How to Select the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business

There are literally hundreds of options for social media platforms today. Not all social media sites are created equal, and each channel will not always work in the same way in helping marketers reach their goals.

Image credit: CaptainBagpuss on Flickr

So how many social platforms should your company be using? This is not an easy question to answer because it depends on the amount of resources that you have available, including both time and money to engage in social media effectively. For some companies, one social media channel may suffice, while for others it will be vital to have several channels in order to stay competitive.

Use More Than One Social Media Platform

A recent study from the Pew Research Center proves that companies should use more than one social platform if they want to successfully reach their target market. According to the study, 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites. The study also found that Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis (Duggan & Smith, 2013).

According to SEO and social media site Moz.com, a good first step in deciding which social media platform or platforms to use is to visit KnowEm.com. “This site allows you to register your brand name across more than 500 social networks. This will help to ensure that your name will be registered where you need it to be, regardless of which platform you end up deciding is right for your brand” (Moz.com).

The next step should be working out a clear and implementable plan. “Many people lose their business focus while becoming social. It has a negative effective on the business due to the time lost trying to come to terms with social media. A plan really helps you to stay focused” (Bendror, 2013).

Demographics of Social Media Platforms

Before deciding which social media platforms to use for your company, it is important to research the demographics for each site. You should select only the sites that either have the same demographic as your current target market or those that have a demographic you are trying to reach. Here are the demographics of the top social media sites:

Facebook: According to the Business Insider, every company and brand needs to seriously consider a major presence on Facebook (Smith, 2014). It is the largest social network with over 1 billion people. Facebook also skews young, which is attractive to marketers. In the U.S., 86% of 18 to 29-year-olds who use the Internet are on Facebook (Smith, 2014).

Twitter: Twitter is a great choice to all SaaS companies, marketing companies, sport-related businesses, and all news organizations, according to the Wishpond Blog (2014). “Twitter, more than any other platform, is inextricably tied to in-the-moment developments. If your sector or business is based around things that are happening now, you need to be on Twitter” (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).

Instagram: According to the Wishpond Blog, Instagram is best for image-friendly businesses like restaurants, clothes and fashion, food, architecture, technology, travel, design, and other related companies (2014). Instagram also has a dominance of the 18 to 29 year-old age group, so companies with that target market should also be on the site (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).

Google+: The businesses that should be on Google+ are tech and engineering companies as well as marketing individuals. It is also great for reaching a predominately male demographic because about 67% of its users are men (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).

Pinterest: About 84% of Pinterest users are female. “The female-dominated, image-dominated facts of Pinterest make it easy for those brands which naturally lend-themselves in that direction, and very difficult for those brands which don’t” (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).

LinkedIn: About 79% of LinkedIn users are age 35 or older. This platform is a great choice for all professionals and B2B companies (The Wishpond Blog, 2014).

Based on the demographic information above, it is understandable that some social media platforms tend to work better for B2B companies, while others are clearly a preferred choice for B2C companies. If you are a B2B company, consider focusing your social media efforts on blogs, micro-blogs such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and podcasts. If you work for a B2C company, it would be best to focus more on social networks (Facebook, Google+, Pinterest), video sharing sites (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), and social bookmarks (Digg, Reddit, etc.) (Jullen, 2009).

Content vs. Conversation

Social media used to be more about content than anything else. Many experts such as author Michael Greenberg touted that “social media marketing needs to be driven by content” and “without content, there is not a whole lot to talk about” (2009).

While providing engaging content is still important for the success of social media marketing, the sole focus is now on a more engaging experience that provides two-way communication. Social Media Today writer Catherine Novak says conversation, not content is now king in social media marketing. She says, “Content without conversation is just broadcasting, or just advertising. It goes to the listener/reader/viewer/visitor…and stops there. If the sender is lucky, it may lodge as a piece of information in the receiver’s consciousness, and they may act on it someday. If the sender is luckier, or perhaps more engaging, it may be something that the receiver wants to talk about. And then the message gets a whole new burst of energy. The energy behind the message is what gives it meaning, and a life of its own. That happens because we humans like to communicate with each other. Thus the conversation begins” (Novak, 2010).

Marketers can no longer focus their social media efforts on just content. Effective social media marketing involves listening to what your social media audience is saying about your company and then engaging with that audience. “The social world is now about building authentic conversations and amplifying messages from passionate supporters and influencers, which drive the positive activity being sought by each community” (Savitz, 2011).

