs

YouTube

• 2.6 billion monthly active users worldwide in 2022 and over 1 billion hours watched daily - those are some BIG numbers
• Great platform for influencer or affiliate marketing
• You can approach creators in your business' niche to mention your brand, or you can make a deal with them to include a link to your site in the caption to their videos.
• Option to use organic or paid advertising
• Popular advertising choice on the platform is for a brand video to appear before or during videos your target audience are watching (like Webflow's one which we've featured below).
• Video content is important because it can show your product and/or service in action and showcase the benefits
• Can be used for sales, leads, website traffic, product/brand consideration, brand awareness/reach and app promotion

LinkedIn

• Over 10 million registered users in Australia in 2022, 6.5 million of which are active monthly users. 2.3 million members in New Zealand, that's close to half of their population.
• Great for B2B companies since this is likely where their target audience is hanging out frequently
• Option to use organic or paid advertising
• 61 million users are senior-level and 40 million are decision makers
• Users are actively scrolling and looking for valuable content to read
• Can be used for brand awareness, website traffic, engagement, video views, lead generation, website conversions and finding job applicants

TikTok

• The new kid on the block that's making ripples worldwide, with over 750 million monthly active users worldwide, this makes it the third largest social media platform by active users (coming behind Facebook and Instagram).
• Paid ads a great option for B2C businesses, but there are ways that B2B businesses can reach their target audience. B2Bs may need to be more creative about reaching out to creators in their niche and organising for them to mention or feature the brand in one of their videos.
• Great platform for brands to show their personality, or demos for how to use them.
• Users may not always be ready to purchase while using the platform for entertainment, but it could be good for brand awareness.
• Can be used for brand awareness, website traffic, community building, product demos