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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Facebook Marketing
  2. Instagram Marketing
  3. LinkedIn Marketing
  4. Pinterest Marketing
  5. X Marketing
  6. Threads Marketing
  7. YouTube Marketing
  8. TikTok Marketing

Today, almost every business can benefit from some form of social media presence. When selecting the right social media for business marketing, it’s important to consider a few things.  First, there are many platforms out there. Likely a different combination of a few will be beneficial to a business. The second thing is a factor that each platform has in common: they all require research, strategy, planning and consistency.

Leveraging Social Media for Business Use

The biggest takeaway of this blog is to help businesses decide which social media platforms to continue using, which to look into further and which ones to say no to. We’ll review the most popular platforms to use when considering social media for business use and what’s needed to be successful on each platform.

Facebook

Facebook is an ideal social media marketing platform for businesses that want to post light and engaging content that is best suited for viewing on a mobile device. Facebook’s algorithm tends to favor accounts that consistently post over a period of time more than they share accounts that post sporadically. Lifestyle content in your brand’s niche typically performs well on Facebook.

Facebook business account

Commitment for Facebook

  • three to four organic posts per week minimum
  • stories posted daily
  • three reels per week
  • combination of static images, video and .gifs for organic content
  • content variety that includes educational or informational posts, industry related humor, and lifestyle images and copy
  • frequent communication with commenters
  • sharing of other relevant content if appropriate

Facebook has reported that as of 2021, 56% of its users are male, while 44% are female. According to Statista, a study showed that “male users between the ages of 25 and 34 years constituted the biggest demographic group on the social media platform.” It’s also reported that most of their traffic is through mobile devices.

If your target lead or buyer is more often men than women, and within the largest age range as reported above, Facebook would be a great platform for your business. The types of organic content that often do best on Facebook are funny posts, events, giveaways, inspirational quotes and images, and videos – which are the top performing medium on the platform. Be sure to keep posts on Facebook fun and relevant to the lifestyle choices of your audience.

Instagram

Instagram is the perfect marketing tool for businesses whose products and services are visually captivating. It’s a visuals-first platform, with an increasing focus on video as of late in an attempt to compete with TikTok. If you provide an image-friendly service such as photography or home building, or you have a brand that can expand into an adjacent lifestyle space, Instagram is the perfect match for you.

Commitment for Instagram

  • 16-25 organic feed posts per month that offer variety between photo carousels and reels
  • at least two to three reels per week
  • daily behind-the-scenes informal story posts
  • captivating video production and text overlay on videos
  • high quality static images that are 4:5 ratio and scroll-stopping quality
  • relevant keywords and hashtags for captions
  • frequent communication with commenters
  • tagging other relevant accounts for reach
  • collaborating with like accounts when possible
Instagram business account
Something to consider when selecting social media platforms is who your audience is. According to Pew Research, there are 10% more females on Instagram than males in the US. It’s also popular among young people, with 71% of those in the age 18-29 saying they use the platform. If your ideal customer is young and female, Instagram is a must. Ecommerce sites can also find success on Instagram by tagging their products in photos that show them in action, which will link users to the respective product in the in-app shopping feature.

When shouldn’t you use Instagram? If your niche doesn’t have a lifestyle community around it (i.e. utility trailer dealership), or your business doesn’t lend itself well to photos (i.e. garbage disposal). The only ways to drive leads to your website through Instagram is a link in your profile or in your Instagram stories. It doesn’t typically drive a large volume of traffic, but it can build brand loyalty and serve as a visual portfolio for your brand. It’s also a platform that requires a significant time investment. Consistent activity on this platform with curated images and edited videos are the minimum required for a return on your effort.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn may be a great platform for your business if you’re looking to market towards B2B connections. It encourages business professionals to share advice or knowledge and offers somewhere to connect with other professionals within like industries.  While focusing on information-based posts about your business may not be best practice on other platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, it’s the perfect content for LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Business Page

Commitment for LinkedIn

  • two to four organic posts per week with a focus on consistency
  • content that educates, inspires, and sparks dialogue, focusing on valuable insights and industry trends
  • varying format types including carousels, images, videos, infographics, document posts, articles, and polls
  • regular interaction with industry content and daily responsiveness to comments and messages
  • active contribution in relevant group discussions, offering expertise and sharing useful resources

LinkedIn differentiates itself from other social media platforms with its professional interface, leading many to view it as a distinct category within the social media world. With over 58.4 million companies registered and around 50 million people using it weekly for job hunting, LinkedIn’s influence is clear. Approaching a milestone of 900 million users globally by early 2023, with the United States holding the largest share, LinkedIn is projected to reach a user base of 1 billion by 2025. This positions it as a formidable force in social networking, particularly among U.S. adults, with smartphones driving 57% of its traffic and a user base primarily in the 25-34 year age demographic. You can read more of LinkedIn’s data trends and statistics on Statista.com.

