With the emergence of social media platforms many clients are confused about which ones they should use for their business.  If not planned correctly Social Media can take over your life and return little results.  The one key to remember is that Social Media is social and you are there to build relationships.  Keeping that in mind will make the progress easier.  Below I have listed the big four Social Media platforms and why you should use them.

The Big Four are:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

I also recommend to my clients there is no need being on 30 social media sites and not spending any time on them.  Pick a couple and work them through.  If you can manage them, you can then add more later if needed.  So what is the difference between Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & LinkedIn? Which one should you be on?

Facebook

My favourite and the original.  Started by a college student as a way to connect with students, Facebook now has over 500 millions users.  50% of these users log on daily for an average of 55 minutes.  Facebook’s style is relaxed, fun and like a party.  Users are of all ages with the majority between 25 – 45.  The largest growing demographic on Facebook is 55 plus.  Some users are business owners whist others are employees, mums and retirees.  Users have the choice of personal profiles, business pages and groups.

Twitter

Twitter is a micro blogging site where users express themselves in 140 characters (similar to an SMS on a mobile phone).  Users can be individuals, businesses and celebrities.  Users follow you to gain access to your Tweets (information you share).  Most of the users with large followings are celebrities.  It’s style is similar to Facebook – fun and relaxed.  Your Facebook and Twitter accounts can be integrated together saving you time.

YouTube

YouTube is a video sharing website where you can upload videos.  When uploading videos you can also add descriptions and tags that are used for search engines to find them.  The best videos are the ones that go viral (spread organically through recommendations).  Theses are fun and interesting videos.  YouTube videos are now coming up on the front page of Google so make sure you add a link to your website in the description.  YouTube has a mix of fun, interesting, professional, corporate and how to videos.  Ideally all businesses can take advantage of videos.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is know for the professional, business based users.  All users are either business owners, in the corporate world or have corporate clients.  If you think of Facebook as a fun party where LinkedIn is a party where your managing director is present.  So it’s more formal and business based, less personal updates and more business focused.  On Facebook and Twitter people will share what they had for breakfast whilst on LinkedIn they are discussing business challenges and the economic climate.  It’s not my favourite but it really depends on your business and it may be the best platform for you and your business.

If you aren’t sure about which category you should focus on contact us for a Social Media Strategy Session – available in person, over the phone or via Skype.