4 Simple Tips for Selecting the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Brand in 2024

There are a variety of social media platforms out there and it can be overwhelming trying to decide which platforms will work for your brand. It can also feel as though to be “social” you need to be on all platforms, but the reality is a bit different. Some brands will have success being active on all social media platforms while others will reach the social media success they want being active on a select few platforms. Let’s take a look at how you can narrow down what social media platforms you’d like for your brand to be active on in 2024.

Identify Your Audience:

Knowing your audience is the first step to deciding what platform(s) your brand should be active on. Who is your audience? Have you analyzed your website data, current social media data, and purchase history? These are just a few of the data points you should take a look at. Also, ask yourself, who is my target audience? Then decide if the data reflects that as well.

Define Your Brand Goals

What is the outcome you want from social media usage? Do you want more followers, more sales, more leads, more website traffic etc.? Social media growth can lead you to all different types of engagement and you’ll need to know what outcome defines success for you. Success can be as simple as just knowing your brand is putting out content that aligns with what you want people to know and see about your brand. Or if can be as specific as you want (x) amount of leads, likes, or website traffic a month.

Consider Content Types

Outline the types of content you like to see and interact with on social media. Ask yourself, what catches my eye? Then think about the types of content you would like to create (or hire someone to help you create). Content creation is not easy, so don’t think you need to wear all of the hats - you don’t. There is a common misconception that posting on social media is easy - well, it isn’t. Go ahead and outline what types of content you think would help to bring your brand to life online. Is it graphics, images, videos, a combination?

There are multiple ways you can use content, such as posts, stories, and videos. Before you can decide on the platform you want to use, you need to know what type of content you’d like to use to reach your target audience. You can also stage this out in growth milestones. For example, start with images you already have combined with stock images, then advance to graphics, and then launch video.

Competitor Analysis

What are your competitors doing? While we stand firm to not get overly focused on the competition, it is good to at least know what your competition is doing online. How do you feel about their content, what stands out to you good and bad? Then think about how you would like to be different and unique from them. What makes your brand standout from the competitors, that is one of the things that makes social media great - you get the creative freedom.

Platform Types

Now that you’ve thought through all of this, we can take a look at platforms.

Instagram: Instagram has great options for growth through posts, graphics, stories (which are great for spontaneous and on demand content), and notes for quick thoughts. You also have the option to post videos (Reels) - be sure to check the time length when creating content. Instagram is a great platform for creative and fun content. If you miss the days of Twitter, be sure to check out Threads (part of Instagram).

Facebook: Facebook is not dead, though many people say it is, though we do see success differently for each brand. Some do well on Facebook, while others do not. Facebook has the option for text based posts, graphics, images, and video content. You also get story options as well. Meta suite has also grown to be an amazing business tool which allows your page to function as a business and a team effort.

YouTube: Long format content has a home on YouTube for sure. You can experiment with YouTube Shorts and if you’re into podcasting, be sure to check out YouTube podcast as well. YouTube has tons of options once you reach the growth milestones required. Such as memberships and monetization.

TikTok: The future of TikTok is uncertain but the fun is here while it lasts. TikTok offers endless opportunity for creativity, less formal content (as well as high quality content), longer videos, music options, story options, and some amazing brands are hilarious on TikTok.

When deciding what platforms align with your brand goals, you don’t have to talk it out alone. Book a strategy session and let’s get to work together! (book here)