Choosing the best social media for my brand

By Benjamin Blachère on Oct 2017, in Social Media

Social networks have become essential and are now part of our daily life. 57% of internet users use a social network on a daily basis, and 76% have logged in into at least one in the last 30 days . The advent of social networks made it possible for brand to create a strong relationship with users and consumers and made it easier to reach out to the crowd.
But social networks are numerous and quite different from each other. Many brands are lost and do not know which one is relevant and will help them. Our aim is to help you choose the best social network for your brand.

Being on every single network can be counter-productive for your brand: these platforms are time-consuming and are a full-time job. Being all over the place and having an account on every single one of them without a strong strategy may not lead to good results: your targets may not be present on every network and you might thus end up talking while nobody listens. Your engagement rate will plunge or never really increase, and you will lose hope. And you will flee and deactivate your accounts, even if choosing the right one(s) could have truly helped you.
In order to avoid this catastrophic scenario, you will first need to identify which networks your target uses and then redirect all of your efforts on this/these platform(s).
To start on the right foot, you need to ask yourself the right questions:

Who are you? Who are you talking to? What are you talking about?

Your identity and your area of expertise are the first factors that will help you decide which network is the right one for you. You might also want to analyze your competitors’ strategy to identify the most relevant networks for your field of action.

Secondly, you need to know who your target audience is: millennials who love DIY or construction experts will not use the same network. Start by analyzing your audience. Too many brands start on non-pertinent networks and barely manage to build a strong community.

Thirdly, know what you are going to talk about, and on what support. Talking about a complex topic will not be posted on the same network as a lookbook.

These questions might seem fastidious or even obvious, but it is very important to take the time to think about them with your team. You might discover a new target audience or a new kind of support to be implemented by your brand!

You’ve now asked yourself the right questions. In order to help you pick the best network for your brand, we present you each network’s characteristic.
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Facebook

Users’ Profile – When we say “social media”, we immediately think about Facebook. It is, without any doubt, the most popular social network in the world. As of the second quarter of 2017, Facebook had 2 billion monthly active users . 4.100 Facebook status are shared in the world every second and 1.8 million likes are distributed every minute . The average user’s age is 22, making it THE social media for young adults.

Content – If present on Facebook, you will thus be able to reach to millions of people. But to do that you will need to distinguish yourself and post the right content. Facebook likes short, light, original, and fun content.

Best practice – Nike – Most liked Brand pages in the world are:

• Tasty (Buzzfeed) with 89+ million likes,
• Red Bull with 48+ million likes,
• Samsung Mobile with 43+ million likes,
• Oreo with 42+ million likes,
• Nike with 40+ million likes.

All of them post fun messages that are quick to understand and are looking for interaction with their fans.

Red Bull does it perfectly, posting inspiring content, leaving its users amazed and wanting to know more, thus creating a strong relationship with them.

Is Facebook your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you have fun content, wish to address a young audience, and can post on a regular basis.

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Instagram

Instagram quickly became one of the most influent social networks. Created in 2010, elected “application of the year” in 2011, it plays on beautiful and inspiring daily life pictures. Its audience doubled in only two years, making it hard to miss it.

Users’ Profile – Instagram attracts young people: 53% of 18-29 years old are on this network. And they are mostly women: 65% of its users are women .

Content – Instagram is a visual network. It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often brand seem to forget it. Instagram is for beautiful pictures and no text (only a couple of hashtags). The picture must say everything, without needing anything else. Brands love Instagram: 90% of TOP 100 Interbrand brands have an Instagram account.

Best practice – Starbucks – Brands standing out on Instagram are the one posting pictures depicting a certain lifestyle. Starbucks quickly became a model student: their account is a call for cocooning, peace of mind, and well-being thanks to a coffee, a tea, a latte, etc. Anyone can identify their values in a glance, and its community share them: followers regularly share their pictures depicting Starbucks’ way of life. The brand encourages them, thus creating a strong link with them.

Starbucks also uses seasons and one-shot campaigns to improve its image on Instagram. The brand recently launched the Fall Cups, a colored cup with a blank circle that encourage its users to draw on them and make them appropriate the brand. Drawings are showcased on their Instagram, reinforcing the emotional relationship between the brand and users.

Is Instagram your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you have inspiring content, wish to convey a certain lifestyle, and have a strong and aesthetical brand.

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LinkedIn

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn quickly became the go-to professional network, dethroning local competitors (such as Viadeo in France).

Users’ Profile – LinkedIn has 500 million users worldwide. Since it’s a network for professionals, their users are older than users on other networks: 77% of its member are over 34 years old and the average age is 44.

Content – LinkedIn is a great network to talk about your expertise: you will address professionals who already have a certain knowledge and interest for your field and actions, and who are looking to know more about it. Content posted on LinkedIn must thus be technical, detailed, and complex. LinkedIn is also a great platform to improve your employment brand. Finally, LinkedIn can help you catch prospects and leads. Your brand will be able to communicate in different ways on LinkedIn thanks to your team members, show-cases pages, etc.

