Social media platforms and their superpowers from Social Media Marketing: Strategy and Optimization by Martin Waxman
About Lesson
Social media platforms and their superpowers
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– [Narrator] You know, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed by social media because it feels like the platforms are constantly changing and there’s so much overlap between what each does. Ultimately it’s up to your business to find the social networks that help you connect and build relationships with your customers. Let’s take a look at the main ones and what makes them stand out. Some of the biggest platforms are from Meta including Facebook, Instagram, and messaging service, WhatsApp. Facebook is like the new mass media. Almost everyone’s on it, so it appeals to a big audience with a wide range of interests, but it’s skewing older, so if you’re trying to reach a younger audience, you might have more luck on Instagram. Instagram which started as a photo app is all about visuals, video and stories and finding the right hashtags your customers are following. WhatsApp is primarily a messaging service, but smaller companies are using it for customer service and it is offering more e-commerce options. YouTube, as you know, is the social video mega platform and it’s effective for long form, live streams and stories videos. Then there’s TikTok, the app that redefined video entertainment and whose algorithmic feed is super attuned to user interests. Snapchat is another app that uses video effectively and is a leader in augmented reality, both on their platform and off. Twitter, the world’s newsfeed, is a place to showcase what’s new and participate in trending topics. And they also offer video and audio options. LinkedIn is so much more than a business networking site. It’s a place for live video and audio content, newsletters and to showcase your company’s culture and attract new employees. On the B2B side and doubling down on shopping is Pinterest with its aspirational photos and videos, visual search and social shopping options. Of course, there are other sites like Tumblr, one of the earliest social networks, and one that’s still popular with some creators today. Reddit has been called the front page of the internet and is home to passionate communities and users. Discord is an audio and video chat platform often used by gamers or other communities to talk and connect. And Clubhouse, the first social audio app is a place for audio conversations except its features have been copied by Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, and even Spotify. So where does your brand fit in? Well, if you’re a bakery like Topsy Turvy, you’ll probably be focused on creative visual content on Instagram or TikTok. That might be different for a company like Globe Bank which could put more effort into attracting customers on LinkedIn. And that’s where research and social listening comes in and developing a strategic approach based on your customers, your brand and your resources. Once you decide which platforms to use, LinkedIn learning is a good one stop resource for courses that take you through how each network operates and how you can use them to achieve your goals.
