Social media gives businesses the unique opportunity to reach millions of potential customers around the world for a very low cost. But if you want to get the most out your social media presence, then you have to be sure that you are working the proper social media platforms. Not all social media is created equal and you have to be sure that your business will benefit from the effort put into a social media management plan.
It always helps to know the limitations of any social media platform before you decide to use it and the best way to find a platform’s limitations is to use it for a while and see how it works. Twitter reaches a lot of people, but you are limited to 140 characters per message. Facebook has the potential to help you reach millions of people, but you can only reach those millions if you pay for the exposure. Facebook is no longer the free marketing platform that it used to be and it takes an experienced social media expert to truly get the most out of Facebook.
When you understand the limitations for each platform, then you can decide which ones will work best for your company. If your company cannot create effective marketing messages in 140 characters or less, then Twitter may not be a platform you focus on.
Instagram and Twitter tend to be used by a younger crowd, while Facebook attracts a little older audience. If you are trying to reach a younger target audience, then you will have more success on Twitter than you will Facebook. Most people do not realize how critically important it is to do demographic research on a social media platform before deciding to use it, but that demographic information can let you know whether or not your message will be seen by the right audience.
One of the best features of Facebook is how interactive it is as a social media platform. Twitter, on the other had, can make it difficult to interact with your customers, especially if you are trying to carry on more than one conversation at a time. How important is it that you be able to interact with your audience? If interaction is important, then you need to choose a social media platform that makes interaction as easy as possible.
On Twitter, a business account is the same as a personal account. There are no special restrictions on a Twitter business account that would prevent you from getting your message out to your audience. Facebook charges businesses to get their messages out to an audience, which is only bad if it does not fit into your marketing plan. Get to know the platforms that have special business requirements and determine if those requirements interfere with your business plans.
Social media management sounds simple, but it is actually one of the most difficult parts of Internet marketing. You will only get the results you are looking for with social media if you know how to manipulate the media platform and reach your target audience. It takes years to become proficient in using a social media platform, but the results you can get from social media make it well worth the investment in time and money.
