As a business owner, deciding which social media platforms to be present on can be difficult. Should you invest your time in all of them? Are certain platforms more superior than others for lead generation? And are there any that would be a waste of your precious time and resources? Read on and let’s find out…
Every social media platform has its place
The first and most important thing to recognise is that every social media platform has its place – just as every industry has different requirements.
Begin by identifying who your ideal target audience is – and then figure out which social media platform they are most present on.
For example: if you are primarily targeting a younger audience with your products or services, then TikTok would be a great platform to invest in. That said, even if you are targeting an older audience, don’t write it off entirely as more and more older users are taking to the platform despite the fact that it is overwhelmingly ‘young’. It’s all about how you position your messaging.
Once you have a clearer idea of who your audience is and where they’re hanging out online, you’ll be better positioned to invest in the appropriate socials.
The various social platforms and their user base…
Let’s take a look at the various social media platforms and what their ‘typical user base’ looks like:
- Facebook: Facebook certainly has its flaws, but in terms of reaching a diverse audience, it provides an awful lot of value to businesses who market themselves appropriately. According to Statista, Facebook’s largest audience are males aged 25 to 34 years old. In any case, most business types can find an audience on Facebook through proper marketing and Facebook’s advanced ad targeting.
- Instagram: Instagram is an excellent platform given its focus on visual marketing. According to recent research, the large majority of Instagram users (about one third) are aged 18 to 24, with males outnumbering females by about 3%. Either way, Instagram can be an excellent platform to advertise on, particularly for eCommerce stores who sell artwork, clothing, accessories, makeup, home décor, and other similar products that can benefit from a predominantly ‘visual’ audience.
- Twitter: Despite recent controversy, Twitter still remains an incredibly popular platform, particularly when marketing to a male audience. As of 2023, 63% of Twitter’s audience is male.
- TikTok: For TikTok, 54% of its users are female, and 71.3% of its users fall between 18 and 34. However, as mentioned above, with over 1-billion active global users, there is indeed a high number of older users aged 45 and over so don’t rule the platform out entirely.
- Linkedin: LinkedIn is rather different to most other social media platforms in that it was designed for professionals to connect with other professionals. It’s essentially a social platform that allows you to create an ‘online resume’ with the option to post and share your thoughts, ideas, and expertise. This platform in particular is perfect for freelancers and businesses in the B2B industry.
- Pinterest: Pinterest is a wildly underrated social media platform, especially for new / small businesses. This platform is especially handy if you are targeting a majority female audience aged 25 to 34!
Bearing in mind, these are just a handful of the social media platforms available today. There are dozens, each with a specialised ‘demographic’ that you can tap into.
Which social media platforms are best for finding leads?
In conclusion, all of the available social media platforms are great for finding leads – provided you know who you are targeting and where they are hiding!
With extensive market research you can discover who this ‘perfect customer’ is, and then position yourself accordingly.
Just remember that, depending on your industry, being present on every single platform will be a waste of time. However, be careful not to rule out every social platform just because it may have a slightly higher percentage of people outside your chosen demographic.
- If you are in B2B: LinkedIn can yield excellent results.
- If you are targeting a younger audience, TikTok is ‘peng’.
- For a much broader demographic, hire a Facebook advertising agency to help refine your message.
Ultimately, it’s best not to get too wrapped up in which social platform has more of X and instead focus on creating the very best adverts that appeal to Y.
Without a clear message and a well-optimised social media marketing strategy – it doesn’t matter which platform you use. Just as you can have all the leads in the world, but if you don’t have a well-optimised website with a well-positioned value proposal, you’ll struggle to convert those leads into customers.
Know your audience first – then get to work on creating valuable content that truly resonates with them. That’s the key to social media domination.