There is no denying the importance of social media in digital marketing. Do your campaigns truly need to be run on the “best” platform?
The rapid development of the internet and the subsequent explosion of social media make it hard to separate the two phenomena. And for the Millennials who have grown up with both, this is especially true.
The original intent of social media was to facilitate communication, but its use has expanded beyond that. Although it has featured some unsavoury aspects, it has also served as a platform for public discussion and education.
Along with this, its commercial application has expanded. Paralleling the growth of online advertising and content marketing, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have also opened up new doorways for businesses.
Many successful digital marketing campaigns now combine the two approaches, and for good reason. The ability to augment your website’s content with that of social media allows you to both expand your audience and increase the number of channels via which you can communicate with your current clientele.
In what ways can you proceed?
After establishing that social media plays a significant part in advertising, the question of which channels to employ may arise.
The shortest response to your question is that there isn’t a correct response. That’s due to a few factors:
Sometimes one social networking site is better than another for promoting a given product or service, but this is not always the case.
Social media usage varies widely from one demographic to the next.
The most successful advertising strategies often employ multiple channels.
What sets each platform apart, and why,
Keeping this in mind, it’s vital that you weigh the benefits of your available choices.
Over 40 million people in the United Kingdom use Facebook and over 30 million use YouTube, making them the most popular platforms there. That’s why they’re the ideal choices if you want to make the most possible impact on the greatest possible number of people.
When it comes to video hosting sites, Facebook and YouTube are among the best. YouTube has the benefit of hosting lengthier films and will draw individuals specifically seeking for this type of content, while Facebook can integrate this with other content.
Instagram is best utilised with a combination of still images and short videos. When a product’s primary selling point is its aesthetics, this is helpful because text becomes less of a priority.
Instagram’s user population is oriented toward the young and feminine, making it a good choice if this demographic matches your campaign’s buyer persona but not a good choice if your target audience consists primarily of older men.
When it comes to selling one’s professional services, LinkedIn is the preferred platform because of its focus on the business-to-business market.
There is a wide variety of people that use Twitter, and the platform works best with short, snappy writing that can easily be summarised, however links can expand upon this and connect tweets to additional content.
These distinctions are instructive because they show how a marketing strategy can make use of multiple social media platforms simultaneously to emphasise certain facets of the products or services on sale or to present them in various formats.
Say, for instance, you’re trying to attract a demographic that occasionally, but not always, has spare time. In other words, individuals who have the time to watch a long film on YouTube also have the time to check Twitter, whereas those who only have a few moments to kill might choose the latter.
This mix of mediums may be effective if your intended audience consists primarily of people who are already gainfully employed. On the way to work, they may have time to watch a video, but their lunch break is probably too short to check Twitter.
Using Pay-Per-Click
You may reach individuals through social media in more ways than one, not simply by utilising various forms of material. PPC advertising is accessible on a variety of channels.
Again, there is no simple solution to the question of what should be done. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. As an illustration:
Facebook can reach the most people for the lowest price and with the best microtargeting options.
Due to LinkedIn’s more specific demography, it’s easier to target elevated audiences with pinpoint accuracy, making it the platform most likely to attract your ideal customers.
Banner ads on Twitter are retweetable and interactive.
Although, there are drawbacks to each of these alternatives. For instance:
Facebook advertising are only viewed by those willing to pay for them, reducing your organic reach.
Although LinkedIn is excellent at reaching people, it is more expensive than other PPC options, and ad viewers who fit your customer profile will not be interested in your offerings because they are on the site to look for work.
Twitter advertisements share the same 140-character limit as regular Tweets and can have inconsistent targeting.
With so many variables at play, picking the right pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategy requires some serious deliberation. You should monitor your PPC campaign closely and stop using a platform if it is not producing the desired results.