How do you choose the right social media platform for your business?

How do you choose the right social media platform to start your business?

In light of the spread of different social media platforms and their fierce competition in providing features specific to one over the other, emerging entrepreneurs may hesitate when choosing one of these platforms to start their commercial activities, and as a result, it is necessary to answer this type of question: What is the importance of choosing a social media platform? Suitable for my commercial project, and how can I know the appropriate platform for my project?

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Social media platforms occupy a large amount of people’s time today, which has made them an indispensable marketing tool for commercial projects. For example, the number of active users on the Instagram platform alone reaches 1 billion monthly users, and the number of active users daily exceeds 500 million . user, giving startups access to millions of users around the world.

In addition, the financial cost that you spend in marketing on these platforms is very small, if you balance it with the financial cost that you will put in your marketing campaigns outside the social media platforms, and this is what requires emerging entrepreneurs to choose a social media platform that suits their project, so the multiplicity of those The platforms and their different segments of users are a confusing obstacle for them, which may lead them to waste their efforts in the wrong places. Here are principles that help you determine the appropriate platform for your business.

Social media platforms differ in the segment of the user audience, for example, females may tend to use the Pinterest platform a lot, and the platforms differ among themselves in content, for example, the Twitter platform focuses on text content, while the visual content abounds in the Instagram platform, which makes social platforms different in Domains and marketing campaigns, and here is a full explanation of the social platforms and commercial projects that suit them.

First: Facebook platform

The Facebook platform occupies a great marketing importance, as it is one of the first platforms to launch the marketing feature, and according to the latest statistics , the number of active users on the Facebook platform has reached 1.9 billion daily users, and thus it leads the social networking platforms in terms of the number of users.

The Facebook user base includes all ages, both teenagers and adults use the Facebook platform, and it is spread in almost every country in the world, so you will most likely be able to reach your target audience, whatever your business is.

What distinguishes the Facebook platform from other platforms is that you can specify the target audience in Facebook ads, based on age, gender, or geographic region, which helps you target the audience that suits your business, thereby increasing the rate of viewers interested in the content, including increasing your sales and profits .

The Facebook platform is suitable for local businesses, especially those that have a geographical location in which they offer their services, for example:

If you own a restaurant or coffee shop.
If you have a flower shop.
If you own a home furniture manufacturing company or factory.
If you have a store that sells electrical parts, such as washing machines, refrigerators, heaters, and so on.
If you are a doctor and have a clinic, or if you own a beauty salon, for example.

If you own any of the previous commercial projects, or something similar to it, the Facebook platform is your best choice, especially with the advantage of determining the geographical region, gender and age of the target audience.

Second: Instagram platform

The Instagram platform is suitable for commercial projects that depend on visual content, as you cannot publish any content via the Instagram platform without attaching it with photos or videos, and this may have a positive impact on the success of your project and your marketing plan, as people usually remember the things they see with their eyes times they remember the content they read or heard, so the Instagram platform will be suitable for your business if it depends on what a particular viewer sees, and examples of that are:

If you own a gym, or a club for athletics and bodybuilding, and the same applies to you if you are a sports coach or a bodybuilding coach.
If you are a photographer, or if you work in the field of video editing and photo editing .
If you are a makeup artist.
If you are a travel enthusiast and are working on documenting your travels for followers, or if you like sharing your visits to tourist places, football stadiums, archaeological museums, and so on.

If your business is similar to any of the previous projects, or at least similar to it, then the Instagram platform is your best choice, especially since it has all the paid benefits of the Facebook platform, as they belong to the same owner.

Third: Twitter platform

The Twitter platform is more a professional platform than an entertainment platform. In one of the surveys, 69% of Twitter platform users voted that they use the platform to follow the latest news and information about global events. The Twitter platform is also suitable for influential personalities, such as entrepreneurs and celebrities in various fields. So if your business project depends on your personality and your own words, or depends on a specific personality that people follow, the Twitter platform is your way to lead the scene and achieve success, and here are some examples:

If you are an entrepreneur, or an industry leader.
If you are a social counsellor.
If you’re a psychiatrist, or you’re talking about parenting and dealing with teens.
If you are a political expert, and you can analyze global events and realities.

