Platforms that make you stand out!
Platforms to Raise Your Game
Anyone who wants to promote a website now use all forms of social media to reach a wider and more diverse audience. This in itself is a great idea, especially when first trying to establish your business on-line and create an expansive platform for yourself. However it is then an idea to work out in what areas of social media is best suited to your on-line business persona as many social network media have their own unique base followers and trends. So you may ask, “Which one is the best one for mine…?”
This is where its not only important to ask this question but is possibly vital to the longevity of your on-line business success. So what questions do you ask and where do you go according to the answer? Well lets first break it down into the widest used platforms at present and take it from there…
Facebook as we all know is one of, if not the main platform used by upcoming and already established companies alike. Because of its unique user-friendly platform and excessive on-line presence, everyone a fighting chance of being seen and integrated with.
As of January 2014 74% of people used the internet, with a mighty 71% using Facebook in particular. With 1 billion registered users and 699 million everyday users, it is true that more people are likely to see your business pages and ads. Facebook’s main user ages range between 18-29 (90%) and 30-49 (78%), which is based on Sept 2014 figures.
The ways you present your business ads on Facebook is diverse and many elements can be taken into consideration when choosing how to represent yourself to your on-line audience. With more options as to how you would like present your business, including choosing to advertise your business page or an individual post on that page, targeting a particular audience or category, it can be easily tailored to fit in with your companies requirements and gives you your own extensive insights as to how your page is functioning. Just take into consideration as so many others will be doing the same thing, you will have to do a lot of tweaking and testing to find your own rhythm. This may be well worth the effort put in and money spent or you could find that another platform suits your product better…Which leads us to Twitter…
Now Twitter became very popular at first with celebrities in years gone by and we once thought that it was a platform for the famous person. However over time it has gained an impressive following all of its own. With 271 million active users, it has become a global soapbox where anyone can and does share their news, stories, thoughts and pictures in a short and sweet, real time kind of way.
Twitter seems to be the Marmite of the on-line user. You either love the snappy, #trendy way to express yourself and your business or feel that it takes too much effort even to have your say in so many words #editmuch. However this does not take away from the fact that it is a platform that can be used in an intelligent way for your business, what with their ad design being a more basic and straightforward one, if that is what you prefer.
There are just a few ways to promote on Twitter, they are the promoted tweet, pretty self explanatory and shows up in your feed as an organic tweet that shows it has been promoted. The other is the promoted account , which appear on the right hand sidebar, not unlike Facebook feeds. The third is the promoted trend which gives a list of hash tags that are trending and is a great way to join a relative category audience. Twitter does seem to be more big business friendly with 85% B2B marketer using this platform, with 53% of businesses in information and communication reporting the highest rate of blog and microblog Twitter usage. So if its a well established business you have, you may want to consider it…However if your business is growing or just starting up you may want to consider other options, as their advertising costs can be excessive. Which brings us on to the business men and women, wanting to connect with like minded people, with LinkedIn…
LinkedIn has become a unique self promotion and business platform site all of its own, inviting professionals far and wide to congregate and share their expertise, network and find each other more easily. If you’re looking for such a person, there is probably only one place to go.
LinkedIn has achieved great things in the short time its been around actually and is possibly the go to platform for B2B audience and target market. With an on-line audience of 300 million users per month, you can aim your business directly at another and not have to wade through an inexhaustible and relevant crowd, the near misses are almost impossible. With many ways to gain exposure from sponsored ads, display ads and direct ads, all very similar to their social networking counterparts, it is very easy to incorporate into your campaign strategy. On that note if you have a business that is targeted at other small businesses or the corporate markets, LinkedIn may serve you well…However if that isn’t what you’re all about then maybe you would like to try out another up and coming contender in the shape of Pinterest…
Pinterest, love it or hate, has basically managed to defy the odds by becoming a major player on the social networking market and continues to grow. So with this in mind I think it is important to look on the long finger of certain platforms to see where they could possibly go. If you’re just starting out on your journey into the great on-line, Pinterest just may help you along.
So far they have a smaller on-line presence of 70 million registered users, however that does not take away the fact that the ones they have are dedicated to them and want it to stick around and see it succeed. This can only be good news for start-ups and small businesses alike. Once you find your way around how Pinterest functions, you are good to go! And although they have only one way to advertise right now with their Promoted Pins option, this doesn’t take away where it could possibly go in the future. As does Intagram and Tumblr…
Both these platforms, although directed at a particular market, have enough leverage to boost any potential your business may have. With Instagram’s photo frenzied audience of around 200 million active users and Tumblr’s 130 million blogging force of nature, it may be worth considering jumping onto these bandwagons and seeing where they take you.
These are just a few of the players in on-line advertising platforms, big and not so big, when considering your business steps. It is very important to consider closely your budget, especially starting out, what you are promoting and to whom and the best steps to take in order to make it a more economic and efficient machine that works for you. Best of success!