Choosing the Right Social Media Platform for Your BusinessBy Becky

Channel selection is becoming more important as the social media landscape evolves.

Unless you are Nike or Coca-Cola, what marketing department has the budget or resources to deliver effective social media strategies across seven different platforms?

If your social media budget is less than £100K per year, then carefully choosing two platforms and implementing a considered plan is going to be more effective than spreading your efforts thinly across multiple platforms.

But how do you choose which social media channels to focus on?

Start by asking yourself these questions…

​​1. Where is your audience already spending time?

Don't just guess. Check your website analytics, look at survey data online or even ask your customers directly. One of your chosen platforms should be one your audience actually uses. This doesn’t mean you can’t also create your own branded space that you bring people to such as an email list or substack.

Top tip: Balancing a third party community and an owned space supports brand longevity as you aren’t solely reliant on external platforms.

2. What business objectives are you trying to achieve?

Trying to drive awareness?Trying to shift perceptions? Attract a new audience? Looking to build a community? Generating B2B leads?

Think about the specific features each platform has e.g. Facebook Groups, TikTok Shop, Instagram Broadcast Channels, LinkedIn Events and then consider how you can leverage those features to work towards your objectives.

Top tip: Although there are more typical choices for objective and platform fit (e.g. LinkedIn is an obvious choice for B2B lead generation), that’s not the only thing to consider. Sometimes going against the grain and choosing a more unlikely platform offers greater reward.

3. How quickly do you need to start seeing results?

In an ideal world, all brands would have time to test and learn. But the reality of it is, some businesses may have external factors such as funding opportunities, stakeholder expectations or partnership deals that could come with obligations and timelines.

Building a community on X or Threads is going to take time. Organic growth on Pinterest is playing the long game with consistency and optimisation. Same with building subscribers on Substack. There are no short cuts. Meta has great advertising opportunities if you’re looking for some quick wins.

Top tip: Quick wins don’t always = success. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

4. What platform(s) are saturated already with brands in your industry?

If you have some key competitors thriving on TikTok, perhaps you can piggyback off their audience. But ask yourself if there’s space for another brand on that platform or is there a gap somewhere else?

Top tip: The most important thing is about doing something unique on the platform you choose to make your brand stand out.

5. What skills can you leverage?

Social media strategy shouldn’t be dictated by the skills your team has. Your team should be built around your plan. However it’s worth considering the cost associated with the skills you’ll need and the practicalities of bringing them into your team (whether that’s as employees or freelancers).

Top tip: Treat it like a bonus if your team’s skills compliment your chosen channel mix but don’t worry too much about this unless you have a very fixed team with limited skills.

6. Will this platform still make sense for your brand in 12 months?

It’s so easy to get pulled in by a shiny new platform. Testing new platforms is definitely encouraged by us but ultimately, your chosen channels need to align with strategic goals.

Top tip: If you’ve done the upfront research and thinking before choosing your platforms, try to resist the FOMO when you see others enjoying success on other platforms. Unless you’ve got the budget and resources to invest in lots - in which case, go nuts!

Check out our latest social media case study for Swyft, the international furniture brand.