Which social media channel is right for my small business?

As a small business owner, please allow me first to congratulate you on yours! It’s great fun to see your baby grow on social media and benefit from positive connections in this big bad world.  

By now, you know you need to be on social media. There is no way around it. Unless, you know, you are Lush and established enough in the space that you can play with it.  

Social media helps build you up when no one knows about you, and that is a powerful thing. I know you want more people to learn about you and recommend you, and I thought to tackle this question head on.  

Some of the biggest platforms out there talk about the potential and reach they offer you. But as a small business, you can’t be on all the platforms. In fact, you probably should not be on all platforms – definitely not right away – it’s time consuming and can be expensive, and more importantly, you need to see where your audience is before signing up to every platform.  

 Where are your people?  

As a small business looking to grow on social media, it is so crucial to know exactly where your audience lives. They could well be on different platforms but where are they most likely to engage with you?  

 Social channels like Facebook & Twitter have so many users that it can be exciting to think of their potential. But the real success is knowing how to sharpen your target audience and where to find them.   

So, before you figure out which platform to use for your social marketing, you need to study your audience.  

Are they tucked away focusing in groups on Facebook or happy to ‘like’ pages by brands they like? Do they thrive on hashtags to find information or ask friends for recommendations?  

Knowing aspects like these about these little important bits about your audience will help you understand which platform you will find them on and the best way to reach them.  Knowing their individual likes and dislikes, the clothes they may wear, or brands they may buy from will also help you target them with paid ads.

You could also study your audience by recognising the fundamental distinction between B2C or B2B. That is, ‘Business to Consumer’ or ‘Business to Business’. This will help you define not just the platform, but also your tone.   

If your marketing efforts are more B2C-led, then you will need to look at your target audience’s media of choice, their lifestyles, and patterns of behaviour. Study the age groups you wish to approach, their location depending on your services, their likes and dislikes.   

If it is B2B, then you will need to see where your clients and customers tend to engage and most likely to want to hear from you. Are groups on LinkedIn any good for you? You will need to look around and gain a thorough understanding.   

The next step is to dissect the groups and their needs. What kind of media do your target audience tend to enjoy?  

If it’s visual, then see if they are on Instagram or Pinterest. If they are consuming more video content on the go, then explore YouTube and/or TikTok. Understanding these preferences will help you a lot.  

Add to this, you need to be cautious about the kind of conversations that are happening on the platform of your choice.  

What is your industry and what do your people care about?  

As a small business, precision will really help you. Depending on the services you offer, you will need to understand the unique service offered by you that will help you stand out from the crowd. 

Being an emerging player in any sector has its advantages and you will need to channel your unique selling point to break the dominant conversation in the channel you choose. 

For this, study the audience and what catches their eye. Is it helpful tips or everyday humour? Depending on the nature of the work, you can carve your niche which then makes you more noticeable.

For example, if you are in dog food business, you are primarily B2C unless you wish to interact with suppliers. In this scenario you may wish to figure out the key aspect about your product that helps you break the clutter and then talk about it.

At the same time, people will have been used to hearing about the products you offer so the trick is to stand out by doing something unexpected or unique. As a small business, your key offer and personality need to match the platform while addressing your customer’s needs.

It’s all about shaking this up in the social media channel you are in.

Take your pick based on what the medium offers. Facebook allows interaction with a wide range of people with an option to tailor your messaging to a set of audience should you need. It is a universal medium so if you want to have an international audience you can achieve that. Groups allow for a more unique approach in who you speak to.

Instagram is more visual so think about your ability to produce content that suits the medium. While there is always talk that millennials aren’t using Facebook as much anymore, Instagram will definitely get you closer to them.

Snapchat and TikTok are more suited to a younger audience in general so you will have to be updated with trends that appeal to them. Pinterest and Instagram offer a more visual style, so are great for photography, art, gardening, culinary businesses, etc.

It comes down to who you are as a business and why your audience would pick you over others. Let’s talk if this still mystifies you and you are at a loss as to where to begin.

Picking a social media channel is like dating: focus on one that feels like the right fit and then work to build that rapport. Too many options may lead to confusion and not benefit your brand, and honestly, who wants that?