Diving into the world of online marketing without taking social media seriously as a tool can cost any business a lot of leads and new clients. However, before you can understand its importance and utility, it’s necessary to know the differing dynamics and strengths of each platform.
The Major Players
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are examples of the most popular social networking platforms out there, with millions of registered users and billions of unique monthly visitors each. The first thing to keep in mind is that any time you utilize one of these platforms, you’ll be reaching a slightly different demographic of users than when you’re utilizing another. This is why understanding your platform should always include understanding your audience. From age to type of household to preferred access device, knowing who you’re trying to reach is a critical step in narrowing down what tools you will be using and how you will be using them.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Each platform will exhibit advantages and disadvantages depending on what context you’re using it in. For instance, Facebook is excellent for building a new following and engaging with your audience in an open, transparent environment, while the algorithmic nature of its newsfeed can take a bit of visibility control out of your hands. Twitter is highly immediate and great for short and sweet updates, but other platforms currently boast faster growth in user base. Instagram, meanwhile, will give you a direct channel to younger demographics while being visually engaging and great for branding, but it has limited functionality outside of mobile usage.
Combined Strategies
Examining social media platforms individually is key, but don’t forget how powerful it can be to integrate different tools for enhanced, combined strategies. Also, since each platform has its own strengths and addresses its own demographics, complementing the shortcomings of one with the best aspects of another can give you excellent results. Take advantage of Facebook as a commonly desktop-accessed site while building mobile-based audiences on Twitter and Instagram, or link to all your social media pages in your email campaign. The sky’s the limit!
There’s not much use in applying a tool to your marketing plan without knowing its strengths, weaknesses, and potential when combined with others in the right ways. This is one of many ideas operating behind the eKzact philosophy. Call us today at (403) 770-3023 to learn more!
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