Best practice – Cap Gemini – Cap Gemini implemented a content strategy and created relevant pages to gain visibility. This helped them connect with experts in their field and improve their visibility and brand image.

Is LinkedIn your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you have technical content, look to engage with experts, and develop your business.

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Pinterest

Pinterest is the go-to network for DIY related content. It has far less users than other social networks (150 million users worldwide, including 80 million in the US) but it is growing fast and made it to the big league. Some may argue that Pinterest is not a social network but a catalogue of ideas. Still, Pinterest connects people and brands and is based on sharing content.

Users’ Profile – 85% of Pinterest users are women and 30% of its users are between 25 and 34 years old. Pinterest users spend 16 minutes per month of the network on average.

Content – Pinterest being a catalogue of ideas, you must share tips or DIY, with attractive images. Pinterest is the network that has the best conversion rate: 69% of its users declare having purchased something seen on the network, as opposed to only 40% of Facebook users (BizRateInsights).

Best practice – Oreo– Oreo used Pinterest to show all the recipes and uses of their biscuits. By combining recipes, decoration, and fun images, Oreo created a strong and engaged community.

Is Pinterest your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you can talk about your products in a fun and a visual way, if you can use them in an original way, and give tips to your followers.

It is not mandatory to be a fun, culinary, or fashion brand to use Pinterest. General Electric became one of the top brands on Pinterest by creating boards dedicated to the history of electricity or fun machines. Their Pinterest account has almost as many followers as Oreo.

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Snapchat

Snapchat is the new born of social networks and instantly became very popular. Snapchat has more than 166 million daily users and 3 billion snaps are sent every day.

Users’ Profile – Snapchat users are quite young: 71% are less than 25 years old. 65% of Snapchat users are women and 44% of users use this network to learn more about a product.

Content – Snapchat is a fully visual network, made of fun and offset pictures and videos thanks to filters. Its users are mainly looking to be amused, or to be informed but in a minute or less. Brands can communicate on Snapchat via sponsored filters, ads, or a personal account.

Best practice – Netflix – Netflix perfectly knows how to use Snapchat, even without being in the application! Print campaigns were deployed in cities, allowing users to “cut” the head of their favorite actors and allowing to do some face-swaps.

You can do almost everything on Snapchat, and Netflix perfectly understood it by showing that a Snapchat campaign can also take place in the “real” world.

GrubHub, an American delivery website launched sales and Snapchat games in their stories in an original way, and had a lot of success.

Is Snapchat your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you target a young and feminine audience. You should also have original content and do not fear to think outside of the box. Your brand must have humor, Snapchat is the opposite of Instagram, it doesn’t take itself seriously.

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Twitter

Launched in 2006, Twitter is one of the main social network. Its aim is quite simple: communicate through very short messages (even if the number of characters allowed in a tweet just went from 140 to 280). Experts often say that Twitter is on the verge of disappearing, but the network is still very influent, so do not forget about it yet!

Users’ Profile – Twitter has 328 million monthly active users and around 157 million daily active users. It counts 420 million quarterly active accounts . 45% of its users are women.

Content – Twitter users are mostly experts, influencers, and people looking for info. Half of Twitter users follow brands in order to learn more about their products and services. Brands who have a Twitter account must thus talk about their expertise, news, and values. Twitter is also the perfect network to communicate with its users and clients, thus improving their image and their customer service.

Best practice – Air France – Air France is one of the most followed brand on Twitter in France. It understood how to make the most of Twitter.

Firstly, Air France tweets about its actuality and news, thus connecting with experts, influencers, and media.

Secondly, Air France uses Twitter as a 24/7 customer service. By answering to every demand and complain, it improves its brand image and creates a strong relationship with its customer, avoiding any crisis.

Finally, Air France interacts with its followers and offers contests, offers, tips, and answers to users posting pictures from the air.

Is Twitter your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you want to interact with experts and media quickly. Twitter is particularly time-consuming and is a constant exchange, you must thus dedicate time to this platform if you want to make the most of it.

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YouTube

YouTube is one of the most influent social networks. More than 1.5 billion people log in every month and more than a billion hours of videos is viewed every day.

Users’ Profile – YouTube users are diverse: 48% are between 25 and 49 years old and 49% are women. 2/3 of users go on YouTube more than once a day. Finally, 40% of users are parents.

Content – 64% of users go on Youtube to be entertained, 52% to be informed and/or learn something, and only 14% to learn more about a product or service. A brand must thus post fun videos and not only talk about their expertise. A video must first be recreational and educational.

Best practice – Chanel – Chanel implemented a double strategy on this network: media campaigns focusing on their products and videos highlighting their values, behind the scenes, and mini-series. Fashion and Movies celebrities appear in these videos, attracting more followers and engagement. And results are there for all to see: its number of views was multiplied by 3.5 in 2016, lifting the brand in the top brands on YouTube.

Is YouTube your brands’ soulmate? – Yes, if you have the human and technological capacity to create original videos regularly. These must be a window to your brand.