Choosing The Right Social Media Platforms For Your Small Business

With the explosion of social media platforms over the last decade, determining where to be active for your business can be tough. Here at Brand Fueled, we generally break down our clients into two main groups which help determine which “stack” of platforms they should be utilizing.  Let’s take a look at how you can use our process to help narrow down your social media strategy.

What Type Of Product Are You Selling?

We base our social media platforms stack suggestions on two types of product category. While there are certainly plenty of products and companies that blur the lines between these two categories, they typically hold strong when a company is getting started and/or on a limited time budget.

1. Visual Products 
2. Text/B2B/SAAS Products  

A visual product is generally any type of product or service whose selling strategy relies heavily on photo and video for promotion. This includes nearly all B2C e-commerce companies as well as high-end product offerings such as a yacht brokerage. The second category includes any product offering, such as software, which will require heavy communication with the customer and/or is a little less glamorous on the display side.

Visual Product Social Media Guide

If you are pushing a product that looks great, requires high-end photography, and would be shared for the quality of the photos /video alone…your minimum social media stack would look something like this:

Visual Social Media Platforms

• Instagram: 1 billion users per month
• Facebook: 2 billion users per month
• Pinterest: 250 million users per month
• Youtube: 1.8 billion users per month

All of the above platforms are media based. This allows for easy sharing of content and demonstrates great ROI when utilized properly. We do recommend creating content specifically for each platform instead of sharing the same size photo or video across platforms. Let’s run a real life example against this stack to demonstrate how this could work.

Real-World Example: You own a custom umbrella company and want to expand your social media presence. Since your product falls into the visual category, your strategy could look something like this:

• Instagram:
  • High end custom-cropped photos published 2-3 times a day showcasing the product
  • Partners updates and engagement
  • Beach/pool lifestyle images
• Facebook:
  • Photos accompanied by stories behind the products
  • Image based blog posts share outs, highly active community engagement
• Pinterest:
  • Boards showcasing your products
  • Lifestyle boards
  • High engagement with specific hashtags
• Youtube:
  • Videos highlighting the story of the brand
  • How-to videos for setting up the product
  • Lifestyle stories
  • Company updates

As you can see, by creating content for each specific social media platform, your potential customers will SEE your company on their favorite websites and are more likely to visit your website.

It is also important to consider other visual platforms that may be relevant to your business/product. The above four are the minimum suggested by Brand Fueled in order to maximize your exposure. If you would like to dig deeper into social media strategy, head over to our digital marketing page to learn about custom solutions for your business.

Text/B2B/SAAS Product Social Media Guide

Let’s face it…there are certain products and industries that are just not “sexy.” This can include insurance, law firms, and many SaaS products on the market. However, you still see plenty of these companies utilizing social in one way or another. So what would a proper social media stack look like? This is where it gets a bit more tricky and it helps to really break down the reason and offering you would need each platform. Below are

Text/SaaS/B2b Social Media Platforms

• Instagram: 1 billion users per month
• Facebook: 2 billion users per month
• Youtube: 1.8 billion users per month
• Twitter: 321 million users per month
• Linkedin: 260 million users per month

We realize that being active on 5 major social platforms can be a juggling act for a small business without a large staff, however it is how you utilize each platform that counts. For example, Linkedin is extremely effective for B2B marketing and can generate qualified leads when used properly, Twitter can be used as a customer service outlet, and Youtube can be an FAQ for your business.

Real-World Example: You run a law firm and would like to try out social media as a way to generate leads. Though your product may be a bit tough in the “visual” arena, you can harness the power of social lead generation with a stack similar to this:

• Instagram:
  • Company updates
  • Event updates in your local area
  • FAQs and industry knowledge
• Facebook:
  • Join local groups and become a thought leader through contribution
  • Blog posts updates and outreach
• Youtube:
  • A series that addresses common questions about your area of practice
  • A series simply explaining the company and where you specialize
• Linkedin:
  • Join relevant groups and become a thought leader
  • Share blog posts, content, and relevant news in your industry

As mentioned before, your specific business and product will vary and the above layout is for getting started. If you run a business in this area and need ideas, simply fill out our free consultation form to get started.

Ready To Get Started?

Every business is unique and your social media platform choices will need to reflect your brand, product, and goals. The suggestions above should serve as a basic blueprint to get started in the social media arena. We would love the chance to brainstorm your business and social media needs! Simply click here to get started with a free consultation.

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