“2019 is going to be your year. The year of success and prosperity”, said your fortune cookie from last week’s Chinese takeaway. Well, 2019 could actually be your year. We know what you’re thinking, how can you transform your business and make it more successful? The answer is, social media...

For months now you’ve probably been mulling over which platforms to use, what to post and when to post it. Yet you’ve still not implemented any sort of social media strategy or signed up to any platforms, even though you know it’s vital for businesses to use it. Or you may just be lacking in time to get your head around the digital world, and stay on top of the right channels to use for your business.

Social media can work wonders, driving traffic to your website, increasing brand awareness, and reaching a further audience then you have reached before. So what do you do next?

You get to grips with our guide and learn about the best social media platforms for businesses in 2019…

Consider Your Audience…

The very first thing to do is to consider who you are directly aiming for, whether that’s engaging with your audience or hitting your ideal client straight away, you need to know. The top five questions you need to ask yourself is:

1. What are your aims for using social media and why you are choosing to use it?
2. Who are you directly hitting?
3. Who are you providing your business for? Are you B2B, B2C or both?
4. Do you understand the basics of social media?
5. Are you going to be able to share your content in the correct way to get maximum engagement?

These questions are so important in starting your journey on the pathway to using social media successfully and really understanding why you need to invest your time into these social platforms.

Choosing Your Platforms Carefully…

Since the creation of Facebook back in 2004, there’s been a complete uproar of new platforms such as Instagram in 2010 and Twitter in 2006. Social media has become more than just sharing content and status updates. There’s a new way to share life updates and that’s through platforms such as Snapchat, where you can add realistic filters and even record your life through your own perspective using their Spectacles.

There are so many options that you can choose from that allow you to reach a wider audience. You just need to ensure that you’re choosing the correct platforms that are suited to your business. Here’s our top five…

#1 Facebook…

Facebook is a really good way of reaching out to a wider audience and taking advantage of social media. One key thing to note is that you’ll only be successful on Facebook if you are aware of the current algorithms. The best way to boost your social profile is to create and post video content at least once a week. That could be completing live videos or pre-recorded ones, either works just as well. The current algorithms are filtering out content and favouring video content instead of plain images and basic text.

Facebook has some really interesting features and if you’re selling products it can work even better for your business. With auto responses, a Facebook shop and an events section, you can organise your business within seconds.

Creating events couldn’t be simpler, nor is inviting friends to like your page. The networking of this social media platform is great and can be so useful if you’re using it in the right way. You can gather leads and lower your marketing expenses all through adding consistent video content and actively getting engaged with your audience.

If you’ve got video content going up once a week then you can post up to three times a week with two videos and an image. However, if you don’t then we recommend posting no more than once a day each week.

If you did have the budget too, you can use Facebook ads and run an ad on a video which will work wonders for your business. You can monitor your data too using Facebook insights which can help you to see how well you’re performing and what you can do better to improve your work. Plus, there’s the added bonus of scheduling too so you have the option to batch a month’s worth of posts so you can get ahead if you wish.  

Facebook is a useful tool for businesses as you can build brand loyalty, retain your client base and build relationships with new ones. It usually works best for B2C companies, with a target audience of 25-55+ both male and female.

#2 Twitter…

Another great platform for businesses to use is Twitter. First created in 2006, Twitter became a platform for users to ‘tweet’ and share common interests with other followers. The features of liking, retweeting and sharing are all great for businesses to actively engage with others. Twitter works on the basis of hashtags, including their trending section which can help reach a wider audience. Retweeting posts and tweeting with hashtags can also help aid your business to reach further, as users will be searching for your chosen hashtags and you have the potential to reach users globally.

A really big benefit to Twitter is the ability to promote your work so easily. You can tweet in a matter of seconds sharing a quick update of any daily activities and events that you’ve been involved in. You can also share your blogs, your website and potentially other social media platforms too.

With more than 336 million monthly active users there’s scope to develop your business successfully. From students to politicians, to celebrities, you have the option to engage with all walks of life.

Something to note is that the target audience of the platform is around 18-29 female and male and is usually best for B2C businesses.

If you can get yourself trending, even as your company name as your hashtag then you’re definitely doing something right. This is the best way to get your business trending and to increase your chances of being more successful.

Something to remember is that you need to keep your tweets short and simple. You want it to be enticing enough for people to want to read but not too long that people skip past it. You have a maximum of 280 characters per tweet, so use them wisely.

