For some businesses, social media might feel like a necessary evil. We know it’s important, but managing accounts can feel like a lot of work and the engagement and algorithms can be frustrating to figure out. But we should be in agreement that social media is extremely important for growing your following and promoting products and services.
There are a wide variety of important social media platforms for businesses. Here, we’ll discuss Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The one you use the most (and that will get you the most engagement) will vary based on the type of business you run, and the demographic of your target audience. Here’s a quick breakdown of three of the major social media platforms, plus a few tips for maximizing engagement with your posts on each one.
Demographic: About 73% are within the 18–44 range, with users between 25–34 being the largest demographic. (Source)
Overview: Facebook is one of the original social media behemoths. Though it’s fallen out of favor with the younger generations, it’s still a go-to for nearly three billion people worldwide. Even if they aren’t active on it, most people you know probably have a Facebook profile. Facebook is great for sharing articles and other linked content like surveys or products, since you have a photo preview, a title, a caption, and a text preview. Facebook can have a higher click-through rate than other platforms thanks to the combination of title, caption, and photo. Many accounts have videos on auto-play, which means the video plays as the person scrolls.
Posting Tips: Like all social media platforms, engagement begets engagement. When someone comments on the post, that person’s circle will see a notification about the comment, and you’ll get more eyes on the original post. Asking a question in the caption or having text that otherwise garners engagement will help boost visibility. Make sure you have an eye-catching photo, and if possible, alter your title from the SEO title to a social title to grab more attention. Keep the caption short and sweet, and use a brief excerpt from the article or content.
Demographic: 32% of users are in the 25 to 34 age range. This drops steeply off, with less than 30% of users being 35 years and older. (Source)
Overview: Instagram is a photo-sharing platform, with no clickable links in the captions. Eye-catching photos are even more important here than on Facebook—if no one is seeing your photos, they won’t be reading your caption. Keeping your business Instagram cohesive and visually appealing is important for getting people to follow your page. Unlike Facebook, people won’t see your posts unless they follow your page or someone directly sends them the link. User’s feeds are curated strictly by pages they follow (unless you pay for an ad, which is a whole other post). The only hyperlink on an Instagram page is in your bio, so use it for your business page, or use a third-party sites like LinkTree in your bio, and add your links on their simple platform. This is a great place to showcase your most appealing, beautiful photos, and get people interested in what your business can provide visually. Instagram users skew younger than Facebook users, though the platform still ranks third for teenagers after Snapchat and TikTok.
Posting Tips: Post several times per week, and make your images as eye-catching as possible. Viewers saving, commenting, and messaging on your post will help you stay unburied in the algorithm, and re-posts to “stories” will also help you float to the top of someone’s feed. Keep your captions short, and even though it’s a pain, try to use relevant hashtags at the bottom of your caption. Your account can be found both through direct followers and users following those hashtags.
Demographic: 38% of U.S. Twitter users are between the ages of 18 and 29 (Source)
Overview: Out of these three social media platforms, Twitter is the platform with the highest chance of seeing things on your newsfeed from accounts you don’t follow. It’s also the place where your posts are most likely to get buried and never see the light of day. Shares, retweets, likes, and quote tweets are the way to get your post seen. Twitter can have more of a laid-back vibe, with viral tweets often being relatable or humorous. It’s also a good place to see what’s trending in your industry, and can often be one of the first platforms to gauge a spike in interest with news or media via “mentions.”
Posting Tips: Short, punchy captions are the name of the game here. You have a 280-character limit per tweet, so choose your words carefully. You can preview links and post photos with your tweet, which helps them get noticed. Be sure to follow relevant accounts, and stay active on Twitter by retweeting and commenting on other accounts in your network.