Marketers should only select the platforms that will allow them to engage in the conversation with their social media audiences. This will involve thorough research into each possible social media platform to determine whether they will provide opportunities for engagement. Ultimately, “the goal of any social media optimization strategy is to provide the right tools so that people can engage with your brand/people/products/services onsite and offsite” (Lake, 2009).

What are some other tips you have for social media marketing? Share your tips by leaving a comment below! 

References

Bendror, Y. (2013, October 4). Which social media channels should I use for my business? Retrieved January 26, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/social-media-channels-business-223554094.html

Duggan, M. & Smith, A. (2013, December 30). Social media update 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014 from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-Media-Update.aspx

Greenberg, M. (2009, October 20). Content is king of social marketing. MultichannelMerchant.com. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://multichannelmerchant.com/social-media/1020-content-social-marketing/

Jullen, J. (2009, August 23). Which social media channels should you be using? Retrieved January 26, 2014 from http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/118475

Lake, C. (2009, October 30). 35 social media KPIs to help measure engagement. Econsultancy Blog. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/4887-35-social-media-kpis-to-help-measure-engagement

Moz.com. The beginner’s guide to social media. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media

Savitz, E. (2011, September 15). Social media: Evolving from broadcasting to conversation. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/09/15/social-media-evolving-from-broadcasting-to-conversation/

Smith, C. (2014, January 19). Facebook’s demographics show why no other social network can match its potential for marketers. Retrieved January 26, 2014 from http://www.businessinsider.com/a-primer-on-facebook-demographics-2014-1

The Wishpond Blog. (2014, January 8). Social media marketing. Which platform is right for your business? Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-marketing-platform-right-business-0735411#gdfxgWM85EOkg6xl.99

Click-Through Rates: Why High CTRs Can Help Your Business Get Noticed

A click-through rate (CTR) is the number of clicks received divided by the number of impressions generated. CTRs can be an indicator of how relevant an ad is to the searcher or to the audience targeted (Rahsler, 2012).

The click-through rate is an important Web metric because it can be used to gauge how well keywords and ads are performing on your company site (Support.Google.com). According to Google, CTRs contribute to your keyword’s Quality Score, which can affect your costs and ad position (Support.Google.com). CTRs can ultimately determine the success of paid search advertisements, e-mail links, social media ads, Web banner ads, and more. 

What is a Good CTR?

Some businesses tend to ask, “What is a good CTR?” This is not an easy question to answer. Google says that a good CTR is “relative to what you’re advertising and on which networks” (Support.Google.com). Here’s Yahoo’s answer to a “good click rate”:

“The honest answer to the question is, ‘It depends.’ Click-through rates are naturally going to vary from campaign to campaign, and even from keyword to keyword. Everything involved in the way your ad is displayed plays a part, from your ad copy to the ad’s ranking on the results page” (Wordstream.com) 

Benefits of Increased Click-Through Rates

While high click-through rates are not always beneficial to businesses and advertisers, they are generally essential to well performing campaigns. CTRs allow for an overall lower cost-per-click at the campaign level because they create a higher quality score, which reduces cost-per-click overtime. Another benefit of high CTRs is that you will have a higher likelihood of outperforming your competition that is advertising alongside your ads (Croxton, 2014). 

When Higher Click-Through Rates Are Bad for Business

Sometimes higher CTRs are not helpful to businesses. For example, “if a keyword isn’t pertinent to your business or isn’t going to generate sales, leads, branding gains, etc. then a high click-through rate for that term is actually bad for business” (Wordstream.com). Companies should avoid paying for every click. They should also avoid having irrelevant keywords and clicks that just spend money without bringing in any profit (Wordstream.com). 

How to Achieve Strong Click-Through Rates

There are several ways companies can achieve strong and effective CTRs. First, they need to make sure their keywords are relevant and affordable (Wordstream.com). There are a lot of resources that can track down the most effective keywords, including The Google AdWords Keyword Tool.

MarketingProfs.com

According to MarketingProfs, the time of day is also a factor when it comes to high click through rates. Here are the key findings from the site:

• Visitors tend to interact more with Web ads during the day, and clicks drop as the evening wears on. 

• The peak in clicks occurs between 11 AM and 2 PM, when visitors interact with ads 14% more than Infolink's average CTR. 

• Later at night, between 11 PM and 2 AM, there is a significant drop in CTR. 

• Click-through rates hit their lowest on Wednesdays, when they dip to -1.86% below Infolink's average.

• The peak comes on Fridays, when CTRs are nearly 4% higher than most weekdays and more than 6% higher than on Wednesdays. 

