Which Social Platforms Should I Be Using?

Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest… do you see where I’m going with this?

Once upon a time, Myspace and Facebook were the two primary social media platforms people used to showcase their lives with friends and family. Social media is no longer a simple interface for sharing updates and photos – it has wormed its way into our everyday lives and it’s integral for businesses to keep up, to stay relevant and remain top of mind. But, never fear! Being on social media does not mean being on every single platform, posting every single day. We can hear your sigh of relief from here.

Here at Think, we’re firm believers in quality over quantity. As with any project or piece of work, start your social media approach by determining your business goals and target audience. What do you want to achieve by using social media?

Once you have identified your business goals, choose a number of platforms that you have the capacity to manage and maintain, and that are suitable to deliver your desired outcomes. Luckily, many platforms now speak to each other (like Instagram and Facebook) or can be managed through an external program (like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck).

Here is a snapshot of how each platform can support your business.

Facebook: A community platform where users keep up to date with friends, events, news and company pages they ‘like’. With the rise of Facebook Messenger, this platform is a great way to increase your customer service offering as many consumers want to be able to contact you online (and receive a response quickly).

Twitter: A real-time network that hosts your company’s latest news, updates, ideas and opinions in 280 characters or less.

LinkedIn: An online resume and job seeking platform. A place to build and engage with professional networks, advertise jobs and promote your business.

Pinterest: A platform where users search, save and share images of a product or topic of interest.

Instagram: A place to advertise your business and products through a series of images and videos, using hashtags to attract interested customers. You can also post live videos here through Instagram Stories, and host more long-form videos on IGTV.

Snapchat: A platform to share real-time, short lived videos to users who are following your business.

TikTok: The newest kid on the block, TikTok is a video-only platform where predominantly home-filmed videos are presented to users via an algorithm so any account can become popular quickly. TikTok is yet to gain widespread popularity for business use, but it may prove useful to be an early adopter if it suits your business style.

If you’re not sure where to start or you’re struggling to find time to develop your social strategy, get in touch with Think Communications to see how we can help. Email info@thinkcommunications.com.au or call +61 435 913 863.