Which Social Media Platform Is Best for My Business?

Which Social Media Platform Is Best for My Business?

When managed properly, social platforms help create community, grow your audience, promote your products, and drive traffic to your website which will ultimately grow your business.

As a social media expert, a question I often get asked by small business owners is “What social media platform should I use for my business?” My answer is always the same. I say, “That depends”. It depends on who your target audience is, who your ideal customer is, where they are hanging out, and where your passion lies.

Your own website

You need your own website and blog. Small businesses that relied only on Facebook as their business page learnt this lesson October 4th ‘21, the day Facebook and Instagram went down. You need your own domain so that you have control over your own business page. Relying solely on Facebook, or any social media platform is like living in someone else’s tent.

  1. Facebook

Whether you love it or hate it; Facebook still has the largest audience with over 2 billion users. Facebook ad campaigns (if done right) are highly effective. Plus, you can take advantage of the many extra and free features like Private Groups. Facebook is almost mandatory for your social media presence. Do NOT use your personal Facebook page. Set up a separate Facebook business page.

  1. LinkedIn

92% of B2B (Business to Business) marketers prefer LinkedIn. LinkedIn gives your business legitimacy. The first place another business, a bank, a prospective employee, or potential client is going to check you out is on LinkedIn.

  1. YouTube

For high exposure, YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google, but you need good video content.

  1. Instagram

Instagram is more than just pretty pictures. Engagement is higher on Instagram than all other platforms with 500 million daily active users waiting for your interesting, entertaining, follow-worthy content. Plus, products can be purchased directly through Instagram.

  1. Pinterest

Pinterest is a highly engaged method of showing off your product. Especially, if your product is visually beautiful fashion, food or home décor. Users tend to stay on Pinterest longer than other platforms.

  1. Twitter for Business

Twitter might be the easiest platform to set up and use, but it is also the fastest moving with up-to-date trends, news, and connections. Be prepared to post several times per day & stay current.

Choosing a platform beyond the big 5: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest will depend on your audience. You might also consider:

    • WhatsApp
    • Tumblr
    • SnapChat,
    • TikTok
    • Reddit
    • etc…

For example:

If you had an ice cream stand at the beach you could be on Tik Tok, Twitter and Instagram for quick social shares and fun customer engagement with creative videos like the flavour of the day, your funky staff, or closures due to rain.

Alternatively, an insurance agent would do better building engagement on LinkedIn.

The Bottom Line:

Depending on how much time you have to devote to social posting you are better off doing a great job on one platform rather than random posting on several platforms. Choose a platform that you enjoy and that the culture makes sense to you. The whole idea is to engage, connect, and build a community by adding value to your clients’ lives. Eventually your audience will grow to trust you as an expert in your field and like you enough to purchase from you.

Please let me know if this is information is helpful to you.

instagram graphic with little people who love it

Favourite Word Press Plug Ins

My Favourite Plug-Ins for WordPress

(The bottom of this blog includes a bonus video on how I made this blog post. )

 

  1. Coming Soon by SeedProd
  2. Akismet Anti-Spam
  3. CDN Enabler
  4. Cookie Notice and compliance for GDPR/CCPA
  5. Site Kit by Google
  6. Smush
  7. Wordfence Security

1. Coming Soon by SeedProd

This plug-in creates a simple splash page that hides your new WordPress site until you are ready for your website to go live. It is the very first Plug-in I load and set up.

2. Akismet Anti-Spam

It might come pre-loaded but only use plugins that you need. You need this plug-in if you have a blog and allow comments. I removed it once and quickly got thousands of fake comments on a client’s site – so it definitely works well.

  1. CDN Enabler

Rewrites URLs like CSS, JavaScript, and images, to be served by a content delivery network (CDN) which helps speed up your WordPress site. Only use this plug-in if your host doesn’t provide CDN service.

  1. Cookie Notice and compliance for GDPR/CCPA

Adds a notice to your site to tell visitors that your site uses cookies and helps you comply with GDPR, CCPA and other data privacy laws. I use the plug-in by Hu-manity.co and it always works well for me. Whatever one you choose – be sure to use one.

 

  1. Site Kit by Google 

Sets up search console, Google analytics and site speed tests. In other words,

    • how your site appears in Search results
    • how many visitors you’ve had
    • analytics on your visitors
    • you can even run speed tests on your site

This used to be so difficult because you had to set these all up separately and now Google makes it so much easier I need to thank Google.

  1. Smush

This easily reduces image file sizes to help load time which improves performance and helps with SEO. I use Smush from WPMU DEV  and it saves me hours of resizing my images manually. Plus, I have tried other image optimizing plug-ins that caused problems so I trust Smush.

 

  1. Wordfence Security – This is a must have plug in.

I keep my site safe by using Wordfence Security – Anti-virus, Firewall and Malware Scan by Wordfence I use the free version and it has always been amazingly good at keeping my site secure. However, if my site ever went into the BigLeagues – I would pay for the Pro version for sure.

 

      • Only use plug-ins you need.
      • Remove any that you don’t need that may have been included in your hosting package.
      • Always keep plug-ins up to date by enabling auto updates for your plug-ins.
      • No, I did not get paid to mention any of these plug-ins. I just use them and they work well for me.

 Do you agree? What are your Go-To plugins that you always use?

Are you new to WordPress and want to learn more? Watch the video on how I created this post:

The Easiest Way to Create a WordPress Post