The term Social Media refers to the means of interaction and communication of groups of people through online communities. Year by year, social media is growing and the battle is getting even fiercer for a piece of the public’s “pie”.
Most are certainly here to stay, have changed and continue to shape all our lives. The most prevalent ones at the moment are Facebook, Instagram, Pin-terest, Twitter, YouTube and the up-and-coming TikTok. Each serves a different purpose and caters to different user needs. In a broader context, social media is the social interaction between people who create, share or exchange information and ideas within virtual communities and networks.
Each social media platform is aimed at different age groups with different interests. Choosing the right platform for each business is therefore a matter of understanding the type of users that each of them is targeting.
But how does a company choose which are the right social media platforms for the ideal promotion of its brand?
These answers can be provided by the right digital marketing strategy, which is backed by a team of experts who analyse the data of the buying public in order to be able to understand it and communicate the company’s message in a targeted way and with a lower rate of deviation.
A company before making any move to make its brand known and to satisfy its customers, should think about who the product-service is addressed to and what is its goal. If these are clear, the right foundations are in place to start both the process of social media management and that of brand development.
So what are the dominant platforms available to a business?
Facebook: The most widespread platform which concerns almost all businesses that address consumers (B2C) as it has 4.5 million members in Greece and over 1 billion worldwide, of every demographic and age category. The above data make Facebook presence essential, both organically and with advertising placements resulting from digital strategy. It is now clear that since a company’s products or services are targeted to a wide audience, Facebook remains the obvious choice to communicate its messages and gain an efficient interaction with its audience.
Instagram & Pinterest: Both rely on the power of the image, so they are mainly aimed at businesses that produce products, exploit the image and produce rich, relevant content around it. The fashion industry was the first to show how powerful these two mediums are, followed by businesses from the food and tourism industry and any DIY (Do It Yourself) worthy of being recorded.
Twitter: It is used by the largest percentage of businesses but it is usually more efficient for businesses/brands that deal mainly with the media, entertainment and fun sector. It is immediate and lends itself to relaying any kind of activity as well as real-time information. Many businesses, especially abroad, use it to inform their audience about developments or changes in issues that concern them directly (travel companies, transport companies, technology companies) and as a tool for customer service.
Linkedln: It is mainly addressed to B2B businesses, such as manufacturing companies, educational organizations, public relations agencies, non-governmental organizations, human resource management companies, as well as service providers such as facility management & security. Its members are mainly professionals belonging to the above-mentioned sectors, so its use enables communication to a highly specialized audience.
Youtube & Vimeo: Although YouTube is not registered in people’s minds as a “social” site, it is one of the most popular online destinations and is the most searched online medium after Google. For most brands a presence on YouTube is essential, especially for those that rely heavily on moving images and produce relevant content and of course for professionals or businesses belonging to more creative-artistic sectors. Spotifiy is nice too but there one can only listen to one’s favorite artists. As for Vimeo, it has a loyal audience abroad but in Greece it hasn’t gained much visibility while its attempt to expand into a mobile social network with the Vine app, which allowed uploading short videos of up to 6 seconds, hasn’t been particularly fruitful.
Τik Τοk: The new fad that has invaded our screens. Initially, very young ages were attracted, with a limit of 24 years. In practice, it is a social medium that combines social networking with music in an original platform of self-made videos. Both businesses and influencers were quick to embrace the new big thing and probably not without reason because it seems that even from an advertising point of view it will have a big development.
Finally, equally important for the promotion of a business and for social media management, regardless of the platform, is the #hastag. What is it?It is a kind of “tag” that we put on a word, phrase or even an image using the # symbol. A hashtag, indicates what a post is about. Its role is to highlight the topic of the post and be included in online searches with that topic.
The aim is therefore to find the right combination of the channels mentioned above in order to achieve the proper promotion and promotion of the company’s products and services.
Contact us and Astrolabs’ team of social media experts will help you find the right media for your business.
