Social media has the power to completely make or break a brand these days. Brands may lose credibility and/or the opportunity to strengthen trust with their audiences when they don’t have a solid social media presence. We’ve also seen time and time again brands irreparably damaging their reputation when they use the wrong platforms in the wrong ways. In order to choose the right social media platforms, a brand must first have a very good idea of who they are, who their target audience is, where said audience lives, when that audience is most active, and what type of content they’re interested in seeing.
There are tried and true platforms that have a ton of data structured around them and coming from them daily like Meta (Facebook &Instagram), TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitter. These platforms offer large-scale analytics, and small-scale very detailed data. Whether you’re interested in big or small, the good news is the information is already established and the data is most likely pretty close to what you need to know regarding your brand’s target audience starting out. But how does a brand know if it should join a newcomer to the social media platform scene when there is little to no data surrounding who is using it and how it’s working?
Your Industry, Size, and Audience Determine Which Platforms Make Sense
“If you’re a small business or working solo, you can’t afford to be everywhere.” (Henwood, 2017) Depending on your industry and what your brand specializes in (what is the service or product you offer?), you may like to stick to producing certain types of content that best display what you aim to do. Video content is one of the most popular content styles right now and does an amazing job of offering audiences bite-sized information, with colorful and vivid graphics, that paint beautiful pictures for brands. But if your brand is too small, too big, or video just doesn’t make sense, choosing a platform that specializes in video content, like TikTok for example, would be a major waste of time and resources for a brand.
“92% of marketers say that social media has helped increase exposure.” (Thomas, 2021) With all of that being said, if a brand hears about a new social platform that sounds perfect for what they offer and there is minimal risk in joining, low cost or free entry, and no crazy learning curve, then said brand should definitely jump on the bandwagon and try out their luck. If a brand decides to do this, getting their feet wet with minimal content to begin with and applying social listening would be a great way to approach this scenario.
If there are barriers to entry, like the issues mentioned above, or a brand just doesn’t have the time or resources to devote to a new platform, then waiting it out may make more sense before investing valuable social media currency into a new platform.
A New Social Media Platform to Consider
Clubhouse is a fairly new audio based social media platform that initially required an invite to join. (Marcin, 2021) Clubhouse allows users to jump in and out of conversations, network, share ideas and stories, and even form lasting friendships. Conversations that are had in the Clubhouse platform are not recorded (and are not allowed to be recorded), and it is said that many celebrities frequent the LinkedIn meets conference room style social media app.
There have been some issues with this platform, mainly stemming from the inability to monitor and moderate some negative things that people are saying to one another (imagine that).
Clubhouse is now open to everyone and available for Apple users as well as Android users. This quirky platform offers a great space for new and/or existing small businesses to chat with other great minds around the world to learn new ways to conquer old problems, and chat and network with likeminded people about things that can help your business or brand grow and succeed.
References:
AWA-ABUON, J. A. (2021). 5 Social Media Platforms to Check Out in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.makeuseof.com/social-media-platforms-2021/
Henwood, A. H. (2017). How to Decide When to Join a Social Media Platform. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/social-media/decide-join-social-media-platform-01834623
Marcin, T. M. (2021). Here’s what you need to know about Clubhouse, the audio social app. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/article/what-is-clubhouse-app
O’Brien, S. O. (2021). Now anyone can join Clubhouse, the pandemic’s hottest new social media app. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/tech/clubhouse-audio-social-open/index.html
Thomas, S. T. (2021). 12+ Best Social Media Platforms for Business in 2021. Retrieved from https://avada.io/resources/social-media-platforms-for-business.html
