(Engine eCommerce) Social media marketing can be a terrific way to build recognition with your current or potential customers and, ultimately, drive sales. This is why, according to Hubspot, 92 percent of marketers are in agreement social media marketing is important to their business.
But which social media platform is best for you? That depends partly on where your audience exists. If you’re targeting Baby Boomers or Generation X, it’s probably best to start with Facebook. If you’re brand appeals more to Millenials or Generation Z, Instagram might be the best place to focus your energy. And age is just one of many factors that should go into the process of figuring out which platform can be the most successful for you.
To better illustrate how the approach to social media marketing can work differently for everyone, we asked marketers with first-hand knowledge to tell us what works for them and why. Here’s what they had to say:
Richard Taylor, Founder at Harrison Blake Apparel
Richard Taylor founded Harrison Blake Apparel in 2014 selling only lapel pins, hence the brand’s Instagram name: @wearlapelpins. The brand has since expanded to selling neckties, pocket squares, and other similar accessories. Here’s what Richard had to say about which social media platform works best for Harrison Blake Apparel and why:
Instagram has been hands down the best social media marketing channel for our business growth and exposure. At this point, we’ve grown to over 87,000 followers on that platform and it has a direct impact on our bottom line.
There are a few reasons why. The number one differentiation between Instagram other platforms is its popularity. This is where the bulk of people are! The platform allows you to engage quickly and form personal relationships with interested parties and potential customers. One effective tool we’ve used is connecting with influencers and gifting them our products. Once they try our neckties and accessories they share the review with their audience, creating a tsunami-like wave of interest and new followers.
The Instagram platform also allows us as a small company to compete with large brands. The way we do that is being interactive and using the app’s tools — such as surveys, reposting customers photos, and even using the “live” function to give sneak peeks and behind the scenes access to our office and production facility.
Gaining traction as a small business can be challenging, but by taking advantage of Instagram we’ve been able to thrive and reach audiences we could only dream of. Get on there, be real, be social, and connect. Your bottom line will thank you!
Lauren Crain, Digital Marketing at Health Labs
Lauren Crain serves as the digital marketing content creator at Health Labs, which helps consumers bypass the doctor and still receive access to any lab testing they may be seeking. Lauren’s focus is on using digital platforms to spread marketing campaigns and ultimately drive traffic to Health Labs’ site. Here’s what Lauren had to say about which social media platform works best for Health Labs and why:
Twitter is the most effective social media platform for us because it allows us to communicate directly with our consumers. Our audience is out there on Twitter, shouting their thoughts, questions, and desires. And we make it a point to listen. We provide answers, help, and affirmations. It allows us to educate and inform, to increase brand awareness, to build our brand reputation, and, most importantly, it humanizes us. It gives our brand not only a voice, but it displays our brand as a person. We truly do care about our customers, and Twitter is the best outlet to not only say that but to show that.
Read the rest of the story at Enginecommerce.com.
RELATED: Overcoming Marketing Challenges