If your business project is similar to any of the previous projects, or it depends on a famous or influential personality that people follow, it is better for you to choose the Twitter platform, but remember that the timing factor is very important in the Twitter platform, especially if you are analyzing or talking about global events.

Fourth: YouTube platform

The YouTube platform YouTube ranks second in Alexa’s list of the most visited sites, after the Google search engine, and from this standpoint, we can count the YouTube platform as one of the most important platforms through which you can market your business, as you can design videos and promote your brand in a visual and attractive way , Therefore, the YouTube platform will be suitable for your business if it relies on visual videos, for example:

If you’re analyzing football matches, or if you’re creating match-goal clips, or something like that.
If you are designing documentary videos, or cultural videos.
If you design animated cartoon videos .

The previous examples show that any commercial project that relies on designing visual videos in the first place, the YouTube platform is its first choice. Moreover, you can use the YouTube platform even if your project does not depend on videos as a primary industry. For example, a home-based seller can shoot some creative videos about the products they own, but here you should not take the YouTube platform as the first option, as it may be a secondary option. After enhancing your presence on another platform that suits your business in the first place.

Fifth: Snapchat platform

The Snapchat platform is one of the fastest growing social platforms, if not the first in this aspect, as its popularity has increased a lot in recent times, until the number of its users reached 319 million daily active users in late 2021.

What distinguishes the Snapchat platform from other platforms is that its user base is full of young people, as the number of Snapchat platform users between the ages of 15 to 25 years reaches 48% of the total users, which is a large number in comparison with other social platforms, so if it is Your business is suitable for young people and depends mainly on photos and videos. The Snapchat platform is the best option for your business.

Sixth: Pinterest platform

The Pinterest platform is the platform closest to the female heart. In October 2021, women accounted for 77% of the total users on the Pinterest platform, while the percentage of male users was limited to approximately 15%, with the gender of 8% of users unknown.

We conclude from the aforementioned figures that the Pinterest platform is suitable for commercial projects that primarily target women, so you should choose the Pinterest platform if your business is one of the following cases:

If you sell cosmetics.
If your content is related to clothing in general, and women’s clothing in particular.
If you are a professional chef or cook.
If you are a dietician, or provide products or services related to slimming.

After we got to know the social platforms and the suitable commercial projects for them, we will now talk about some tips that help you choose a social media platform that suits your business:

First: Define your target audience

You must know the characteristics of your target audience in order to be able to choose the appropriate platform. As mentioned above, some platforms are suitable for youth and adolescents, such as the Snapchat platform, while women tend to use the Pinterest platform, for example, so you must know the age group of the target audience, as well as the gender. Whether it is male or female, as well as specifying the country or geographical region of the target audience.

Second: Determine the nature of the content you provide

It is necessary to determine the nature of the content that you provide, as some social platforms are suitable for text content, such as the Facebook platform, while the Instagram platform is limited to visual content such as videos and images, for example, while the YouTube platform monopolizes the first number in providing video content, so the second question What you should keep in mind: What is the nature of my content?

Third: start with one platform

One of the common mistakes that start-up owners make is that they start their business on all or a number of social media platforms, as the enthusiasm of beginnings takes them to create accounts on any social media platform that they set their eyes on, which wastes their efforts on many platforms, and causes losses and damages. With their companies that have not seen the light of success yet.

We can liken it to trying to dig a well in the ground, is it better to start drilling in 10 different areas? Or would you quench your thirst faster if you directed all your efforts in one area? The same applies to choosing a social media platform, so start focusing your efforts towards one social platform, after you choose it based on the principles we mentioned, and when you see that the water has flowed, and you see that you have achieved your goal that you were seeking, move to another platform that fits With your target audience and with the content you provide.

Fourth: Look at the platform’s popularity and development

The last advice is that you must choose a social platform that is very popular, and the most important thing is that its escalation is large, that is, the number of its users increases at great rates, because you want to build a developed and successful business, so your foundation and principle must be solid, in order to be able to achieve successes.

Why is it important to choose a social media platform for your business?

The basis for choosing a suitable social media platform for your project