Connect and Engage: Choosing the Right Social Media Channels for Your Brand

While it might be obvious that you need a social media presence, it can be more challenging to identify which social media channels are right for your brand. We’re providing key platform highlights and some tips below to assist you in selecting the optimal social media channels for your brand.

Get to know popular channels
There are an enormous selection of social media channels available and getting your brand on each one can feel overwhelming. It’s also not a realistic, sustainable or even profitable strategy. For small- to mid-sized brands, it’s best to select the top two or three channels that best fit your needs, which is a good reason to assess each option thoroughly.

Pew Research Center provides a fantastic overall demographic look for some of the biggest names in social media.

Image credit: Pew Research Center

Here’s a deeper dive into some of the options and what brands should note moving forward:

Facebook
Facebook is one of three platforms from the social media juggernaut, Meta. It’s most popular with women in the 30-49 years range. If you’re looking for a platform that offers a huge amount of targeting options, numerous advertising formats to support a variety of campaign goals, and gives a full array of analytics, Facebook is a great option. The reporting capabilities from the platform allow brands to slice and dice data to get a good look at results and give advertisers easy ways to calculate conversions and return on investment (ROI). HubSpot shares that ads on the platform reach 62.2% of Americans aged 13 and up, and the channel has over 10 million active users.

Instagram
Another Meta offering, Instagram, includes a wider age range of audiences. Instagram also offers robust targeting and analytics. Sprout Social reports that 90% of users follow a business on Instagram, and that 70% of shoppers look to the image-based platform to be inspired for their next purchase. Plus, 50% of Instagram users said they became more interested in a brand after seeing an ad on the channel.

X (formerly Twitter)
X has had a bumpy ride under Musk’s leadership, with some brands initially pulling marketing over brand safety concerns. Some of that appears to have been ironed out and Social Media Today details that Musk is moving forward with his “everything app” vision with a new Shopify partnership. This will allow Shopify merchants to promote products as well as boost brand awareness, easily upload a catalog of products and provide another avenue for Shopify to help merchants get results.

Image credit: XBusiness

TikTok
TikTok took the social media world by storm and continues to grow. With 150 million monthly active users in the U.S., and average daily usage at 1.5 hours, the short-form video platform is wildly popular with Gen Z. This year, TikTok has its sights set on eCommerce, hoping to grow that part of its business substantially. Additionally, the platform uses a special algorithm that can promote content and help it go viral. Since the app places importance on quality, a low follower count won’t prevent outstanding content from being seen.

Pinterest
If you want to capture your customer while they are hunting for ideas and doing research, Pinterest has a loyal following, with 70% of users noting it’s their trusted source to research products. This social site is also a good place to reach high-income shoppers, with 45% of users having a household income of $100,000 or more.

LinkedIn
The business-focused social media platform is a wonderful option for B2B marketing and to reach decision makers at companies of interest. Hootsuite notes that 50% of brands were seen as “higher quality” after ads appeared on LinkedIn, and that brands saw a 33% increase in purchase intent from the target audience after exposure to the brand on the platform. LinkedIn is also the top-rated platform for lead generation.

Image credit: Freepik

Select the right social channel to boost your presence
If you need some additional help narrowing down your options, remember to fall back on best practices of selecting a platform.

Here are some quick tips to help you choose the best social media channels for your brand:

1. Lean into first-party data
   Third-party cookies are on their way out, which means your brand needs to leverage valuable first-party data. This is how you’ll be able to collect important audience information which will help you determine demographics and other insights into your customer base.
2. Determine your goals
   Each social network offers something unique, so weigh your options to decide which channels will be best to help reach your marketing goals.
3. Highlight your offerings
   Similar to your marketing goals, determine which social channel will be most effective in highlighting your product or service.
4. Scope out the competition
   Complete a competitive analysis and check out the competition. This doesn’t mean that you should copy, or abandon a channel if engagement is low for your competitor, but it could help give some actionable data.
5. Take stock of your assets
   Maintaining a social media account with a consistent posting cadence and engaging with followers can be a resource-heavy endeavor. Before finalizing your social media channel selections, make sure you have the assets (or the budget) to properly maintain the account.

Selectively social
Picking the right social media platforms for your brand is vital. Platform selection will determine if you reach a large portion of your target audience, if you’re able to highlight your products and services in a way that makes sense for your marketing goals, the way you connect and engage with your audience and more. Being choosy and investing in only prime platforms will make the most of your budget and efforts. By considering your options and taking a good look at the capabilities of each social channel, you’ll be able to confirm the right path(s) for your brand.

Does your business need an agency partner? Learn how EXACTA MEDIA can help. We specialize in end-to-end media management from strategy through buy and optimization. Connect with our team of experts to learn more.