From choosing which social media sites to focus on, to developing a rhythm of content that resonates with each platform’s audience, it’s no surprise that social media marketing can get overwhelming. Nevertheless, social media is a huge component of personal and professional growth online. 

So, where do you start?

In this post, we’ll walk you through building an audience and monetising your presence on popular social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter (“X”) and TikTok, plus we’ll point out each platform’s unique offerings and audience demographics.

By the end, you should be able to apply this way of thinking to your own brand to isolate which platforms might perform best for you.

Choosing the Right Platform

There’s a big misconception that every brand needs to be on every social platform. After all, if they aren’t, then they’re passing up potential audience exposure, right? Well, yes, to an extent. But exposure for the sake of exposure isn’t always productive in the way you need it to be.

Part of social media marketing is to build a rapport and relationship with your audience. If you can, you also want to drive revenue from those channels as well.

Every platform has its unique characteristics and caters to specific audiences, so the platforms you use will largely depend on what you want to accomplish. Let’s look at some considerations for choosing the right platform.

Consider Your Audience

The social media platforms you prioritise should align with your target audience:

• Instagram is clean and simple and 71% of IG users are below 35 years old and only 16% are 35-44 years old. 
• Whereas Youtube is a video-centric platform with a diverse user base.
• And if your audience spends most of their time on TikTok, that’ll be one of the first places to build a presence

But what if you don’t know where your audience spends their time? That’s when you need to buckle down and browse those platforms for yourself. The biggest indicator we look for is how active your competitors are on a given platform.

If content surrounding your industry feels desolate, odds are that your ideal audience isn’t on that specific social media platform.

Visibility

You can build an audience and increase visibility on any social media platform. The key is to create compelling content and use various post types.

Since short-form video generates the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy, you should explore your options for producing videos that highlight what your brand does best. Look at your offer and ask yourself how much of it you can give away for free in the form of a video:

• If you’re selling a product, this might be a series of product demonstrations or tutorial videos.
• If you’re selling a service, this might be a series of how-to videos on a complex subject (on which you are an expert), with a CTA encouraging your viewers to connect with you for more help.

It’s these short, digestible snippets of content that wet people’s appetites for your offer, making it easier for them to engage with your brand. Remember to make the video content you develop centred around helping the viewer who is seeking information.

Driving Website Traffic

75% of marketers say social media marketing increases website traffic. But how you use this tactic depends on your business, niche and audience.

Twitter (“X”) remains a powerful tool for driving website traffic. One of its unique advantages is its ability to attract new leads, increase your reach and enhance email list building. X is best for B2C brands in various industries, such as entertainment, health/fitness, travel, food/beverage and home.

While some local service-based businesses may find success on X, Instagram and Facebook offer more solutions for SMBs. Instagram and Facebook are also better at increasing web traffic for luxury brands, especially ones that use Meta Ads in their strategy:

Using Each Social Media Platform

69% of marketers use social media to build brand awareness, but every network has its own features that you can use to enhance your visibility.

Here’s a brief walkthrough on how to leverage social media marketing on the most popular platforms.

Facebook

Facebook has practically everything. It’s a great placement for written posts, both long-form and short-form. Videos perform well on it. Images perform well on it. You really can’t go wrong by featuring content on this channel.

Audience

Facebook has a diverse user base spanning different age groups and demographics, with the majority in the 18-34 age group:

Strategies:

• Create a business page: Make a Meta business account with your brand’s logo, cover photo and detailed information.
• Content variety: Share a mix of content, including text, images and videos. If you want to include links to your website or blog, add them in the comments. But if you’re including a link on an ad, paste the link directly on the advertisement.
• Engagement: Encourage audience feedback by asking questions, conducting polls and responding to comments.
• Paid advertising: Use Facebook Ads to target specific demographics, interests and behaviours. Experiment with different ad formats like image ads, video ads and carousel ads.
• Facebook Groups: Create a branded Facebook Group to engage with a community interested in your company or niche.

Instagram

Instagram is the cleaner, simpler alternative to Facebook. It mainly features images and videos, allowing those two formats to pop out more than on Facebook or X.

Audience

Younger users are Instagram’s main audience members, particularly Millennials and Gen Z.

Characteristics & Strategies:

• Visual storytelling: Focus on visual content, such as high-quality images and videos. Instagram Stories and Reels are best for short and engaging content.
• Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your content.
• Influencer partnerships: Collaborate with influencers in your niche to boost your visibility.
• Shopping features: If you own an e-commerce company, set up Instagram Shopping so users can purchase products directly through your posts.
• Consistent posting: Post regularly to grow your brand and engage your audience.

YouTube

YouTube is still a really solid choice when it comes to marketing video content for your brand. Videos create a personal connection that other formats may lack. They’re stimulating for both the eyes and ears, which can embed your brand’s image into your viewers’ minds faster than static media will.

The videos that tend to perform best on YouTube include:

• How-to guides
• Reviews
• Entertainment
• Educational videos
• Vlogs
• Gaming
• Unboxing videos
• Podcasts

Audience

YouTube is a video-centric platform with a diverse user base. It’s ideal for video content creators and businesses looking to share tutorials, reviews and demonstrations. You’ll want to target male audiences in the 25-34 age group:

Strategies:

• Video content: Create high-quality, engaging videos that address your audience’s interests and pain points.
• SEO: Use relevant keywords in video titles and descriptions to improve discoverability. Choose keywords by gauging search traffic and competition.
• Topical Consistency: Create a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Make sure you’re maintaining the same type of topics with your videos. One of the biggest reasons people unsubscribe from YouTube channels is because the channel creator veered too far off the path from the type of content their viewers expected from them.
• Community engagement: Respond to comments and consider hosting live streams and Q&A sessions.
• Monetisation: Explore monetisation options like YouTube Ads, affiliate marketing, or merchandise sales.

TikTok

TikTok took the virality of videos on Instagram and doubled down on it, building it into one of the biggest short-form video-sharing apps. It’s great for posting bite-sized snippets of content about your brand that can hook people’s attention quickly.

Audience

TikTok is popular among Gen Z and younger Millennials.

Strategies:

• Short-form content: Create engaging and short videos that entertain or educate your audience. Use popular sounds to boost your content’s visibility.
• Trending challenges: Participate in TikTok challenges; these can be educational, such as “5 Things I Will Never Do As a [blank],” or fun, like dancing challenges.
• Consistent posting: Regularly post videos to keep your audience engaged, increase your interactions, and satisfy the algorithm.
• Engage with the community: Respond to comments and collaborate with other TikTok creators.
• Collaborations: Partner with TikTok influencers to increase your reach.

Start Assessing the Right Social Media Sites in Your Strategy

Posting on the best social media sites can help your brand stay relevant and increase your visibility. But before creating a social media strategy, make sure you’re using the right platform. Focusing on the best social media channel for your brand can help you stand out from the competition and thrive in your space.

If there’s one thing you should take away from this post, it’s this: Don’t try to do it all at once. You’ll not only run yourself ragged, but you’ll inevitably have to compromise the quality of your output in order to appease as many different social media sites as you can.

Instead, try picking one or two platforms that you can devote your attention to and concentrate on building your following strength on those before branching out into other platforms.

When you’re ready to level up your brand’s online visibility and audience engagement, SCS Agency’s social media marketing experts can help. Get in touch with us!