How Do You Choose the Right Social Channels for Your Business?
It seems like so much of life these days happens online, with most of it taking place on social media. Studies show that teens are spending 4+ hours a day on social media while the average adult clocks in with over 2 hours per day of social media use.
As a business owner who’s not on social media, this might cause heart palpitations. All of that time surely means missed opportunities, right?
Welllll….yes and no. Of course, people who spend a lot of time online are consuming, whether that’s content or literally making purchases. But before you dive into trying to post on multiple social channels daily (which, in our opinion, is one of the fastest ways to burn out on social), make sure you have these key components in place.
A basic website: While showing up on social media is important, ultimately, you want to use these channels to steer your potential customers back to a website that you own.
An understanding of what you want from social media: Do you simply want to get your name out there? Do you want to use social platforms to convert users to customers? Do you want to encourage people to sign up for your email newsletter? If you don’t know what you want, it’s going to be evident in the types of posts you put out. And you might find that the investment you’re putting into social isn’t delivering any kind of return.
A clear owner who will manage the social media presence. Is it you? Is it someone on your in-house team? Is it an agency? Is it Big Bad Marketing? (We’re flattered, really.) It doesn’t matter who it is, but assign the responsibility to someone before you even sign up for an account. This helps ensure consistency and accountability.
Then, when you feel confident it’s the right time to dive into social, follow these steps to determine your ideal platform(s):
Figure out who your audience is and where they hang out
If you’re at the point of starting on social, you’ve likely already developed a core understanding of who your audience is, what they do, and what they like. But further, it’s important to find out where your type of people hang out online. To do this:
Start with basics like age, gender, location, income, education, and occupation. Are your key customers men in their 30s? They might be hanging out on Reddit. Selling mainly to moms in their 30s? Pinterest could be the place for you. Then, consider deeper, more personal contexts like interests, values, beliefs, hobbies, and behaviors.
Consider where your customers might look to solve their problems. If your customers are looking for DIY projects, they might lean on YouTube for common “how to” queries. If your customers want health and wellness solutions, they might look to Facebook groups for recommendations on supplements, exercises, and more.
Think deeply about what motivates someone to buy your product or service. Would someone buy it on a whim as an impulse purchase, or are they more likely to spend a few weeks or months researching first? Impulse buyers might be clicking through Instagram to make a purchase, while buyers that do more research might need to read longer posts or watch videos first.
Understand how your ideal customers take in media. Are you selling to Gen Z, which is infamous for its short attention span and love of short-form video content? Or are you catering to boomers who are more likely to want to read long-form educational articles and appreciate more depth and research?
Once you think through these questions, it can help you accurately assess the following platforms with your ideal audience in mind so you can meet them where they already are.
Decide which social channel(s) to use based on your products or services
Social channels are constantly evolving and changing. Even the same social media networks like Facebook and Instagram have added so many features they might be unrecognizable from the platforms they were ten years ago. Below are the most popular social media platforms with descriptions of which types of businesses might find success. Keep in mind that you can always start with one channel and expand to more as your time, budget, and skillset grows.
YouTube
YouTube is a Google-owned video platform that’s known for its primarily young, male demographic and could be the right move for businesses that:
Sell a product or service that needs a lot of support or tutorials: If your business manufactures tools and you want to share use cases for how to fix certain things using your products. If you’re a fitness coach who wants to create videos for clients to see you performing and explaining certain exercises.
Are interested in helping someone do something themselves: An HVAC tech might create videos on how to tell if you need a new water heater or how to replace a thermostat. A roofing company might create a video to show you what to look for if you’re inspecting your roof for damage.
Want to showcase their product or service in action before someone buys it.
SEMRUSH is a great example of a brand that leverages YouTube to showcase how to use its product. Prospective buyers can step through the platform to understand its features before they buy. https://www.youtube.com/@semrush/videos
Victoria’s Secret uses YouTube to show behind-the-scenes videos, push new marketing campaigns, and announce product launches and other initiatives. https://www.youtube.com/@VictoriasSecret/videos
✅ YES to YT- Nutritionist, Videographer, Coaches/Tutors (Anyone who is teaching anyone else how to do something can really benefit from video tutorials on this platform)
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Accounting firm/CPA (your audience might prefer more in-depth edu content or simply want to find you on Google, book an appointment, and be done!), Food trucks or local restaurants (Instagram may be better for attracting and engaging your local audience with vibrant imagery).
Instagram is a Meta-owned business that started as a photo-sharing application but has quickly advanced to become a full-service social platform that uses stories, reels, live feeds, and more to create a one-stop shop for brands looking to cater to a younger female demographic. Instagram can be an effective marketing channel for businesses that:
Operate in the fashion, fitness, or travel spaces where they often produce beautiful images that would create interest and demand and encourage users to buy from them.
Sells a product or service that’s highly visual and can be conveyed simply and beautifully through images.
Want to build and foster community by leveraging user-generated content (UGC).
Are interested in using influencers to show authentic use of their product or service.
Wants people to purchase or convert on the platform through Instagram shopping.
Promotes in-person or virtual events that require a more timely response (You’re probably not gonna create a YouTube video to announce your last-minute pop-up event!).
✅ YES to IG - Clothing boutique, smoothie shop, travel agency, cafe
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Chemical manufacturing or logistics companies (These types of B2B companies may prefer a more professional platform like LinkedIn.)
Facebook is a Meta-owned social media platform that’s become the largest in the world, with over 3 billion monthly users. It started the trend of sharing your thoughts with the world, which has, for better or worse, become the basis for virtually every other social platform. Facebook could be the right move for a business that:
Has an audience with a diverse age range.
Is new and wants to build brand awareness with a local audience.
