Which Social Media Platforms Do I Need for My Business?

Social media is the thing on everybody's mind these days. It's a constantly evolving field that is hard to keep up with, especially when you're running a business.

One of the biggest questions I hear business owners asking about social media is: "Which platform(s) do I need to be on for my business's social media?"

The answer is simple: it's all about your audience.

You need to figure out who your target market is and where they hang out. Who is it that you serve? Are they old, young, a specific gender, live in a certain city or state? Do they spend a lot of time online?

You'll need to do a bit of research on your own to be able to answer those questions, but a lot of them can be answered by thinking of a client or customer that you already serve.

Here are the biggest questions to answer about your target audience/clients: What is their age? What is their gender? What social media platforms are they using?

Here's short reference guide for the biggest social media platforms and the age ranges that they generally serve.

Instagram: ages 13-30

Facebook: ages 30+

TikTok: ages 13-30

SnapChat: ages 13-30

BeReal: ages 13-30

Twitter: ages 20-40

YouTube: ages 13-30

LinkedIn: ages 20+

Your best bet is to pick 1-3 platforms within the age range you're trying to reach with your business. You don't have to do it all at once! Start with one you know well, and then build from there.

To some extent, picking social media platforms also depends on your business, what kind of products or services you deliver, and how you get clients or customers. It also will depend on how much time/effort/energy you have to invest in social media. You will have to decide for yourself if social media will be a significant source of customers. Sometimes the only way is to just try it out, spend a little time developing it, and see how it works out.

Still don't know which platforms are best for you? I'm working on developing an interactive quiz to help you figure out which social media platforms are best for your business!

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