Starting out or redirecting a social media business profile can seem daunting. Where to start? What to post? When to post? There are many factors that go into creating an effective social media business profile. But many of the questions can be answered when you take the right first step. And what step is that?
You’ve probably heard it before, and you maybe have even tried to do it but were not sure how. The first step is to figure out who you are talking to.
Social Media is first and foremost a social space. Think of it like a bunch of big parties with lots of little groups chatting away to one another. Some of the parties are polite cocktail parties, some of them are outright ravers. All of them have their own social culture and expectations. Getting clear which party you are going to attend and who you are going to talk to is essential to the success of your social media marketing.
“One-third of the users in the US claim that they use the social media platform to follow brands and other companies… “ 1
Which Party to Attend?
When planning to launch or re-engage your business profile, first decide with which metaphorical party your services best align. Where do the people who need what you have to offer hang out? What Social Media channels do others who offer similar services use? That is the party you want to join.
Some interesting facts about the most popular social media “parties”:
Facebook 2
- 56% of Facebook users are male
- The largest population of Facebook users are from India.
- 83% of Canadians report having a Facebook account. It remains the most popular social media platform for Canadians. 3
- 31% of Facebook users are between the ages of 25 and 34 and make up the largest age group on the platform
- Travel photography was the most discussed topic on Facebook in 2021
- Beauty and Fitness are the 4th and 5th highest converting topics on Facebook ads in 2021; more people click on ads of those topics than others.
Instagram 4
- 51.6% of Instagram users are male. However, women outnumber men among users 35 and up. 5
- 62% of users on Instagram are between the ages of 18 and 34
- 87% of users are outside of the US
- 68% of people come to Instagram to interact with creators
- Top interests on Instagram are travel (45%), music (44%), and food and drink (43%). 5
LinkedIn 6
- LinkedIn’s global male audience outnumber female users 3:2
- 37% of LinkedIn’s American users are between the ages of 30 and 49
- 51% of college graduates use LinkedIn
- 30% of US users live in urban areas
- There are 5.4 million small business owners on LinkedIn
Pinterest 7
- 77.1% of Pinterest audiences are female
- 38% of Pinterest users are between the ages of 50 and 64
- Over 50% of Pinterest users live outside the US
- 80% of US mothers who use the internet use Pinterest
- 30% of US Pinterest users come from suburban areas
- 9 out of 10 Pinners described Pinterest as filled with positivity
- The most popular category on Pinterest is Food & Drink, followed by Home Decor
- 38% of Pinners have some college education
TikTok 8
- 53% of TikTok users are male
- 41 percent of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24
- The most viewed content category on the app was entertainment content, the second most viewed content category is ‘Dance’ with 150.3 billion hashtag views
- In March 2021, female users accounted for 61% of TikTok’s active user accounts in the United States
Twitter 9
- 70.4% of users are male
- 6.45 million Canadian adults use Twitter
- 38.5% of Twitter users are between the ages of 25 and 34
- 27% Twitter users live in urban areas, while only 18% come from rural areas
- 33% of people who use Twitter have college degrees or more
- Twitter is used predominantly for News, Sports and Entertainment
YouTube 10
- 77% of 15-to-25-year-olds and 70% of 45-to-64-year-olds in the US use YouTube
- 2+ billion users from over 100 countries and consume content in 80 different languages
- The most popular YouTube search query is “song”
- The three most popular videos on YouTube are commentary videos (like vlogs), product reviews (like unboxings), and how-to/tutorial style videos
- 70% of people used YouTube to exercise in 2020
This is not an exhaustive list of social media channels, there are new ones popping up all the time. Check out as many platforms as you can and note their audience demographics and high performing topics. Your community may be active on several different channels. Pick one and start there. As you get more knowledgeable and successful on one platform you can start to add other relevant channels. Once you have identified which social media channel is home to your community, the next step is to decide who you are going to talk to.
Who Needs What You Have to Offer?
Getting clear on who needs what you have to offer is called Target Marketing and is the essential first step to any successful online marketing plan.
When it comes to social media, knowing who needs what you have to offer will shape all your future actions. How to figure this out? Start with your current clients or students. Identify someone you already know who invests the most in your services. Use them as your ideal client/student/follower persona.
Now type out everything you know about this person. Change their name or keep it, but be sure to give them a name. Get as detailed as you can. What is their age, relationship status, employment, annual income? Do they have kids, what are their hobbies? What kind of car do they drive, or do they bike everywhere? What do they read, and watch on TV? What music do they listen to? It may seem like overkill but get it all down. The clearer your understanding of this person the more your content will connect.
What Do They Want/Need From You?
Once you have a detailed description of your ideal client/student, next is to get clear on why they would use your services. This part may take some time, but give it the time and effort it deserves and you will see the results in your booked up schedule or sold out e-course or training.
One of the best ways to understand why people would use your services is to ask them. Yes, a survey. Getting regular feedback from your current clients is a highly effective way to know what brings people to your offerings. But don’t just survey your current customers, go back and ask those who don’t use your services anymore. Reach out to your larger community and ask them what they want from services like yours. Gather as much feedback as you can and look for trends or similar experiences across your findings. These are your core content themes.
Creating content around the needs and wants of your target audience will spotlight your business as the source for where these needs can be met.
Conclusion
Now that you have a clear idea of who you are having conversations with on your Social Media and what they want to talk about, you can start to plan your content. Remember your target audience when making content. Create posts and stories that reflect what they need to see from you and that address their key challenges or needs.
Bring everything back to this target audience and let their needs drive your decisions around content and how you promote your services.
If you want more guidance or are looking for support in managing your digital marketing, book a Discovery Call now. We can help you bring your services to those who need them most.
- Aslam, S. (2022, January). 51 Pinterest Statistics You Need to Know in 2022. Omnicore Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/
- Aslam, S. (2022, March 7). 63 facebook statistics you need to know in 2022. Omnicore Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/facebook-statistics/
- Gruzd, Anatoliy; Mai, Philip, 2020, “The State of Social Media in Canada 2020”, https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/XIW8EW, Scholars Portal Dataverse, V6; The_State_of_Social_Media_in_Canada_2020.pdf
- Aslam, S. (2022, February 27). Instagram by the numbers (2022): Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. Instagram by the Numbers (2022): Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-statistics/
- Sehl, K. S. (2021, January 27). Instagram demographics in 2021: Important user stats for marketers. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/
- Zuckerman, A. (2021, February 12). 61 LinkedIn statistics: 2020/2021 user stats, Growth & Marketing. CompareCamp.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://comparecamp.com/linkedin-statistics/
- Aslam, S. (2022, March 3). 51 Pinterest Statistics You Need to Know in 2022. Omnicore Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/
- Aslam, S. (2022, March 13). Tiktok by the numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. Omnicore Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/tiktok-statistics/
- Aslam, S. (2022, February 22). Twitter by the numbers (2022): Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. Omnicare Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/
- Needle, F. (2021, September 12). YouTube demographics & Data to know in 2021 [+what different generations watch on the platform]. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/youtube-demographics
