Which Social Network is Right For Your Business?

by Jason Unger, Founder

Insights / Social Media / Which Social Network is Right For Your Business?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to developing a social media plan for your business. There’s so many social networks out there – and each one is very different – that if you try to do too much all at once, you’ll likely end up with a half-assed campaign that’s difficult to maintain and doesn’t get you any results.

One of the credos that we live by is to do it right, even if it means to start small. Get the fundamentals in place and build from there. That’s the best way to go with a social media campaign for your business, especially if you don’t have dedicated team members working on it or a huge budget to develop it.

So before you jump into the deep-end of a social media campaign, make the smart first step: figure out which social network will have the biggest positive impact on your business and with your customers.

Here’s how you can decide which social network is right for your business.

Facebook

If you primarily sell and serve consumers, then Facebook is a great way to grow brand awareness and market your products and services. Put up photos of your products and your events; ask people for their opinions on topics related to your business; keep them updated with specials and deals.

Facebook is where “the people” are, so if you want to grow your brand and market to the mass-markets, build out your Facebook presence.

Twitter

What makes Twitter useful is that it’s a great way to converse with your customers and potential customers. They’ll publicly message you with a question or a concern, and they’ll expect you to help them with an answer. If you do any type of customer service to a mass-market (or even a smaller, dedicated) audience, having a Twitter account for support is crucial.

LinkedIn

B2B companies can find the most success with LinkedIn. It’s where folks put on their business hats and solve real business problems. It’s not as much about branding or customer service like Facebook and Twitter are; LinkedIn’s for sharing knowledge, showing off your expertise, and explaining what your business can do for other businesses.

YouTube

If video is a big portion of your business, then YouTube is clearly where you want to be. Some of the best business YouTube channels are ones that go in-depth on the products they sell, with reviews, hands-on demos and customer support tutorials. Bigger brands will post their commercials on their channels for branding purposes, but if you don’t have that kind of advertising budget, go beyond branding and think about the types of videos that will be helpful to your customers.

So, Where Should You Start?

There’s plenty to learn about any of the social networks (and we’ve only discussed the four biggest — there’s a lot more), so here’s a cheat-sheet for your planning:

• Facebook: B2C and Branding
• Twitter: Customer Service
• LinkedIn: B2B
• YouTube: Demos, Reviews and Tutorials

Unless you’ve got the resources to do more, start with one and take it from there. Make it exceptional. Give your customers what they’re looking for and help them make informed buying decisions.

For more, check out social media best practices for businesses.