With content marketing on the rise, businesses are paying closer attention than ever to communicating their brand message on social media. Choosing the right social media channels for content distribution is just as important as providing fresh and engaging content itself.
Here are a few things to consider when selecting social networks that will effectively spread the word about your brand:
Before making your first move, be sure to have a clear idea on several issues.
First, there's your audience. Who are your potential clients? Where do they hang out online? See where your competitors have established profiles and ask yourself whether this particular social network might be a source of untapped opportunity.
Assess your options as well. How many channels can you manage at the same time? It’s the first step to choosing networks that will bring you tangible value.
Here's a brief overview of the four main social networks, as well as a short introduction to niche social media trending among marketers looking for new platforms to distribute content.
Facebook is still a giant, and even though some users declare that they find it boring, it's still important for brands to consider establishing a presence here.
Facts you should know about Facebook:
Facebook is perfect for interacting with customers, showcasing products or services and targeting clients through paid advertising. Just remember that your updates will be seen by a small percentage of your fans, and the advertising can get quite costly.
Twitter is recognized as a significant brand awareness facilitator. Today, it has 302 million active users, and 80 percent of them are on mobile devices. Every day, they generate 500 million tweets.
Connect with target audiences using hashtags to make your tweets searchable and relevant. Twitter is busy, and in order to get the most out of it, brands need to tweet at least a few times a day, which, despite the short length of the updates, can be quite a lot.
Formed around the concept of collecting visuals on virtual bulletin boards, Pinterest is a giant in the making. The platform attracts predominantly female audiences (a smashing 85 percent!) so it's perfect if your client base is mainly women and you sell a product that can easily be incorporated into some visual aspect of your brand. There are currently over 70 million users on Pinterest, and if you had any doubts about its relevance to the market, take this: 88 percent of users actually purchase products they pin.
Owned by Facebook, Instagram is based on an incredibly powerful intersection of mobile and visual. It's especially popular among teen audiences (53 percent of all internet users age 18-29 use Instagram) and it's the fastest growing social network right now, with 300 million active users and 70 million photos and videos sent daily.
Niche social media can be of great value to brands for segmenting their messaging, building brand awareness and engaging with their target audiences. Social media giants offer dispersed audiences – a small social network with highly engaged users is simply much more valuable. That's why marketers are slowly waking up to the incredible potential of niche social media as platforms for executing their content marketing strategy.
Whether you opt for social media giants or alternative niche networks, your content should always be geared toward reaching those who can become brand followers, potential customers or even brand evangelists.
