Which Is The Best Social Media Site For Business?
With many brick-and-mortar businesses still unable to trade because of the Coronavirus lockdown restrictions, social media is an important means of staying in touch with your customers. If you already have social media accounts, this is simply a case of ‘business as usual’. But for companies new to online sales it can be difficult to know which is the best social media site for business.
Imagefix manages social media accounts for business of all shapes and sizes, so we’re used to weighing up which one aligns with the goals of a particular business. There’s thousands of sites out there, but the most widely used are the ones you’ve probably heard of: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. This blog is a brief introduction to these sites, so you can decide which one’s the best match for your business.
What Are Your Social Media Goals?
Before we dive in to the social media platforms, it’s helpful to know what you want to use social media for. Business goals tend to fall into 4 main categories:
- Finding new customers
- Customer services
- Discovering more about potential customers
- Letting your customers know more about you
Social media for business is all about conversations rather than selling. So whatever your goals, you’ll need to find out where your potential customers hang out, discover how to catch their attention, and get them interested in what you have to say.
What do People do on Facebook?
Facebook has the greatest number of followers (around 2.3 billion) who range between the ages of 25-55. If you have a product, or local service, that you want people to know about this is the best site to do it on. The posts that work best are community focused, work-based photos, chatty updates, and descriptions of services. Facebook also has a shop feature that allows you to showcase products and link visitors to your website, or eCommerce site.
What’s Twitter For?
The Twitter platform is less about chatting, more about alerts, information and news. Posts can only use 280 characters (although sequential posts can become a thread). So followers want immediacy and relevance. Many businesses use Twitter as their channel for customer services because of its reputation for directness – but it needs to be fast and reliable to work.
Why do People Use LinkedIn?
If your business sells to other businesses, LinkedIn is considered the best social media site for lead generation. The tone is less chatty than Facebook, but more collegiate than Twitter. The average age of users in 35-50 and everyone on the site is interested in networking with their peers. LinkedIn has a reputation for being ‘stand-offish’ but once you get used to the format, users tend to be very helpful and supportive of each other.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is the only social media site that relies solely on visual content. It has 500 million followers and they’re predominantly young. Nearly three-quarters of Instagram users are under 35! This is the platform to use if you sell food, kitchens, plants, art, clothes or anything that will look good on a screen and catch the eye. Its prodigious use of hashtags means that you can reach a massive audience, making it a great channel for announcing flash promotions or sales.
About Imagefix
We’re a web design and marketing agency committed to the creation of high quality, effective digital content. If you’re looking to get your business online, we can help by either adapting your existing website design for eCommerce, or designing a brand new eCommerce site. We can create a simple eShop, or a complex sales platform with a full range of features.
“After months of frustrations with my old website I decided to contact Image fix and glad I did. Garry created me a new website in less than a month. My website went live few days ago and very happy with the service . The website is user friendly, easy to navigate and fast as well. Thank you so much Garry and your team for your hard work, much appreciated.”
If you need help setting up your social media accounts, or you’re looking for an agency to manage your social media, give Imagefix a call on 01525 715608
