Social Media Guide for Businesses
Right now, it seems that everyone and their grandmothers can be found on social media. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to your business. There are multiple ways to promote your business online, with social media by far being the most popular. Platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and even X can help you reach new customers, improve interaction, and encourage people to return for your product. When it comes to social media, you have plenty of options. The challenge is deciding which ones are right for you and your business. We’ve put together a social media guide for businesses to make sure you’re creating the right content for the right audience.
What’s The Difference?
While all social platforms are used to connect and engage, each supplies its own purpose. Depending on what you’re trying to promote, you have to keep the audiences of those platforms in mind. Statistically, Facebook includes a much older audience compared to newer platforms like TikTok or X. Because of this, content may need to be created differently to interact with the people actually using the apps.
Another major difference is accessibility. TikTok is almost entirely video content. If you’re looking to promote sales, parties, or promotions for your company via ads, TikTok may not be the best way to do so. On the other hand, Facebook loves image ads. It all depends on how you’re looking to express your brand to the world.
Being one of the oldest active social platforms online, it’s no secret that you can find quite literally anyone on Facebook. When you want to reach a huge audience, Facebook is the place to be. With its expansive reach and targeting capabilities, businesses can target their ads to a specific customer base. Customers can interact with your brand through Facebook ads by clicking on an ad or meeting your business page. It’s so popular that some businesses opt for a Facebook page over a website. That’s how powerful Facebook is for businesses!
Facebook audiences include:
- Older Adults (40+): Facebook is easy to use for newbies on the internet. It’s also an easy way to connect with old friends, which is why many seniors and older generations find this site resourceful (source).
- Worldwide: Facebook is used widely over pretty much the entire world, especially the Middle East and Asia. This can be useful for foreign sales and reach (source).
- Small niche market: Groups on Facebook are something that is not found on any other major social media platform and can help you gain a group of like-minded people for a small niche business. This is especially helpful for small Etsy shops, work-from-home businesses, or custom order sites (source).
It’s much harder to find seniors on Instagram, which has a primary audience of millennials and teens, but Instagram’s international following is similar to that of Facebook. Instagram is a great platform to reach that perfect middle range. The average age on Instagram ranges between 21 and 35.
Instagram is an excellent platform for reaching millennials, with over 100 million daily users and a primarily international following. Its strong focus on pictures makes it a great option for marketers who know how to create high-quality images and video content.
Instagram audiences include:
- Millennials: A particular group, but effective if that is your audience. Roughly 31% of users are between ages 20 and 35. These are people who are constantly looking for changing trends, entering a new stage in their lives, or looking to spend what they have (source).
- Millennial Women: Over 55% of American Instagram users between ages 18-35 are female, and over 40% of them fall into the Millenial age range (source).
TIKTOK
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last four years, you’ve heard of TikTok. You may have even already dipped your toes into creating some content on there for your business. While you may just find dancing videos, funny skits, or drama videos, TikTok can be a great asset for your business if used correctly.
When comparing TikTok to famous platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you’ll find that the TikTok audience is much younger. TikTok is a great platform for sharing video content and creative processes. However, make sure you have time to keep up with trends and audio as this app is constantly changing.
TikTok audiences include:
- Teenagers: Over 50% of TikTok users are between the ages of 10-29. If you’re looking to target people a little younger, TikTok is a go-to! (source)
- Younger Children: Great for promoting toys, video games, or fun gags. Over a third (32% to be exact) of users are minors. Because of this, be cautious in how you go about promoting your product. Remember – kids aren’t buying houses or needing insurance (source).
X (Formally known as TWITTER)
If you’re targeting millennials, X is the perfect platform to reach them. Even with its new changes, X is very user-friendly and the simplest way to get your words out as quickly as possible. You have the opportunity to broadcast your business to millions in a matter of seconds. It is one of the most hyperactive platforms to date because of this. It is a lot harder to clog someone’s feed on X, the way it would be to post several times a day on Facebook.
With this heavy re-tweeting aspect of X, it’s a great opportunity to spread the word about your products and services quickly. However, it’s important to note that this site needs constant attention – meaning you will have to stay active if you’re looking to create traction for sales.
X audiences include:
- Teenagers and Millennials: X is popular amongst a younger audience, with nearly 50% of users being under the age of 30 (source).
- Celebrities: While yes, every celebrity has an Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok at this point, it’s important to note that celebrities are more active on X than any other platform (source).
LinkedIn is the leading social media platform for Business-to- Business brand building, networking and selling. For the first time in the history of media, you can reach the world’s professionals all in one place. More than 950 million people worldwide gather on LinkedIn to stay connected and informed, advance their careers, and work smarter. Together they comprise the largest global community of business professionals. These are the decision-makers, influencers, and the leaders of today and tomorrow-precisely the people you want to target.
LinkedIn targeting is differentiated because members are incentivized to keep their profiles accurate and up-to-date for networking, personal branding, and job opportunities. With LinkedIn, you can reach a quality audience composed of influencers, decision makers, and executives.
LinkedIn audiences include:
- Young Business Professionals: LinkedIn is known globally as the go-to professional networking platform. With almost 100% of its users on there to promote business strategies, look for jobs, or create marketing connections.
Non-Americans: While over 200 million users live within the United States, the next largest country groups are India, China, and Brazil. People who live outside of America take up about 78% of users (source).