Should my business go all-in on new social media platforms?

Your business is investing in marketing on social media platforms. Possibly because you’ve been told it’s something successful companies must do or because you’ve seen brands like McDonald’s and Duolingo consistently garner millions of eyeballs.

At the moment, new social media platforms are springing up every few months, the highest profile being Threads from Meta. With limited time and budgets, how do SMBs choose which deserve their time, money and energy?

Why is social media marketing important for business success?

Social media should certainly be part of your wider marketing plan. Understanding which platforms are right for your business is crucial to long-term success.

If you’re not contributing at least some energy to social media, there’s no better time like the present to begin. Social media provides:

• Increased brand awareness – Word of mouth is the best form of advertising – and social media is digital word of mouth. It is the ideal way to get your business in front of new people through interesting and engaging content, building advocacy and a sense of community.
• Lead generation – Think of social media as top-of-the-funnel lead generation. You’re reaching out to cold contacts through your social media posts, encouraging them to sign up to your email list or contact you for more information. Getting them into a nurture campaign will warm them up and move them along the funnel.
• Build customer relationships – We’ve found (specifically on LinkedIn) that posts about teams outperform service or product-focused posts. Your customers want to know you as people. They’ll interact with your content, and you should interact with theirs – building long-term relationships.
• Customer service – It’s no secret that the world is increasingly digital. Customers don’t want to call contact centres. They’d rather go online and get the answers they need. Social media provides them with a quick line of communication to ask questions, resolve issues or look for support.

Don’t let FOMO (fear of missing out) burn you out

It is hard to pick a platform of choice for many companies, especially when there’s also advice online to repurpose your content for all the big platforms. You could operate across LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. That’s a lot of time, energy and work (if you’re giving each platform the attention they require for success).

And then come new platforms like Mastodon, Blue Sky and Instagram Threads. It appears as if everybody clamours to sign up for the latest craze, and so you do too. This is yet another platform demanding time, energy, and resources – and your social media workforce isn’t quite equipped for the challenge.

How do I decide which social media platforms my business should use?

We understand the desire to be on the shiny, new social media platforms. Early mover’s advantage is a real thing, but we advise businesses to be mindful and considerate of where they operate online. Jumping to the next ‘big’ platform can make sense theoretically, but it’s likely not the best move.

Social media should be a long-term commitment. It usually takes a long time to build a loyal, engaged audience and spreading your team thin isn’t going to help there. Neither is jumping to new platforms, which may not even be in the conversation in just a matter of weeks.

It’s important to remember that what works for one business may not work for all. The type of business you do B2B or B2C, your business’s personality and the type of industry you’re in will affect your success.

Here are a few things to consider before jumping into a new platform:

• Your audience – What social media platforms does your ideal customer use? There are plenty of tools available to research where your customers spend their time online. Understanding whether the new platform reaches your target audience is critical.
• Your goals – What do you want to achieve from social media? Are you looking to build relationships or brand awareness? Do you want to generate leads or drive sales? Knowing your goals will help you choose a platform that will enable you to meet your targets.
• Brand image – This one is crucial. What kind of brand image do you want to project on social media? While customer-facing brands perform well on platforms like TikTok, if you’re a B2B company your time would be better spent on LinkedIn.
• The competition – Every business has competitors. Where are yours spending their social media budgets? If they’re already active and have an engaged follower base on a specific platform, it makes sense your brand should be there too.

Don’t get us wrong: it makes sense to keep an eye on new platforms and to learn from tactics used on each. There are many, but it takes something special for it to stick around with a solid active user base.

Available social media platforms – new and established

Dispo, Google+, Clubhouse, Mastodon, Hive. The list goes on and on. During uncertain times – such as the pandemic or Twitter’s ongoing changes – new platforms arrive and make it into the online zeitgeist, albeit mostly for a matter of days or weeks.

The truly big networks that have a meaningful and long-term impact are reliable; the latest Twitter competitor or billionth video-sharing platform likely isn’t so reliable.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube are monstrous in size when it comes to active users. What’s particularly interesting and encouraging about these platforms is that no company or person has yet to reach its potential peak on any of them.

They’re big, and the potential is almost endless. Taking your attention away from these tried-and-testing networks so you can focus on less popular and solidified platforms will hinder, not help, most businesses.

Twitter / X

Twitter is the social media platform that’s been in the mouths of every social media marketer for the past few months, ever since its change in ownership. Mastodon and Hive arrived shortly after to purportedly provide Twitter users with the experience they want. Where are they now?

Despite continued outrage from lots of users, Twitter still has hundreds of millions of active users (in fact, it’s still growing – according to owner Elon Musk). It makes little-to-no sense to abandon Twitter in favour of using Mastodon and Hive for businesses with the goal of reaching as many eyeballs as possible. Though, we advise considering the optics of the platform, abusive user base and whether it aligns with your business’s values and mission.

Twitter’s kneejerk transition from the famous blue bird to its new X branding reinforces this point, as it suggests even more contentious changes are on the way for the platform.

Mastodon and Hive

Mastodon, which is more a hub of communities than a singular feed, claims to have a million active users. Hive, which is mobile-only, also claims to have a million active users.

Facebook

Typically, Facebook is ideal for B2C companies. It’s the ideal place for customers to have instant communication with their favourite brands. On the business side, its ads are affordable, it’s perfect for running competitions or highlighting sales campaigns.

For B2B businesses, specifically in the UK, US and EU, Facebook doesn’t work as well. Though, if you do business in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Facebook works better here than LinkedIn.

Instagram

Perfect for B2C brands, Instagram is the ideal channel for delivering engaging graphic, photo and video content to your target audience. If you’re a B2B brand, it can work for you too – but only in specific circumstances. In this case, it is best to consider your target audience and whether they’d be using this platform to do business or research future partners or suppliers.

TikTok

The latest and greatest – especially if you’re marketing to a younger demographic. TikTok rivals Google as a search engine for people under 25. If your business is ready to commit significant time creating short, punchy videos that are engaging to your target audience, it’s worth considering.

For B2B businesses, this can work for you too. It all depends on the type of service/product you’re offering, your brand’s persona and whether it aligns with your tone of voice. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to social media.

YouTube

This is one social media platform that can work for everyone. Whether you’re a personal brand marketing to consumers or a B2B brand providing demo videos of your latest software, YouTube is a trusted social media platform with significant reach.

It’s important to consider the time, energy and costs associated with creating high-quality video content.

LinkedIn

The best social media platform for B2B businesses. It provides access to target audiences, such as decision makers and C-suite executives. Additionally, it has a proven record of providing high-quality leads, while being the ideal place for building brand awareness and networking with others in your industry.

The best use of time for most companies is to post content that can reach more eyeballs and to invest in platforms that they can justifiably believe have longevity.

As a B2B tech marketing agency, Bamboo specialises in LinkedIn. If you’re struggling to find the time to build your follower base, grow brand awareness or drive leads, why not work with Bamboo?

Our social media experts can help your business reach its digital goals, giving you the time to concentrate on what’s important – growing your business! Get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements today.