According to recent data, social media is now used by 4.9 billion people worldwide, with the average person using 6-7 platforms a month. Simply put, your business needs to be on social if it isn’t already.
But you don’t need to take an “everything everywhere all at once” approach; this won’t help you win any customers, or Oscars, for that matter. A winning social media strategy is about more than likes and followers – it’s about getting in front of the right people to accomplish specific business goals. First and foremost: where you post matters.
To find the perfect platform for your business, follow these three steps:
Know where your audience spends the most time.
As mentioned earlier, people frequently use more than one social platform, but that doesn’t mean they use all platforms equally. For example, 21.5% of Facebook’s user base is between 18-25. However, according to app usage data, that same demographic spends the most time on TikTok, at an average of 12.4 hours a week. Just because a user is on a platform doesn’t mean they use it daily; this is an important distinction to remember when selecting a platform. Do your research and find out where your desired audience spends their screen time.
Know your goals for social.
The second part of the social media equation is having a clear idea of what you want to do. Each platform has strengths and weaknesses, making them better for some goals than others. For example, Instagram is great for generating direct sales with its in-app selling capability, but it’s a poor choice for generating organic traffic since links can’t be shared in posts. Facebook remains a top choice for ad reach because of its size, but it lags behind Instagram and TikTok when it comes to engagement, making it less suitable for generating community and conversation.
Know what your competitors are doing.
So, you’ve located your audience and aligned your business goals to narrow your platform options. Now, just one last thing – check out the competition. Seeing what your competitors have done can give you insights into what’s working (or not) in terms of platform content. It can also help you spot whitespace and opportunities to lead the conversation. You can also browse trending hashtags to see timely topics, like viral video challenges, or search hashtags relevant to your business to see what’s popular.
In practice: GNESA case study
When the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault (GENSA) launched its app, Think Like a Girl, in December of 2022, it tasked T/K with the challenge of creating a corresponding social media campaign to inspire empowerment and create a safe space for young women and girls.
We suggested Instagram and TikTok as their primary channels since these are the most popular platforms for their audience demographic and have the highest engagement rates, enabling them to start conversations and build community through their content. Female empowerment and positivity are also already popular topics on these platforms. By researching relevant hashtags and looking at content with similar messaging, we could capture a clearer picture of what types of content would resonate best.
As a result of these campaigns, GNESA’s messaging garnered more than two million impressions and over three thousand engagements across platforms over the course of two months. That’s a large impact in a short amount of time.
The key to a successful social campaign starts with choosing the right platform. Is your brand positioned to succeed via social media?
