There are numerous social media platforms available to a company: Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and so on. The challenge facing a company is what social media platform should it utilize: one, some, or all? Then, what should be the level of activity? Also, adding social media to a company’s marketing mix is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Each platform fits a different need. A company should examine the platforms to assess what works best.
To determine the platforms or platform a company should use, there are a number of things it should consider. A company should be where its target audience is. What does the social platform do to help reach a company’s overall business and marketing goals? Additionally, a company’s content and search-engine optimization (SEO) strategies and tactics factor into what social media platforms it chooses. Also, a company should align the social media platforms with how it presents its brand.
To get a better handle on which social media platforms to use, a company should examine the demographics of the platforms. For example, Pinterest is a good option for a company seeking to target women, as 82% of Pinterest users are women. If a company is looking to target college graduates and higher-income individuals, LinkedIn is the best option—57% of users had a college degree or higher, and 50% make over $50,000 a year and 21% make over a $100,000 a year. For targeting men, Google+ is a good option; 71% of the users are men. Google+ is especially good for targeting “techie” men (Skelton, 2012). Examining the demographics will help a company figure out which platforms would be best.
The content vs. conversation argument really depends on a company’s target market, what elements of mixed marketing it will use, and how it is focusing its resources. If there is a heavy SEO component, the company will need to be mindful of Google’s Hummingbird, Panda, and Penguin algorithms. Hummingbird is a reset of the entire Google search algorithm; it incorporates Panda and Penguin. Hummingbird makes searches more contextual—instead of just focusing on keywords, it looks at the context of the question asked in the search query (Elran, 2013). Panda looks for rich and deep content (Manzo, 2012). For the social aspect, Penguin looks at how sharable the content is (DiSilvestro, 2013).
So, even if strong SEO is part of the company’s plan, good content is still a major factor. It helps even more when that content is sharable. To assist in driving the sharing of content, the company needs to engage/converse with its constituency.
Another factor in deciding which social media platforms to use is the determination of how a company will utilize and participate in the platforms. Each platform offers different ways to reach a company’s audience and interact with them.
Facebook has it all. Through Facebook, a company can directly interact with consumers and carry ongoing conversations with them. A company can post videos, pictures, and other images. A company can also conduct polls or surveys. Additionally, a company can place ads and sponsored content on Facebook. Like LinkedIn, Facebook can be used as a recruitment tool. Facebook probably offers the greatest variety of marketing activities a company can do. If a company has the right resources and its target audience is available, Facebook is a sensible platform option (Henshell, 2012).
Google+ is very similar to Facebook. However, Google+ has a much smaller overall base of users. Google+ does offer a video group chat service that no other social media platform offers. There could be creative ways for a company to leverage that. As mentioned earlier, Google+ offers some different demographic groups; to reach these groups, Google+ could be a good option (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).
LinkedIn is a business networking site. It enables friends, colleagues, and associates to stay connected on a business level. It’s the online version of the old-school rolodex, but much more useful and interactive. With LinkedIn, a company can have a business profile where is can post a variety of information and content. On its profile, the company can post videos, links, written content, images, and other information. A company can also advertise or post sponsored content. Additionally, LinkedIn can serve multiple business and marketing levels. It can be a recruitment tool and a source to mine for sales leads, engage with target audiences, and increase a company’s industry and brand awareness. It is probably a better platform for a B2B company than for a B2C company. (Levy, 2013).
Pinterest focuses almost exclusively on visual content. A company can post and share pictures, videos, and other images with light commenting. Also, a company can let followers can post images or videos on a company’s Pinterest board. At the moment, Pinterest offers no advertising or sponsored services. Pinterest is ideal for a company that has a lot of visuals it can use to promote its business. Wedding-, fashion-, and crafting-related companies have fared well on Pinterest (Levy, 2013).
Twitter consists of short bursts of information in a newsfeed fashion. A company’s messages are limited to 140 characters per post—these posts can include hyperlinks or images. Twitter also allows companies to post six-second videos with its Vine service. Currently, there is no advertising or sponsored services offered by Twitter. Twitter is a real-time, fast-paced environment. Users typically expect almost instant responses. This is difficult for a company to manage and maintain without the proper resources (Henshell, 2012).
YouTube is a video platform. A company can post videos and create its own brand channel. A company can engage with people via the comment section. YouTube is an excellent venue for branding videos. Also, it is a great option for a company that needs to post how-to or instructional videos (Henshell, 2012).
If I were a marketing advisor using this process for the semiconductor company Quintic, I would recommend Quintic only use one social media platform: LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers the best platform to reach Quintic’s target audience, as Quintic is a B2B company. Quintic can post content on its LinkedIn page to help establish itself as a thought leader in the industry. The content posting can also help the company SEO. Additionally, LinkedIn would provide Quintic the versatility to accomplish multiple business and marketing goals: building brand awareness, driving recruitment, and generating sales leads.
References
DiSilvestro, A. (Jun. 9, 2013). Google Penguin 2.0: Now What for SEO?. Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/amanda-disilvestro/1521081/google-penguin-20-seo-now-what
Elran, A. (Nov. 2013). Should You Change Your SEO Strategy Because of Google Hummingbird?. Kiss Metrics – Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.kissmetrics.com/google-hummingbird/
Henshell, R. (Sep. 20, 2012). Which Social Media Platform is Right For Your Business?. Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/james-debono/827961/which-social-media-platform-right-your-business
Levy, S. (Dec. 2, 2013). How to Choose the Best Social Media Platform for Your Business. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230020#ixzz2rNpc7DED
Manzo, M. (Jan. 10, 2012). The Evolution of SEO with Google Panda. Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/marymanzo/425703/evolution-seo-google-panda
Skelton, A. ( Mar. 9, 2012). Social Demographics: Who's Using Today's Biggest Networks. Mashable. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/03/09/social-media-demographics/
The Wishpond Blog (Jan. 8, 2014) Social Media Marketing: Which Platform Is Right For Your Business. Business 2 Community. Retrieved from http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-marketing-platform-right-business-0735411#gdfxgWM85EOkg6xl.99
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