You know Facebook and Insta and TikTok and Twitter. You know Snapchat and Pinterest and YouTube and LinkedIn.
But do you know Bluesskyy??? Or Threads, or Mastodon, or BeReal, or Discooorrrdd??
There’s a lot of social media reindeer out there, but which one should you hitch your sleigh to? (Also, I’m allowed to make Christmas jokes because in marketing, Christmas is ALWAYS around the corner. Let that be your first lesson!).
Let’s begin with the very basics and then get into the nitty gritty of niche platforms.
Whether you run your business from a brick-and-mortar storefront, you’re service based, or you sell exclusively online, you need to be on social media. The easy answer to “why?,” is, “because all of your competitors are there.” If you don’t believe me, listen to the other Forbes.
Social media users are far more likely to search for your business on social, before they Google it. Imagine it like this: Your Google My Business Page is like the hours of operation sign hanging in a store front’s window. But your ACTIVE social media pages are like the FLASHING NEON OPEN SIGN which draws even more eyes.
Facebook & Instagram: Low Hanging Fruit
Facebook and Instagram are pretty much mandatory, standard, low hanging fruit.
These platforms are easy to access, and you can share the same content on both pages, with very minor formatting changes.
Overall, the people using these platforms skew female and older. Think 35+. And even older than that on Facebook in particular. If you want to reach this audience, you can probably stick to these two platforms and pop out a few posts a week to make sure your pages are active.
If you want to reach other audiences, you’re going to have to dig deeper.
Dig Deeper
With Meta, you’ve cast your net wide in terms of audience reach. Even Threads, which has seen incredible growth since the great downfall of Twitter. But when you’re choosing a new social platform, consider deeply who your audience is, and where they hang out.
Twitter, for example, is still mostly male. They tend to be younger, and the audience is … active. They’re active in politics, they’re active in terms of how much they post, and they expect the businesses they follow to be active too. Be prepared to be interacting all the time if you’re choosing this platform.
Pinterest is a nice lazy scroll social media that targets mostly women and people interested in the arts, craft space, and home renos. If you own this kind of business, you can upload your own pins at your leisure, while also pinning ideas from other creators. Spend a little time setting up your boards based on really good categories and make sure to use stunning product photography and you’ll be on your way!
Time to Level-UP With Video
Short-form video is great because you script, film, edit and the resulting work can be posted to multiple sites. Instagram Reels, TikToks (for as long as we still can), and YouTube shorts are great video platforms for your business. Share your process, your products, your work space, your staff, anything! If you’re ever stuck wondering what kind of content to film, you can always be reflexive and consider what YOU as a consumer like to see!
Again, Instagram tends to skew female, a little older. TikTok is more versatile since the algorithm really targets video to people who are interested in the topics you’re posting about. If you’ve got a niche, dig into it and create a list of keywords people would use to search for you, use them in your captions.
As your video audience grows, you might want to invest in some more professional video (although organic-looking videos will always perform better!). Video content barks the loudest across all platforms, no question. But video requires a BIG investment of time and labour and, spoiler alert, your receptionist is not a videographer. Your assistant manager is not an editor. To do video well, you need a dedicated staff member with marketing experience and a passion for learning the algorithm. Hire someone.
Lovable LinkedIn
THE professional social media dashboard! LinkedIn is the place to be posting if you write articles or have a podcast related to your business. The platform is also great for hosting and posting webinars, thereby utilizing education to expand your audience reach. And psssttt, whatever you film for YouTube can go here too, either as its own post, or as a link to your YouTube channel.
It’s the best platform to reach buyers with money IN their pockets so media monitoring on LinkedIn is IMPORTANT! Set goals to like and comment on a few posts everyday, and follow at least five new businesses or entrepreneurs each week. This will help you grow a solid network on the admin side of things.
Up and Comers
The two best places to be right now, to keep up with the curves and even get ahead in the game (hint, hint), are Bluesky and Mastodon. With a certain tech exec, who shall remain nameless, getting closer and closer to the United States government’s inner circle without anyone casting a single vote for him, many users have abandoned Twitter. And we mean ABANDONDED. Bluesky went from 13 million to 25 million users from November to December 2024 alone! This figure is also about the equivalent LOSS of users for Twitter (32 million users lost since 2023).
Both Mastadon and Bluesky feature a similar platform format for posting and resharing content. The huge difference is they are regulated, and do not suffer from a cesspool/influx of hate speech, or being overrun with unhinged politicians and porn bots. Bluesky is truly the greener pasture.
We could mention several more social media platforms - BeReal, Red Note, heck, technically Truth Social is a platform you may want to consider.
Either way, the decentralization of social media is going to continue and we don’t think there will ever be a single platform everyone wants to be on anymore. So pick and choose wisely!
If you’re still feeling like you need a bit more direction, you can always reach out to us for more tips, starting goals, or even full-time social media management!
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