For businesses targeting B2B or professional audiences, LinkedIn is indispensable, serving as the world’s largest professional network. Success on the platform in 2024 hinges on delivering informative and engaging content that provides insights and value, thereby establishing brand authority. Effective strategies involve producing educational content, leveraging industry trends, thought leadership, and incorporating storytelling to ensure relatability. With a focus on quality, consistency, and strategic timing of posts, businesses can effectively engage audiences through a variety of content formats, from text and images to videos and documents. Engaging in LinkedIn groups and discussions, leveraging LinkedIn Stories, and utilizing interactive elements are key tactics to enhance audience engagement and expand professional networks.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a fantastic platform for driving traffic and link clicks to your website. What sets Pinterest apart is that it’s more visual search engine than it is social network, and every post is clickable to your site. There’s less of a focus of keeping you on the platform here, and more about empowering discovery and inspiration. However, you will still need captivating visuals in order to entice clicks amidst highly aesthetic and topic-specific feeds.

Commitment for Pinterest

  • two to three pins per day minimum with a 2:3 or 9:16 ratio
  • high quality, scroll-stopping static images or video with matching descriptions and links for each pin
  • website landing pages with educational or informational content for your service(s), product(s), industry, etc. and calls to action
  • SEO research for pin titles and descriptions
  • organized boards with SEO titles and descriptions and relevant content saved
Pinterest business account

One important thing to note about Pinterest is that this platform goes hand in hand with having either a blog or a catalog. You need landing pages for users to click through to, and typically how-to’s, recipes, guides and shoppable posts perform the best. If your website has a blog that establishes you as an industry expert and includes calls to action like contacting you for more information, you’re set up to succeed on Pinterest.

Pinterest is the most successful for businesses that can post eye-catching images and educational content about your niche. If you don’t have a blog and don’t plan on starting one, it will be tough to build landing pages that are enticing for clicks. Pinterest can also require a big time investment, since best practices encourage multiple pins per day. For more information on how to get started using Pinterest for Dealerships, check out our how-to guide!

X

X, formerly known as Twitter, is an unusual social media platform. It is extremely popular, especially among men ages 25-34, yet it one of the most difficult platforms when it comes to effectively advertising.  The businesses that do well on X have one of two things going for them. They are a very large corporation with a national following, such as Nike or Taco Bell, or they have made it their mission to humanize their brand by using sometimes self-deprecating humor.  For example, one of the most notorious accounts like this is the ever-popular Wendy’s account. Celebrities also tend to have mass followings on X.

Social media for business is a great option for businesses looking to build a presence on Twitter.

Commitment for X

  • three to five posts per day
  • topics that are likely to perform best in a short period of time, ideally within 15 minutes
  • clever participation in pop culture and current events
  • high quality, viral-worthy static images or videos 
  • hashtag research and testing

Historically, posts on X have had a very short “lifespan”. Research has shown posts may only be viable for 18 minutes! In most cases, they have a very short time to be seen and reach potential virality before it is considered old and dead content. This is why we typically recommend posting multiple times a day to get the most out of the ever-changing feed. However, with algorithm changes that came after Elon Musk took over the platform in late 2022 and the rise of the “For You” feed, posts may have wider reach than before, particularly if they receive strong engagement early on.

Additionally, unless you are a paying X Premium member, your posts have a character limit of 280 characters per post. You must get your point across in a short but attention-grabbing manner. This platform is best when you can provide quick snippets of entertainment. Unless your business can provide something new and unique to entertain users, X may not be for you.

Threads

Threads is the latest newcomer on the social media scene. Instagram launched Threads in July of 2023 as a way for users to share text posts with an audience that shares similar interests as their Instagram following. As a direct competitor to X, it functions much in the same way and requires a similar commitment. Since it’s still so new, it is still developing its identity as an app. So far though, it has served as a place for brands to interact with their followers, post witty quips and casual behind-the-scenes content and share industry insights as a thought leader.

