What the social!

Social media. We’ll be honest, when we started out in the world of marketing and communications, social media was nary a thought bubble. Didn’t exist. Facebook. Instagram. YouTube. Pinterest. Tik Tok. What the?!

Over the last 20 years, marketers have had to undergo a crash course in learning about a new channel to market, one which became dominant in marketing departments world over. So much so, that new roles were created, and in some cases, whole departments were created specifically focused on digital marketing.

With so much focus on social media, it can be confusing to know what channels to add to your marketing mix, if any at all.

But first, let’s just have a quick chat about having a personal social media account versus running a business account.

Regrettably, we have seen a number of business owners running their business account believing it is ‘easy’ as they have their own personal social media accounts.

Even as professional marketers, we take our hats off to our colleagues that focus solely in the digital, primarily social media landscape. There is a science and art to this channel to market. And yes, we do believe it is a “channel to market”, not a discipline in its own right.

Having a personal social media account doesn't necessarily equate to having the skills or knowledge needed to effectively run a business' social media presence. Business social media management involves a whole different set of considerations, strategies, and objectives compared to personal use. While personal social media experience can provide some insights and familiarity with the platforms, running a business’ social media requires additional skills, knowledge, and strategic thinking.

Now, onto the platforms themselves. The big question we always hear is, “do we need to have a presence on every social media platform?”. The simple answer is… NO! Goodness, no!

Choosing your social media platform very much depends on:

1) Your audience: Where are the majority of your audience most likely to be active online?

2) Your purpose / objectives: What are you trying to achieve through your social media channel? Customer engagement? Building brand awareness? Promoting your products / services? Driving leads and sales? Reaching new audiences, particularly globally?

3) What platform aligns to your brand: Quite simply, the primary style and ethos of some social media networks doesn’t gel with every brand. Forcing your business to use a social media network that doesn’t align to your brand values, will create a disconnect between your business and your audience, and can cause damage to your brand and reputation.

4) What kind of business do you operate: Having a social media account for a business that doesn’t align to the purpose and audience of that channel doesn’t always make a good match and creates a costly investment in time and resources.

5) How much are you wanting to invest in managing your social media: Do you envisage social media being a light touch (one -two posts per week, or more?). Do you plan on running social media yourself? Will someone in the business have this as an added item in their job description? Will you employ a specialist, either in-house or an external agency? Investment does not just mean posting, it also means actively engaging with your online community, including responding to posts and messages within a suitable timeframe (immediately to 24 hours at the absolute most).

Let’s get into the nitty gritty… the channels themselves.  

YouTube: Did you know that YouTube is the most popular social media channel in Australia? Really, it is! Video content has been booming since its inception and shows no sign of slowing down. If creating and using video is a big part of to promote your business (to sell products, to explain how to use products, or simply to engage your audience), then you should definitely be considering having YouTube in your marketing strategy.

Facebook: If you guessed that Facebook would closely follow YouTube as the most popular social media channel in Australia, you would indeed be correct. The OG, Facebook, allows you to share both text and visual content with whomever you like. The platform allows you to undertake networking, event organising, and advertising. It also gathers a lot of information about users. This allows businesses to run specific targeted ads and connect with the right audience to share useful information, promote upcoming local events or appearances, or run contests. Many, if not most, businesses operate a Facebook page, primarily for the reason that this is where most social media users live in the online world.

Instagram: Multimedia content. Lots of it. Images and videos. Instagram has grown in popularity significantly since springing into life. This platform is a great way to connect with your audience through multimedia content. If you have a portfolio of products to share, if you want to interact with your audience through the medium of live video, and if you want to engage in conversation with your audience. The platform also has the ability to create a storefront. It’s also a great place to get user-generated content from your audience because users frequently share content and tag brands.

X: The platform formerly known as Twitter. This is best for short-form content, 280 characters or less, where you want to get many messages out in a 24-hour period. We believe that X is a great platform to connect and get your message to media, government organisations, political leaders, and leaders of industry. Some even believe that X is a short version of a media release.

Threads: If you run a business page on Instagram, you will have likely seen the connectivity point (widget) that allows you to connect your content through to the new platform, Threads. In short, Threads is Instagram’s Twitter alternative. Say no more.

Pinterest: Have you ever pinned? Pinterest is a one-stop shop for inspiration and discovering new products and ideas. On Pinterest, users "pin" photos that link to websites, product pages, blog posts, and other content across the internet. It's a great platform for driving traffic to your website, and Pinterest’s user base are seven (yes, seven) times more likely to purchase products they've pinned.​

WhatsApp: Thought this platform was just for messaging your best mate? It is indeed a social media network. For businesses, WhatsApp offers an advertising service that allows you to target audiences based on a number of demographic factors.

LinkedIn: If you have a corporate or professional services business or operate in the B2B (business-to-business) landscape, or are a business owner, you should have a presence on LinkedIn. Due to the professional networking nature of the platform where industry experts share content, network, and build their personal brand, the platform has a high degree of credibility and trust. It is also effective for businesses to establish thought leadership in their industries and attract top talent.

Snapchat: Snapchat focuses on photos and short videos (known as snaps) shared between friends. This platform has slowly been losing popularity in Australia since the rise of Tik Tok and the introduction of Instagram’s stories.

Tiktok: The world’s fastest growing social media network, this is a short-form video-sharing app. TikTok allows users to create and share videos between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long, and the app has a vast catalogue of sound effects, music snippets, and filters to enhance the videos and make them more appealing.

If your business operates in the international market, you need to be aware of the popular channels in those specific markets. If, in particular, your business operates in China, you need to be aware that mainstream social media networks do not operate in that market (note, there has been a slight pick-up of LinkedIn). China operates its own social media channels, the main being: Weibo, WeChat and Douyin (Tik Tok). Likewise in Japan, while they do use mainstream social media networks, they do have additional platforms, such as Line.

So, how many social media channels should your business have an active account? The operative word here being, active.

Many in the biz say two, maximum three. We tend to agree, having said that, those two or three channels need to be well maintained, both through engaging content and actual engagement with your online community in real time.

If that means you can only do one channel well, choose that one channel, but choose it well. This allows you to become proficient in the nuances of those platforms and maximise results. And ultimately, ensures authenticity for your brand and effective investment.

Importantly, knowing your audience and where they live online will help you to align your business and the right social media platforms for your business.