 (Nanji, 2013) 

Conclusion

Click through rates are an important Web metric for businesses today to analyze. CTRs can show just how relevant an ad is to the searcher or online audience. It is important to make sure each ad placement has the right keywords and is optimized correctly.

What have you done to make your click-through rates effective? Share your tips by leaving a comment below! 

References

Croxton, J. (2014, January 17). 50 strategies to increase click-through rate via PPC advertising. Retrieved January 19, 2014 fromn http://www.searchenginejournal.com/50-strategies-increase-click-rate-via-ppc-advertising/85019/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PronetAdvertising+%28Pronet+Advertising%29

Raehsler, L. (2012, December 26). What is a good click-through rate for PPC? Retrieved January 19, 2014 from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2186867/click-rate-ppc

Nanji, A. (2013, June 17). Days and times with the highest online ad click-through rates. Retrieved January 19, 2013 from http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/10981/the-best-days-and-times-for-high-ad-ctrs

Support.google.com. Clickthrough rate (CTR). Retrieved January 19, 2014 from https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2615875?hl=en

Wordstream.com. Click-through rate (CTR): Understanding click-through rate for PPC. Retrieved January 19, 2014 from http://www.wordstream.com/click-through-rate

Bounce Rates: Keep Them Low and Use Engaging Content

An important Web metric for companies to measure today is the bounce rate. Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics 2.0, says the bounce rate is “the percentage of sessions of your Web site with only one page view” (Kaushik, 2010). 

Watch the video below to see why Kaushik calls the bounce rate as the "most sexy metric ever."

 

What’s Considered a Good or Bad Bounce Rate?

Many marketers new to Web metrics tend to ask the question, “What is considered a good or bad bounce rate?” Kaushik says a good bounce rate for a standard Web site is between 40 and 60 percent (West, 2012). A bounce rate that is higher than 60% percent is generally considered to be a bad bounce rate.

Reasons for a High Bounce Rate

According to Google, a high bounce rate can be caused by any number of the following factors:

• Single page site: All single-page sites tend to have high bounce rates because Google Analytics does not register multiple page views unless visitors reload that page.
• Incorrect implementation: If you’re seeing a high bounce rate from a multiple-page site, then check to see that you’ve added the tracking code to all of your pages. For more information on how to do this, visit Google’s tutorial here.
•  Site design: If all of your web pages contain the tracking, but you’re still seeing a high bounce rate, Google recommends redesigning the site’s landing pages, optimizing those pages with better SEO, and changing the ads or keywords to better reflect page content.
• User behavior: A high bounce rate can also be related to visitor behavior. “For example, if a user bookmarks a page on your site, visits it, and leaves then that’s considered a bounce.

(Support.Google.com).

How to Improve Your Bounce Rate

There are many ways to improve your bounce rate and one of the most important is meeting user expectations. Jason Squardo, executive vice president of optimization at ZOG Digital, a search and social marketing company, stresses the importance of meeting user expectations. He says, “In order to reduce bounce rate, it’s important to set up users’ expectations through the content—whether that be the call-to-action in an ad or headlines that match blog content” (Hartwig, 2013).

Another way to improve bounce rate is by doing a keyword profile of your business every six months. Use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to plug in current key terms and follow its suggestions to change up your site copy (West, 2012). Knowing these keywords will help you identify the areas of your site that need improvement. It may even be necessary to change your site navigation and create new pages to speak to your new keywords.

Being active and responsive on social media is another way to improve your bounce rate. Morra Aarons-Mele, founder of the digital cause marketing Women Online, says social media is a way to engage with our consumers without the fear of them potentially leaving your site. She says, “Use social media content to engage people, and keep them informed and entertained. But when you really need to reach them — use email and social media. This way, you can get your content out to people without having to rely on them coming to your site of their own volition, and probably 'bouncing' off” (Hartwig, 2013).

Conclusion

The bounce rate is an important Web metric for businesses to assess if their site's content is truly engaging their online audience. Keeping your visitors on the site longer will help increase more sales and/or subscribers.

What have you done to reduce your bounce rate? Share your tips by leaving a comment below!

References

Hartwig, E. (2013, November 22). How to lower your site’s bounce rate. Retrieved January 19, 2014 from mashable.com/2013/11/22/bounce-rate-metrics/

Kaushik, A. (2010). Web analytics 2.0: The art of online accountability & science of customer centricity. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing

Support.Google.com. Bounce Rate. Retrieved January 19, 2014 from https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009409?hl=en

West, A. (2012, November 15). 5 ways to use your bounce rate to improve your website. Retrieved January 19, 2014 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013967/5-ways-to-use-your-bounce-rate-to-improve-your-website.html