#3 Instagram…

Instagram is another massive social media platform that can work really well for your business. It is the perfect platform to put a face to your brand and add a bit of personality to your company. Instagram is one of the most visual platforms and really allows you to extend the creative side of your business. Your feed can really help you to show behind the scenes and helps you stand out from other competitors in the market.

A great way to show personality is by using Instagram Stories. Similar to Snapchat, you can use filters, but Instagram also provides the facility for you to create Boomerangs. These are short videos that play on repeat, check ours out.

Instagram is super popular with businesses and people who are willing to collaborate. This is an important factor as you can really network and collaborate with people and businesses with similar interests. This is a good way to get your brand out there and to make people aware of who you are and it can work well to help drive traffic and leads.

Instagram is all about bright images and videos that people will more likely want to click on. This usually works better for audiences aged 18-35 who are female and is better to use if you are a business that targets B2C.

Instagram’s newest feature of close friends which takes advantage of Snapchat’s basic features, allows you to post up a story and only share it with your chosen friends. Which is similar to how Snapchat works. This is important for businesses to understand the latest tools and features and to keep up to date with advances in social technology.

#4 YouTube…

Now YouTube is usually overlooked as a social media platform, but from the rise in success in YouTubing as a career, it is important to note it as a 2019 social media platform. YouTube has been around for a good few years, but it wasn’t until recently that more generations are getting involved. With sub-brands of YouTube Music and YouTube Kids, YouTube is slowly evolving to involve every age range possible including under 18’s and over 65’s.

This is perfect for businesses that are posting regular videos, as it can generate high traffic to directed links such as your website and it also means you can gain a higher return on investment by marketing your content on multiple channels.

Vlogging is a great way to add content to your channel. It works equally as good for businesses that sell products or sell a service. This is due to audiences feeling like they are gaining a bigger insight through these videos, rather then what they maybe would on other social platforms like Twitter.  If you can, try to batch a couple of videos every time you film, it will help you get into the habit of filming and will help you to build your confidence.

Often, you can associate videos with relevant topics that you may have recently researched. This may include advertising your blog by vlogging about a similar topic and discussing it with your audience. Having a hook at the start of the video and a call to action at the end can make people more interested in continuing to watch the whole video. This can be increased by having a more appealing thumbnail. The better the thumbnail and more interesting it is, the more views you will get.

And if you need more reasons why you start vlogging this year, then check out our blog.

Catch up with some famous YouTubers that have risen to fame on YouTube such as Zoella, Caspar Lee and Niomi Smart. Getting inspiration and knowing where to start on YouTube can help you to actually start yourself. Simply type in, How To Vlog…

#5 LinkedIn…

Our final social media platform for 2019, is LinkedIn. It is a wonderful platform, that is excellent for businesses to use. It can work well for B2B and B2C companies and is perfect to network more formally, with various features available to use.

One way that you can use LinkedIn is by gaining referrals. Building up your connections and reaching out to those who you are already connected with, can help you push your business forward and can work well not only as a marketing strategy but as a tool to gain more revenue for your company. Plus, you will find more business owners use the platform and because of this, you can reach those who are higher up within the business.

Another great benefit to LinkedIn is the brand awareness you can gain from it. Regular posting of interesting content can really help you to up your game and get your brand out there. By using keywords in the bio and page description, and adding links to your website and other social media can push this even further.

LinkedIn also provides the facility to advertise vacancies within your business. This is an effective method of gaining high-quality employees.

The proof is in the pudding, statistics show that nearly 50% of graduates are using LinkedIn so even younger generations are getting involved, could LinkedIn be the new Facebook? It is the business version of Facebook and the best platform to get leads. Whether you’re pushing a recent blog post, website or job vacancy, LinkedIn can definitely work for you.

Start Today, Not Tomorrow…

Now that you know what platforms are vital for you to use for 2019, it’s about time you get logged in and get started. Although, it’s not always as simple as this…

Strategies are key to success and planning takes time and so does making sure you’re using the platform correctly to make your business more profitable. Hiring a creative marketing agency like ours can be a great way to kickstart your social media today and work on boosting up your business’ brand awareness. Get in touch today for your free consultation and get the social media expertise you need to succeed…

Author Profile

Hazel Butler

Our Head of Marketing, Hazel Butler, is an award-winning author, copywriter, and editor. Part ghostwriter, part blogger, part videographer, and part strategist, when she’s not endlessly penning content for our clients Hazel’s happily concocting the perfect marketing plans to propel their businesses forward.
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