According to Influencer Marketing Hub, there are more than 75 social media sites in 2020. It would be impossible to create, optimize, and manage so many social media platforms for business. It would cost a fortune even to outsource the management. So how do you decide which social media platforms are right for your business and where to begin?

The best way to figure it out is to ask yourself a few questions.

  • What are my objectives? – Do you want to spread brand awareness, share interesting content, engage with people through live video, or something else? Knowing the goal can get you just a little closer to understanding which social media platform you should use.
  • Who is your target audience? – The first thing to determine before you choose a social media platform is to know your target market. Knowing this will help you decide which platform is the right one for your business. 
  • What social media platform is your target audience using? – When you know your audience, you’ll also know which social platforms they’re using, for what, and whether your content will work with them or not. You can read up on the data behind each social media platform on SproutSocial. I highly suggest learning more about the top four social media platforms as a starting point.
  • Who are your competitors? – It might seem like a strange question, but you must know who your competition is. You only need to know the top two or three competitors of yours to find out how they’re doing things and fill in the gaps.
  • What social media platform are your competitors using? – Sign up for your competition’s newsletters, follow them on every platform they’re on. Which platform gets the most engagement? That’s the one you want to choose.
  • What type of content are you creating? —This is an essential factor. If you’re creating visual content, it can go almost anywhere today, but if you’re creating mostly text-based content such as blog posts, white papers, eBooks, and so forth, then there is a chance that the more visual social media platforms won’t work as well for you.
  • How much time do you have to devote to social media marketing? – This is the last question only because it’s one of the most important. If you only have an hour or two a week, you will want to limit your social media platform usage to just one. You can go ahead and make profiles of the others to grab your name and branding, but for now, focus on only the main one in terms of promoting. If you need help with management contact Keep it Real Social for help.

Once you answer these questions and research the social media platforms, you should choose which one(s) you want to focus on. When you choose, ensure that you’re putting your all into it. Create a fantastic profile, share, engage, and be social. 

Take the time to build relationships, and your efforts will pay off in significant ways by sending more targeted traffic to your website and offerings than you probably thought possible. Social media marketing generates loads of traffic, but only if you keep in mind the social media point, which is to be social. 

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Choosing the right social media platform for your online marketing strategy. Keep it Real Social a social media marketing agency helping small businesses.