A phone open to the Threads sign up page.

NetSource Media/Diego – stock.adobe.com

Commitment for Threads

  • three to five posts per day
  • topics meant to enagage and interact with your audience
  • responses to customer comments on posts
  • clever participation in pop culture and current events
  • concise copy with an authentic brand voice
  • incorporating photo and video posts where relevant

Content on Threads seems to have a longer lifespan than posts on X and has potential to land in the feeds of non-followers, similar to how Instagram suggests similar content to the accounts you already follow on the Explore Page or Reels Tab. If you’ve already built a community around your brand on Instagram, Threads is a great place to deepen that community further. It’s a place where you can pose questions to your followers and respond to their comments, share short snippets that showcase the brand’s personality and occasionally incorporate photo or video posts.

If you can share witty, industry-relevant thoughts, and you have a loyal following that will interact with your brand, Threads can be a great place to expound on your brand’s personality. If your business is not already on Instagram, it’s likely not worth it to try and build an audience from scratch on Threads since accounts on the two apps are intertwined.

YouTube

YouTube is ideal for businesses who are able to consistently produce high-quality, long form video content. While there is no exact number of recommended posts per week, consistency is key. You should be able to commit to two to three posts per week and consistently post them on the same days at the same time every single week.  

Commitment for YouTube

  • two to three long-form video posts per week
  • three to five YouTube Shorts per week adapting long form content to brief clips under :60
  • educational or informational content for your service(s), product(s), industry, etc.
  • on-camera personality to carry the brand’s presence in videos
  • high quality video production, lighting, editing and graphics
  • high quality, scroll-stopping thumbnail graphics to describe each video
  • SEO research for video titles and descriptions
YouTube for dealerships can be a fantastic social media tool.

With the rise in popularity in streaming, YouTube has grown exponentially over the past few years. A  2020 study by Hootsuite showed “74% of all adults in the US use YouTube.” YouTube differs from other social media platforms in the “life” of a video. Video posts will live on YouTube for years, not just a few days to weeks like on other social platforms. Some videos will even go viral years after originally uploaded. Use of well researched SEO-based titles and descriptions are important on YouTube also. It’s the world’s second largest search engine, generating over 3 billion searches per month.

While YouTube is one of the best social media platforms for search and generating revenue, it is also one of the most time consuming. Businesses need to shoot high-quality video content, edit video, create thumbnails, write SEO friendly descriptions, and respond in a timely manner to all comments.  If you have the time and knowledge though, this is a platform that can be very beneficial to any business selling a physical product.  

TikTok

TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform, even surpassing Google and Facebook as the most popular web domain in 2021. Although you can view videos on a desktop, TikTok is almost always used on mobile. TikTok videos are similar to Instagram Reels: short, vertical videos with a casual, friendly or satirical vibe. Videos range from 15 seconds to three minutes. TikTok is first and foremost an entertainment platform, so it’s a great platform if your business can be engaging and entertaining. In some cases, you will need an on-camera personality to drive the brand’s personality on the app.

Social media for business can include TikTok, if there is content available.
  • at least one video post per day
  • entertaining, funny, or satirical content to draw attention
  • high-quality vertical video content edited with TikTok-exclusive fonts and closed captions
  • research of trending or viral TikTok trends to use
  • in some cases, an on-camera personality to represent the brand’s presence
  • research hashtags that are relevant to the video content posted
  • attention grabbing, scroll stopping videos and information in video format, from 30 seconds to three minutes long

It’s the best platform to reach a younger audience, with 47% of users between the ages of 10 and 29. In March 2021, 61% of active TikTok users in the United States identified as female. The platform is growing to include older users but is still dominated by Gen Z and Millennial audiences. It works best for a national audience, as the algorithm targets people by interest over a large location. You can only target by location in TikTok Ads.

If your business is able to dedicate time and resources to a video-first platform and targets a younger audience, TikTok might be a great place for you. Content should be casual, creative and friendly. It’s widely recommended that you post on TikTok daily for best results, similar to most other social media platforms. Creating videos can be time consuming, so be mindful of this when considering if TikTok is really right for your business before investing time and resources.

Make a Smart Social Media Decision

Still unsure what platforms are best for your social media for business success, location, industry, and commitment ability? Contact NetSource today for your free Social Media Audit and consultation. A social media manager will review details about your business, industry, current social media accounts, and make top industry recommendations to help you succeed on social media.

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