Getting started on social media: Twitter and LinkedIn

In my last post I posed a question that businesses should be asked themselves when they're first looking to dive into the social media world: "Where do I start and what's best for me?" Then I explored the benefits and goals of Facebook and Instagram to help answer this question. Now I am going to go into further detail to answer this question by looking into Twitter and LinkedIn.

Twitter

Twitter stands out from some of the other social media platforms I've explained because the focus is real-time. Twitter is a great platform for communicating with your customers on-the-spot. Here you can post news, updates and announcements, and any other important information you are looking to convey in real-time.

Unlike Facebook, the demographics on Twitter are slightly more narrow. Majority of the active users on Twitter are under the age 50, so if you are looking to market towards older adults this platform may not be the best option. On the other hand similar to Facebook, gender, location, and income and education are all roughly equally represented on Twitter.

Twitter can also be a great option if you're looking to create easily digestible content. The type of content popular on Twitter are links and references to simple how-to and listicle articles. Posts are also limited to a 280 character count limit which allows for short and simple posts that often contain quotations, facts and photos.

The real-time factor also benefits your customers as well. Customers can Tweet directly to your companies page, comment on your posts, and send messages to your account. This allows you to quickly communicate with your customers in a timely manner.

Twitter can also help create brand awareness through relevant hashtags. These are similar to what I discussed about hashtags on Instagram. Hashtags boost visibility towards your products and brand. They can be used by your business and your audience can also use them when they re-tweet your content or about your brand.

It is important to pay attention to changing up the type of content appearing on your Twitter feed. It should not consist of all original posts, it should also consist of re-tweets from others and shares.

In summary, the goals Twitter can help your business accomplish are:

1. Real-time communication

2. Short-form content

3. Fast customer interaction and response

4. Build brand awareness

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great social media platform for businesses looking to expand their reach and build relationships with other professionals. Unlike the other social media platforms I have previously explained, LinkedIn is used as a professional networking platform.

LinkedIn is a great option if you are looking to acquire talent for your business. On LinkedIn you can view and communicate with potential talent and see how they could help grow your business.

As a professional platform you can expect engagement on LinkedIn to consist between other businesses and professionals. Even though LinkedIn is a more professional platform, it is still a very desired platform that customers look to see business active on. Over 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to make purchases from a company that they have engaged with on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn also allows you to search for industries, companies, or talent you are looking for. This is good for business is trying to grow or looking to make connections within the industry. You can make these connections by sharing out formal content such as blog posts that promote your brand. These posts should also be conversation starters that share the values and ideas of your company that can relate to potential partners or talent.

LinkedIn also has an advertising platform that you can use to further boost traffic and brand awareness. LinkedIn ads will help you reach a more professional and educated audience, that may be missed on other social media platforms. You can also tailor the ads to target specific occupations, industries, and locations. Here's a link to more information about LinkedIn ads if you would like to learn more.

To conclude, here are some of the main goals LinkedIn can help your business accomplish:

1. Build professional relationships

2. Find talent

3. Make industry connections

4. Share company values and ideas

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Now having learned about two more social media platforms I hope that you are even closer to determining what social media platform(s) are best for you. There are still other platforms I have not mentioned, but these four are the ones I think would be most useful for businesses relationships. Again I hope this gives you a start and as always don't ever be afraid to seek out help from professionals if you are unsure about navigating social media as a business platform.