People expect different type of content on each social media network. Not only does that mean the content you post to each network needs to be unique; it might also mean that you shouldn't be hopping on every single social network out there to meet your company's business goals.
But how do you even make that decision if you're new to the social media game? The best way is to get to know the different "personalities" of each network so you can understand how to leverage it best for your business. Using this article as your guide, you'll get to know some of the most popular social networks, learn what their super powers are, and determine whether they're a good fit for your brand. So let's analyze the key players in the social space, and talk about each of their strengths and weaknesses to help you decide who you should be hanging out with!
Getting to Know Twitter, The Buzz Generator
Twitter hit its 5 millionth
user this past February, and the network is active and abuzz with links,
chatter, one line self reflections, and just plain content. To inbound
marketers, all of this content probably seems pretty great -- but it also means
it takes a lot of work to get your
content to stand out in the crowd. Just look at how often HubSpot
posts on Twitter to get our content some visibility in the news feed!
Twitter's Superpower
Twitter brings a viral, buzz-generating
component to your marketing. For example, when a business has a massive group
of people either sharing content or using a hashtag all at once, that has a
big, very visible impact. Twitter is right for you if you are looking for a
network where you can build a large audience that you can incite to action --
potentially all at once to create a viral effect. Mind you, that type of
audience growth takes time ... but the value of creating such a large network
sure pays off!
Getting to Know Facebook, The Humanizer
Facebook is most-used
social networking site around the world. In fact, a recent study found it to be the top-visited social media site in 126
of the 137 countries studied. Still think your audience isn't
using social media? Think again.People use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, view their grandkid's baby pictures, discover content their friends are sharing, and more. It's a truly powerful connector. But how do companies fit into this social network that focuses so heavily on the human connection? Users expect companies on Facebook to act more like friends, and less like, well, companies. This means your updates should be friendlier, and show personality through photos and videos that make your brand seem more relatable. That's why we use Facebook to share things like important milestones in our company's life, just like you would with your friends and family!
Facebook's Superpower
Facebook as a social tool
will help a business become more likeable. By engaging like you naturally would
with friends, your fans will respond and interact with you and your content in
the way they feel most comfortable on that network -- colloquially. Use this to
build a loyal fanbase who will view, click, and share your content so your
reach continues to grow. If your company is not comfortable being a bit more
flexible and friendly in its tone, however, Facebook might not be the best bet.
Getting to Know Quora, The Authority Builder
Quora boasts a slightly smaller user base than Twitter and
Facebook with 1.1 million monthly users. But even though the network is smaller
doesn't mean you should balk at its marketing potential. If you've ever
participated in Quora's Q&A, you'll know that the quality of questions
asked and answers provided is extremely high. While Quora might not be the
right network for your business as a major traffic driver considering the lower
usage volume, it could be a great place to build your company's authority and
thought leadership, generating much higher quality leads (albeit at a lower
volume) in the long run.
Quora's Superpower
Use Quora to build the
authority of specific employees. For example, you could encourage your sales
and marketing employees to search for questions your leads commonly ask, and
provide insightful answers to which you can point future leads. What a great way
to build trust and rapport!
Getting to Know Google+, The Search Optimizer
Google+ launched business
pages in fall of 2011, at which point Google+ usage picked up as brands started
creating their own pages and building their following. But since then, its been
reported that usage has significantly decreased -- eMarketer reported that users only spend an average of 3.3
minutes on Google+ in a single session, down from 5.1 minutes in November 2011.
Yikes. Looks like it's not incredibly active as a social network ... so what's the value?
The value comes from its SEO support.
Google+'s Superpower
When you post your content
to Google+, you're making it more likely your
company's content will rank well in Google's SERPs. That's because, much to the
dismay of many other social networks, Google is considering factors such as
+1's of content when deciding how high to rank a piece of content. Google also
started to index and feature Google+ status updates, author names, and 'Add to
Circles' buttons in search results, making your activity on Google+ even more
important for a strong organic search presence.
Getting to Know Pinterest, The Artist
Pinterest, the "newest" social network on the
block, has actually been around since 2008! Gaining some serious popularity
earlier this year, the network is an excellent tool for sharing and spreading a
company's visual content. After all, images can often tell a far more profound
story or give insight into a feeling in a more powerful way than mere text. If
you're producing more visual
content, you can easily share that content through channels like Pinterest
by "pinning" it to a board. 
Pinterest's Superpower
Pinterest is easy to
maintain and grow if you're more reliant on visuals than text in your industry.
We do, however, recommend writing descriptions for every image you pin to
provide further explanation for those looking to learn more about your pin. And
before you go saying Pinterest is just for wedding planners and hairdressers,
remember that your visuals could include anything from photos, to graphs, to
infographics! They key with Pinterest is, when someone clicks your image to see
the source, you're directing them to your website so you can convert all that
Pinterest traffic. So go on, have
a little fun with your social media marketing!
Getting to Know LinkedIn, The Professional
LinkedIn has a very
distinct personality. It's the most suited-up network, generally rather
conservative, and reserved for business-focused conversations. For B2B companies,
LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable channel. In a HubSpot study last year, in fact, we
found that LinkedIn is
277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter.
Since LinkedIn users are generally in a business-focused mindset, lead
generation content that's extremely valuable and provides a solution to a common
problem in your industry can work incredibly well.
LinkedIn's Superpower
Use LinkedIn to target other
businesses -- if that's your goal, of course. Use your content to provide
solutions to business-related problems, and people will naturally share your
content in an attempt to boost their own clout, not to mention click your
content so you can generate more leads. Don't be afraid of posting white papers
and reports here, either -- this is the type of content that typically performs
quite well on LinkedIn.
Getting to Know YouTube, The Story Teller
YouTube is different from
the rest of the bunch for obvious reasons -- it's geared specifically towards
video! And it has a lot
of video. In fact, YouTube reports that 3 billion
hours of video are watched each month on the social network. Video is a
powerful story-telling mechanism, so it's no wonder marketers are using video
to celebrate customer success, get
customers excited about an event, or use music to teach someone something
new.
YouTube's Superpower
Use YouTube to tell
important stories about your company, to entertain your audience, and even to
educate them (ever thought of creating a how-to video?) As with most visual
content, sometimes it's easier to get your message across with something a bit
more interactive; and that's when YouTube comes in handy! You can also embed
your videos in your blog or on other social networks so the videos can get more
reach. Plus, YouTube is owned by Google ... you can bet those videos will be
indexed in organic search!After you understand the different personalities of each of these social networks, you're better equipped to determine which ones match the personality and needs of your brand. If you're just starting out in social media, it should help you approach these networks with less of a blind eye, and create content that better matches the tone of the content already on that platform.
Based on your brand, which social network do you think is the best fit for you? How does your use of each social network differ?
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