How to work out what social media channels you should be using for your business

At some point in every business owner's journey, they find themselves asking the age-old question: which of these bloomin' social media platforms do I need to use??

If you've found yourself wondering about where to invest your time, or panic everytime you hear hype about yet another new site, fear not. Working out the right social media site for you doesn't have to be complicated. Simply follow these steps and you'll be feeling confident in no time.

Step 1: Think about your customers

Hopefully, you already know who your customers are. Maybe you've been trading for a little while, or perhaps you're just starting out but you've done your market research. Or maybe you've muddled through for months and haven't ever stopped to think about your ideal client or customer. Well, now is the time to do it.

The first thing you need to figure out is, who buys the stuff your selling. Is it individuals or businesses? Young people or older people? Is your product gender-specific? Is there a certain lifestyle all your customers have in common, like being outdoorsy, or are they aspiring home cooks?

It might be that you have two or three distinct customer personas and this is absolutely fine. Just make sure you're focusing on your ideal customer - the people who buy from you quickly, who make repeat purchases, and who can't get enough of you and your brand.

Step 2: Do your research

Once you know who your customers are, then you can start to figure out where they 'hang out' online. Certain social media sites are more popular with different demographics (things like age, gender, country, even hobbies). At the most basic level, you want to focus on the platforms with the largest number of your ideal customers.

Figuring out where your customers hang out might take a little bit of research. You could try:

• Asking people who have already bought from you what social media they use most often.

• Looking up the user demographics for each site (most social media companies will list this somewhere on their website).

• Read trend reports or use Google search to find out what audience look like on different platforms. Often social media software companies (like Sprout Social or Hootsuite) will release an annual report looking at social media trends, which can be very useful.

Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

Step 3: Check out the competition

So now you know who you're trying to reach (your ideal customer) and where they hang out (your priority social media sites). The next thing to do is to scope out what your competition is doing.

Now, there are two reasons to do this. The first is that looking at your competitors can show you what's working well and what isn't. If you can see that your top three competitors all have huge audiences on Instagram (for example), it's a good indicator that your target customers use this platform. It's also worth paying attention to what sort of content they're sharing (photos, videos, reels, the topics they talk about) as this can inspire your content calendar.

Checking out the competition can also highlight opportunities. For example, if none of your competitors are on TikTok yet, it doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't be. If you think your customers are on there, and you have ideas for what sort of posts you could share on the platform, then you could benefit from first mover advantage - basically, you would be the only one (even if it's only for a little bit!) talking about your industry and product on there.

Step 4: It's all about you

The final step when working out what social media channels to use for your business is to think about yourself. It's okay - you have our permission! Think about your own preferences and the type of content you like to create. It's no good choosing a video platform like TikTok if you hate making videos but love digital photography (Instagram might be a better fit). Or if you prefer curating content that other people have made, you could explore using Pinterest for your business.

Hopefully, there's some crossover between what you like and what your customers like (although this is not always the case). But you might need to find a compromise, like choosing one platform you love and one you know will work for your business.

So, there you have it. Four simple(ish) steps to figure out exactly which social media platforms your business should be using. If this still feels a bit overwhelming, try starting with just one platform and commit to posting 3 times a week. Even the biggest social media stars had to start somewhere!

Main photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash