What is social media? Not as defined by Merriam Webster, but in our common understanding?

Well, it depends on who you ask. 

For Millennials, social media is very much a frenemy; equal parts envy, camaraderie, and awkward networking. For their parents, it’s a family photo album meets open forum to air terrible opinions. And for the disaffected youths? Meme distribution. 

If you’re going to effectively use social media to market your small business, you must first identify your target demographic, and second, understand how they view and engage with the various platforms. But with the sheer volume of social channels flowing through our digital consciousness, this can be a daunting task for seasoned digital marketers, let alone small business owners. Most end up juggling multiple platforms and waste countless hours toggling between the disparate feeds. When these efforts don’t pay off, failure often compounds frustration and turns into social media burnout.

As the brainchild of two solution-driven marketers, Quiet Corner Communications is here to offer some alternatives:

• Take social media off your plate with our bespoke social media services. Email me today to schedule your complimentary consultation

• Or read on for actionable insights into picking the right platform and optimizing your content distribution

Pick your primary platform 

To succeed in social media, you must choose a platform to be your primary means of communication.  

Now, this isn’t a choice that eliminates your other options. Think of the primary platform as a planet, and all the other social platforms as satellites orbiting around it. The planet puts out a message, the satellites distribute it to their various audiences. 

With that in mind, the primary platform should be the one that best represents your target demographic. To help with your decision, here’s a rundown of the major players: 

• Facebook. Ah, Facebook, the digital embodiment of that One Aunt we all have...and thus, a very effective means of communication if you’re trying to reach the 40+ demographic. Facebook is also an essential source for event-seekers, so if you’re in the entertainment business, it might be wise to make it your primary platform. 

• Instagram. For those with a clearly defined audience in the 18-34 range, Instagram can be as easy as identifying an aesthetic that appeals to your target demographic and creating content that evokes the same visual appeal and cadence. Thanks to this built-in branding, high engagement rates, and significant networking potential, Instagram has over one billion active users, 2 million of which are advertisers.

• LinkedIn. If you’re a B2B business, LinkedIn should be a strong contender for your primary platform. Beyond the unprecedented networking opportunities, LinkedIn is ideal for showcasing professional accomplishments and flexing a more polished cadence.

• TikTok. If your business is targeting Gen Z, you better start learning the #SavageChallenge. Later has rightfully declared TikTok “the hottest new platform on the social media scene” thanks to the app’s 800 million monthly users. What’s more, the daily average view time for TikTok is over 50 minutes per user! With so much time being spent in-app, TikTok is a fantastic option for those in media, entertainment, sports, and fashion. 

• Twitter. Let’s be real, Twitter is largely for news, unsolicited opinions, and canceling people, but for the right business, it can be a great way to interact with your audience on a more intellectual level. Check out Post Planner’s 19 best examples of how top brands use Twitter for more. 

• YouTube. According to HubSpot, YouTube is the internet’s second-largest search engine and reaches more people in the 18-49 demographic than any mobile broadcast or cable network. So whether you’re a local vlogger or small venue trying to attract more customers, if you’ve got great video content, consider YouTube for your primary platform. 

Scalable social vs. authentic engagement

Once you’ve picked your primary platform, it’s time to develop a social media strategy. Balance is key here. If you’re not scaling the content creation/distribution process, you’re going to waste time. But time-saving measures often result in clinical engagement, and authenticity is an essential tenet of successful social media marketing.

I find this balance between scalability and authenticity by prioritizing the creation of engaging captions and interacting with other accounts — you know, the human stuff you cannot optimize. Content distribution is where I reclaim my time. Here are some quick tips for optimizing social media output: 

• Link accounts. Make sure to connect your primary platform to your satellite accounts, so every time you post, that content repopulates elsewhere. 

• Schedule posts. Third-party apps provide a range of paid services that pre-plan, schedule, and post your content. For those optimizing on a budget, you’d be surprised how much time a well-organized spreadsheet can save. Email me if you’d like a copy of the basic social distribution template I’ve used for years!

• Strategic following. Try to resist following a bunch of accounts at once. Instead, follow one or two and spend time interacting with them; the chances of reciprocal engagement increase exponentially with the authenticity of your outreach. Save time by keeping a list of strategic accounts to follow and drawing from that every time you want to expand your network. I promise, a slow, meaningful build will get you farther than a rush to the top. 

To recap, optimizing social media is a process of knowing your audience, picking the right primary platform, producing authentic content, and scaling distribution. But if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry, just drop me a note, comment below, or send us a DM on Instagram (our primary platform) and Quiet Corner Communications will help you out!