This is a tough question. Social media marketing channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest to name but a few have exploded in popularity over the last couple of years. There are thousands of social media channels available that you can use to network with your target audience. How many of these channels can you use for marketing purposes? How many can your business target before it becomes too much?
In my opinion and experience, only use the ones that will be beneficial to your business and that your target audience can be found on. This should be one of the core principles of your marketing campaign. Choose which channels are working for you based on your business objectives and goals.
If you are interested in professional networking, LinkedIn is the channel to target whereas Facebook is much more social. There is a big difference on the two channels. With LinkedIn, it’s all about showcasing your credibility, your connection with others, and your experience. With Facebook, it’s much more social and should take a more relaxed approach. Both can be used for business marketing, but it’s important that you understand how to use both.
If you are interested in pursuing LinkedIn marketing, understand that this platform is for career opportunities and business contacts. It’s a great channel to showcase to other like minded individuals what is happening in your niche and showcase your experience in your field of expertise.
Facebook marketing is all about engaging with your target audience in relaxed network. Yes there are sections on Facebook such as dedicated business pages and relevant groups for this, but generally, people are using Facebook as it’s more relaxed than the others. In this post, I just explained LinkedIn and Facebook. There are thousands of channels and in a follow up post, I’ll cover some of the others.
If your personal or business objectives fit other social media channels better, use them. Don’t rely only on the channels that are buzzing at the moment. It’s all about connecting to your target audience on their terms.
