What Social Media Platforms?

This is one questions that we get asked most: "What social media platforms should I be on?"

Let's face it, for most businesses there are 4 main channels to choose from:

1. LinkedIn

2. Facebook

3. Twitter

4. Instagram

Then there are the others that you may want to take a look at if you have a specific requirement, such as Snapchat, WhatsApp (arguably more a messaging tool), Pinterest and Google+. What we'd say about these 4 though is that you probably need to have a very good reason to be on them before you kickstart your presence. We doubt you'd treat them as 'core' at this stage.

OK, you might also say that YouTube should be on that list, but our view is that YouTube is more of a content publication platform or video repository rather than a social network. It's great for posting and hosting your video content on but unless your business has an aspiring vlogger in the team, it's probably not one that you will use as a 'social network' in its truest sense.

So... what do you choose?

There is no concrete answer for that. Just because you are a B2B business, you don't automatically need to have a LinkedIn presence. Similarly, just because you target millennials doesn't mean you need to look at Instagram. But for most cases, particularly with the B2B example, it's the norm.

The key thing we ask our clients to determine are: which platforms are their target audiences on (and if they don't know the answer to that, we'll help with the research) and; do they have something to say that will sustain the conversation.

For instance, your office is a warehouse in an industrial estate and you make paper products targeting a young demographic. Yes, you have a millenial audience, but will you have enough visual content to sustain an Instagram channel? Probably not.

Learn from the competition

If you're just starting out and are struggling to envisage what you might post in the longer term, we would recommend looking at some of the more established players in the market. What platforms are they on? What content are they posting that's getting traction? And what is clearly not working for them? If you can learn your lessons from them before you start, you'll get off on the right foot and avoid common pitfalls.

To conclude

We're not going to give you an "if you do this then do that" sort of answer. Every business will differ in their requirements. The key thing is that you establish what is the best fit for you and continue to learn and adapt as you go. Our advice on how to do this is to ask youself the following questions about each platform:

• Do you know what each of the platforms can provide you in terms of targeting and content types and does that match with your business needs?

• Do you know who your audience are and if so, what platform they are likely to be on?

• Do you have a base of content and an idea of the future content that you are likely to post on that platform?

• Finally, do you have the capacity within the organsation to commit time to managing your profile(s) for the near and distant future?

Who are we?

We are Hydrogen, a specialist social media agency based in Glasgow. We provide social media management and social media consultancy services to a range of clients from start-ups who want to take their product to an international audience, to large FTSE100 organisations. Whether you need a helping hand with getting up and running or you want somebody to manage your social media channels for you because you don't have enough hours in your day, we can help. Feel free to get in touch and we'll happily chat through your requirements.