There are many things to consider when deciding which social media platform is best for you and your business. Generally, I usually advise most individuals and businesses to concentrate on only one to three social media platforms.
However, figuring out which ones will benefit you and your business best can seem tricky but it doesn’t have to be. It just requires a little knowledge of each social media platform and what demographics they attract to make a solid choice.
In this first in a series of content, I will be giving you a little food for thought on what factors should be considered when making this decision. In followup blogs and videos, I will be going over some of the most popular social media platforms and sharing with you the differences and demographics for each to make your decision a bit easier.
So, without further ado, let’s discuss some of the key factors that need to be considered when choosing a social media platform.
Age of Users
Knowing what age group uses a platform most frequently is a factor that many don’t think about but it’s an important one. If you’re a business trying to attract senior citizens to your product or services but you are posting and advertising on SnapChat, you’re unlikely to achieve your goal.
Very few social media platforms attract users of all ages and knowing which age group a social media platform markets to and attracts can make all the difference when choosing which social media venues you want to use in your marketing.
Type of Users
Just because you personally use Twitter all the time does not mean that it’s the correct social media platform for you or your business. It’s essential to know who you are trying to reach before you decide which social media platform you want to use.
Many times certain platforms attract specific kinds of people and businesses. There are some social media platforms that attract purely highly educated business owners and entrepreneurs and others that have an audience of skilled freelancers or people who produce homemade crafts. Other platforms attract young Millennials or youngsters under the age of 18.
Knowing the age range of the audience you will be interacting with can make all the difference when it comes to making a connection with them. If your products or services are aimed at Millennials but you’re using a social media platform that attracts people over the age of 65, your efforts will be all for naught.
Level of Education of Users
Different social media platforms attract people of different levels of education. There are some platforms that consist of people who have graduate or terminal degrees and others that attract children in grade school.
These are totally different audiences with totally different mindsets and intellectual abilities. Trying to appeal to doctors and lawyers while on a platform that attracts middle school children will be wasting your time, effort, and money.
Interests of Users
Some platforms were created to appeal to artists and musicians while other platforms were created for children, entrepreneurs, or educators. It’s important to know what your ideal audience is interested in so that you can then find the platform where they hang out. Otherwise you might be talking to a group that has no interest in you or your business.
How Frequently Users are on the Platform
Knowing how frequently users are on a platform is also important. If the people you’re trying to reach are only on a platform occasionally it makes it difficult to build brand recognition.
In order to build brand recognition, it’s important that you can get your brand in front of people regularly so that it leaves an impression with them. If the people you’re trying to reach only use the platform once a week, or worse once a month, it’s hard for them to find you through all the other backlog they have to fish through when they do log on.
Gender of Users
Certain social media platforms appeal to certain genders. Knowing which genders are attracted to which platforms enables you to market to the appropriate audience.
If you try to attract a male audience for one of your products or services by using a platform that has a prominently female following, you will find your efforts mostly ignored.
Location of Users
Surprisingly, many social media platforms attract users from specific countries. Why this happens varies from cultural preferences to governmental restrictions. Knowing where the majority of a platform’s audience is from will help you to reach the followers you and your business need to attract.
Income Status of Users
Many platforms will predominantly attract users from specific income brackets due to the overall content contained on it. Knowing which income brackets are your ideal target audience will help you to pick the social media platform that is in alignment with your products or services.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into which social media platform to choose for you and your business. Knowing exactly who your ideal audience is as well as the knowing the specific demographics of each platform will help you make the best decision on which platform is the best to advance your brand.
In the next few months I will present a few videos detailing the specific demographics for many of the social media platforms out there. If there is a particular social media platform you would like me to cover, leave your nomination in the comments below or send me a message by clicking here and I will do my best to cover them all for you.
