Which Social Media

[jibbajabba]

Reading all the blogs and advice and "they" say pick one or two platforms and do them well.
I mostley use facebook, enjoy insta, try pinterest and never use twitter or snapchat or any of the others. I currently use Hootsuite but other that fbook an insta its a box tick.
Which social media should I concentrate my efforts on?

My target customer is is female, 2 kids, age 25 - 35 income between 25k and 45k living in a densely populated city and lives in a flat. Likes traditional toys like wooden and long lasting.

Im floating for facebook but it's expensive so want to get the best value. What do you suggest?

 

[fisicx]

SM works best if you get other people to promoter your stuff. Wooden toys are ideal for Instagram - but you want your fans to upload the images for you. Which brings up back to your other thread. Get followers and supporters to play with the dolls house and take pictures and post on their FB feeds. Posting on FB won't help. You want other people to post on FB for you.

 

[g]

Used appropriately, they can all help.
As can Twitter, which you've not mentioned.

And, as mentioned, having others post about your stuff is beneficial, though something that may not be quick and which you'll need to kickstart yourself.

Social media can be an excellent way to build an 'engaged community'... a very effective alternative to paid-for advertising (which, on social media, is often less worthwhile than hoped).

 

[Tandem Systems]

The problem with Facebook is that tracking natural activity is quite hard, but it does have a really powerful ad service. Instagram sounds perfect for your TA - as I guarantee from my experience a large portion of them will have it and will post regularly.

Get posting some pictures of your products on solid hashtags and you can gain a pretty quick following, then you can move onto comps and stuff.

 

[Xerxes]

Instagram is introducing more functionality for small businesses so that's positive, and it fits with your product and target audience. FB has heaps of functionality in terms of allowing you to post photos, videos, links, tags and it is useful for advertising and promoting posts - but use analytic tools to make sure you're getting value for money.

I'd also be looking for some key influencers of your target audience - people on FB or Insta who have a significant following and then engage with them - if possible approach them and ask if they'd be willing to review your products - if they agree, they'll post their own pics of your products to their followers.

 

[jibbajabba]

SM works best if you get other people to promoter your stuff. Wooden toys are ideal for Instagram - but you want your fans to upload the images for you. Which brings up back to your other thread. Get followers and supporters to play with the dolls house and take pictures and post on their FB feeds. Posting on FB won't help. You want other people to post on FB for you.

This is what I was thinking overall, have a presence on everything and see which the customers use then focus on that one or two. I'm building the story website you suggested at the moment just need to get the product back for the visuals.

The problem with Facebook is that tracking natural activity is quite hard, but it does have a really powerful ad service. Instagram sounds perfect for your TA - as I guarantee from my experience a large portion of them will have it and will post regularly.

Get posting some pictures of your products on solid hashtags and you can gain a pretty quick following, then you can move onto comps and stuff.

the hashtags is a great idea, any advice on choosing the right/most appropriate ones?

Instagram is introducing more functionality for small businesses so that's positive, and it fits with your product and target audience. FB has heaps of functionality in terms of allowing you to post photos, videos, links, tags and it is useful for advertising and promoting posts - but use analytic tools to make sure you're getting value for money.

I'd also be looking for some key influencers of your target audience - people on FB or Insta who have a significant following and then engage with them - if possible approach them and ask if they'd be willing to review your products - if they agree, they'll post their own pics of your products to their followers.

We have a list of people to approach shortly and just trying to build up a few things before we approach them.

 

[Mr Singh]

From my experience I think FB worked really well for me as you can target people age and region wise.
You can always check how is it working on organic and paid search. Then improve your keywords accordingly, which is the most important thing.

 

[Richard Glynn]

I think whichever channel you choose - if you're just going to run adverts you might be disappointed with the response. However, if you contribute value and interest to the conversations that matter most - you have a chance.

 

[Marquis Anne]

It is true that it is best to start with one platform and do it well. From there, you can add additional platforms based on which are the most popular for your target audience. Instagram indeed has your target audience, especially for your niche market.

