Social Media Strategy Tips: Focus on The Platforms Where Your Target Audience Hangs Out

 

One of the fastest ways to capture the attention of potential customers, create brand awareness, and build a community is through social media. However, even if an entrepreneur or business owner had an entire day to devote to social media management, there are far too many platforms for one person to manage effectively.

When you started your business, you were probably given sound advice to narrow your niche and focus on a specific audience. Your target audience is the clients and customers specifically looking for exactly what you have to offer. You should also have been advised to market to this ideal target audience, focusing on their needs, wants, and solving the problems they may be experiencing. If you followed that advice, you know whom you want to engage with and where they hang out.

This is a critical step for your social media strategy. The key to creating a social media presence that makes the most of your time and marketing dollars is knowing where your target audience spends their time online. Then, you can master those specific platforms and establish yourself as a market leader when you know where your customers naturally congregate.

Depending on your business, you may want to master one to three of these popular social media platforms:

• Facebook/Meta
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• Clubhouse

Choosing a platform is all about attracting and engaging your target audience. Engagement can take many different forms. Consider the following options:

• Pictures: Best for Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest
• Video: Best for Youtube or Facebook Live/Meta-Live
• Audio: Best for Clubhouse, can be linked through other platforms as well
• Short Stories: Best for Instagram, Facebook/Meta, Snapchat
• Links to blogs: Best for Facebook/Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter
• One-to-one connection: Best for Facebook/Meta, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter
• Long-Form Content: Best for LinkedIn

After you've chosen one to three primary platforms, you can experiment with them to see which ones generate the most engagement. If your efforts aren't yielding results, it's time to switch platforms - or abandon one entirely.

You can learn how to maximize the platforms through training tools and tutorials. YouTube is a fantastic resource for reviewing and training on how to use the tools most effectively. There are also blogs and downloadable content available to help you learn how to master any platform.

End Note

Being visible isn't as daunting when you know whom you're marketing to and where they hang out on social media. Then, with a few posts, tweets, and pins, you can discover the social media platform that best meets your needs, gets you noticed, and generates sales for your business.

Thank you for reading!