Wants to use the group functionality to engage with a certain segment of their audience. (Like a coach or trainer who’s offering online coaching but isn’t yet ready to spend money to develop a custom app or functionality.)
Wants to foster community within their audience (the audience can troubleshoot, interact, answer questions, communicate, discuss use cases, etc. which helps reinforce the brand.)
✅ YES to FB - plumbing, landscaping or cleaning services, local book store, charity group
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Luxury fashion (TikTok) manufacturing (website) fintech company (IG)
Pinterest is a publicly-traded company with a platform that focuses on the discovery and sharing of visual content. Users view “pins,” which they can then add to “boards” based on interests. Showing up on Pinterest can work well for a business that:
Primarily has a young, female target audience in the 25-34 demographic.
Sells physical goods they can link to through a pin. (Etsy, Shopify store, etc.)
Has an aesthetically pleasing brand image.
Likes to provide inspiration (think interior design, recipes, DIY projects, crafts, home improvement, and event planning).
Creates more evergreen content that’s not as likely to change. Brands that link back to blogs can find success on Pinterest.
Wants to drive traffic back to your website since pins are linked to a different resource page and don’t actually live within the Pinterest platform itself.
✅ YES to Pinterest - Wedding planning company, interior design/home staging, crafters/art instructors
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Generic restaurants or fast food chains (It might be more beneficial to spend time creating faster, more frequent content on TikTok or Instagram), electricians, plumbers, and other home service businesses (Your effort might be better spent on local SEO, YouTube, or Facebook.)
TikTok
TikTok is currently owned by Chinese-based ByteDance. The allure of the TikTok platform is the ability to create and share short-form videos, with most of the videos in the app lasting less than a minute. Putting out short-form TikTok videos might work for a company that:
Primarily caters to a younger, Gen Z demographic.
Has the creativity to reach new audiences organically through original, behind-the-scenes, or how-to content or trends that make the brand seem more relatable.
Is part of certain niche ‘micro communities’ (Think: book lovers on booktok, plant enthusiasts on planttok).
Can support a global audience and are looking for a niche community. (I.e., you’re ready and able to ship specialty products or offer online services, vs. you selling generic products/services easily obtainable in any geographic area.)
Is interested in having influencers create ‘authentic recommendations’ about a product or service through a video demo.
Can create super short-form educational or entertainment content to help build trust. Visual content is king here.
Wants to nurture its groups who may be ‘sensory sensitive’ or other neurodivergent groups who don’t have the focus to read in-depth content but still want the information.
✅ YES to TikTok - Skincare brands, bakeries, personal trainers, specialty restaurants
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Corporate law firms (Your audience isn’t likely hanging out here; you might get more traction on LinkedIn), retail that’s not visually interesting (Unless, of course, you’re willing to get creative to showcase your uninteresting goods.)
LinkedIn is a B2B networking platform for professionals that’s owned by Microsoft. Companies that might turn to LinkedIn are those that:
Sell B2B services.
Are interested in networking and establishing themselves as thought leaders by creating case studies or other in-depth content.
Need to connect with decision makers (HR reps, C-suite executives, office managers, etc.)
Want to join groups or forums to showcase authority on industry trends and related topics.
Need to showcase reliability and professionalism in what they provide.
✅ YES to LI - IT consultants, legal advisors, app developers
🚫 MAYBE NOT - Residential plumbing service (To connect with individual homeowners, FB or local SEO/Google My Business may be better) Boutique shops, Cafes, or local diners (They might find a more captive audience on IG or TikTok.)
Reddit is an independent subsidiary of Condé Nast’s parent company, Advance Publications. It’s a community-based platform that divides content into communities called “subreddits,” each of which has unique interests and cultures. Users on the platform can ask a question or start a conversation to which others can reply and then upvote or downvote responses to crowdsource popular opinion. Reddit can be an effective platform for businesses that:
Want to engage with customers by sharing helpful/relevant content to help communities.
Has a clear niche.
Has the time to read other’s posts and respond thoughtfully. It’s not so much about projecting information into this space or developing posts but being genuinely interested in the community and wanting to help them. (and then sometimes a subtle plug that says, “Oh, by the way, I do this thing or sell this thing.”)
Wants to poll their audience to get deeper insights on product/service development.
✅ YES to Reddit: Gaming companies, creatives, tech companies that help people solve problems
🚫 MAYBE NOT: Influencers or people that are big into shameless self-promotion (The Redditors will literally eat you alive.)
Now, this is only a short list of the most popular platforms, but there are a zillion others for you to explore on your own. Here are a few to get you started: Snapchat, Bluesky, tribel, mastodon, substack, and quora.
If you’re still not sold on the right platform…
Check out your competitors: Which platforms are your competitors on? Are they getting engagement? Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to.
Review analytics tools: Some of the social platforms provide demographic information like location/country of users, gender, etc. You can use this to help make informed decisions about which platforms to use.
Consult your existing customer base. Your existing customers are far and away the best indicators of which platforms you should use, after all, they are already customers. You can leverage tools like polls and surveys to gather input from your existing customers about which platforms they use and where they’re most likely to engage with your brand online.
Where should you be if not on social?
If none of these are resonating, keep in mind that you don’t have to be on social media. You can build a business without being on any social channels. Remember to focus on your own website, earning people’s emails, then using that email list wisely. If you have an in-person gig like selling a handmade product, see if there’s more bang for your buck to get a booth at the local farmer’s market instead of trying to encourage online orders.
The world is big and there are so many ways to connect with your ideal audience. If you need help coming up with ideas, the team here at Big Bad Marketing would love to spend 30 minutes with you figuring it out. Schedule your free consultation call to get started.
