You’re a business owner and want to promote your business online - smart thinking! However, there are just so many social media platforms, how do you know which one is right for you and your business?

There are indeed more than a few and they’re all slightly different, but all are excellent modern marketing tools and with a little research, you can decipher which one (or two or three!) are a good fit for you and your brand. Let’s have a look at some of the more popular platforms.

LINKEDIN

LinkedIn is a professional business-to-business social platform – meaning you’re more likely to find business clients, collaborators, and business partners. If you are looking to reach business owners or centers of influence while doing a little networking, LinkedIn can be a great choice. People do not come here for entertainment or online-shopping but instead to learn more about their industry, source new professional contacts and seek new career opportunities.

FACEBOOK and FACEBOOK GROUPS

Facebook is a great place to find your target audience, build an email list and garner new customers. And once you’ve captured your audience’s attention, it’s an excellent place to interact with new prospects, current customers and industry influencers – it’s all about connection and building relationships here!

Facebook groups provide an avenue for you to nurture your community and engage with your audience one-on-one. They also allow you to really hone-in on your target audience group – you can then tailor your message and get active engagement with more of your ideal customers.

TWITTER

Twitter lets you share your brand’s latest updates and engage in meaningful conversations with your audience. Twitter is a fast-paced marketing platform with tons of room to grow your brand, reach and engage with your ideal audience.

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is another popular platform in which users seek our brands to engage with. With the addition of reels to the already strong platform features, this is definitely a space to consider for your online marketing.

YOUTUBE

YouTube is fantastic as well. YouTube is a unique platform in the way that it is a search engine, not a social platform. This means that you can utilize this space to make your evergreen content (content that is long lasting with information that will remain relevant) easily searchable today and into the future.

These are a few of the major platforms, but they are certainly not the only modern direct marketing platforms – here’s a few more that may be on your radar.

PODCASTS

Podcasts are growing in popularity. People are listening, watching and streaming, more and more. They are a little more time consuming to create but can be the right fit for the brand information that you would like to convey.

BLOGS AND E-NEWSLETTERS

Blogs & e-newsletters are still on the list. These timeless marketing tools allow you to control what your audience sees, study analytics and determine how many people have seen, opened your message or spent time on certain content that you shared. You can also more efficiently promote your business and services to an audience that already knows, likes and trusts you.

WEBINARS

Webinars and online live training sessions are very popular, and people love the fact that they can attend without having to leave their homes. Virtual events allow you to reach people in other areas that may not attend an in-person event due to travel requirements, availability and more.

INFLUENCERS

Modern marketing platforms allow you to find centers of influence and influencers – these are the people that share a similar audience to you, or their audience is made up of your ideal clients. Don’t be afraid to look beyond the typical industry partners and be sure to build connections – not only are influencers thought leaders in their field, but they have real sway over a large group of people and can eventually become an excellent brand ambassador for your own brand.

WORD OF MOUTH

Although not an actual marketing platform, good ole word of mouth is still very much alive and probably more important now than it has been for years. In a world filled with so much noise, people are reaching out to their trusted friends, family and acquaintances online to find businesses, services and professionals that they can trust. They are relying on social proof more than anything else.

MEET UPS

Modern marketing platforms make meetup events and networking events easier to attend and find. Face-to-face communication is still key and social media platforms make it easier to find these events and connect with prospects, customers and influencers.

For more information on social media for your business, read Building Connections Through Direct Response Marketing… More than just Social Media.