In this instance, though, it would probably be a good idea to have a Facebook page as well. this may not necessarily be your key page for attracting new visitors, but the Facebook ads can do some serious magic.

Based on your responses to the other advice, it seems like you're on the right track. You can easily create a funnel campaign by starting with Facebook ads and Instagram ads. From there, secure a few influencers and let them release their ad content.

This will build brand awareness and reintroduce your product to your target market. At this point, it's a good idea to have a giveaway set up with a sponsor of some sort for even more reach and incentive for users to click through.

Your sponsors could be any business that is related to your toys but is not direct competition.

Anyway, all this to say that it's not really about which platform is best. It is more about how your target audience behaves and how well you position yourself in front of them.

Hope this helps!

 

[KindaichiShota]

Try to compare between google ad or fb add. Currently these the most popular marketing process. Although these might be little higher in price but you can also adjust it by selecting the marketing or posting method.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Too many businesses read "You should be on social media", but this statement should always include the caveat: "but only if you know you have the time for it". So many businesses set up the accounts, do a few posts and that's it.

You have to treat it like any form of marketing, it is unlikely to get you an instant return, it could take weeks or months, as you have to build up a reputation.

I have seen so many businesses that have on their website "Follow us on..." and when you go to their social media account they haven't posted for several years... if at all.

 

[Amy Alexander]

Completely true that it's better to do one or two platforms well than do all of them poorly.

For your target audience, Facebook is a must but, as others have said, it's hard to get organic reach. Where most businesses fall down with paid advertising on FB is not targeting thoroughly enough which means it can be expensive and low on results. It sounds like you know your audience pretty well so there's no reason it can't work for you! Start small (£5 a day is the budget limit I believe), look at your data and build it from there. Don't be tempted to use the same advert on Facebook as well as Instagram - you'll get much better results if you create one for each.

The other platform I'd suggest for your target audience is Pinterest combined with promoted pins - done well it can be a really powerful platform.

And (finally!) for hashtags try Hashtagify - it's brilliant

 

[jibbajabba]

Don't be tempted to use the same advert on Facebook as well as Instagram - you'll get much better results if you create one for each.

I don't know what I would do different for the 2 platforms a visual and a blurb. what would you need to do differntly, is there a different design?

 

[StevePoster]

The most number of users would be the best just like Facebook and Twitte. Establish your brand first and provide benefits to the audience.

 

[webhostuk]

Have you tried WhatsApp business account. Personally did not try it.

 

[VD Media]

the hashtags is a great idea, any advice on choosing the right/most appropriate ones?

There are lots of really good websites online that can tell you the most popular and relevant hashtags to use. I believe it was called top-hashtags.

And in regards to the best social media platforms to use, it really depends on your business and the products or services you offer. Instagram (has the highest rate of engagement out of all the social platforms) is more visual based so things like art, fashion, photography etc work very well here.

 

[godoit]

Instagram (has the highest rate of engagement out of all the social platforms) is more visual based so things like art, fashion, photography etc work very well here.

I just found out today that Insta only allows one link in your Bio, no links in the post

 

[VD Media]

I just found out today that Insta only allows one link in your Bio, no links in the post

You can post links there but they are not clickable. So the way around this is using a URL shortener like Bit . ly. For example the link could be Bit . ly/Cakes for example.

In addition to this, you would normally advise in the post "see link in bio" as a call to action.

 

[godoit]

You can post links there but they are not clickable. So the way around this is using a URL shortener like Bit . ly. For example the link could be Bit . ly/Cakes for example.

In addition to this, you would normally advise in the post "see link in bio" as a call to action.

but it's still not clickable when it is shortend, no?

 

[VD Media]

but it's still not clickable when it is shortend, no?

No unfortunately not. As I said above, this does not matter much as the general norm on Instagram is going to the link in the bio.

 

[Lisaresnick]

All social medias are best for your business. Most effective is Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. These are help you to get result and also you can search easily your result like female, 2 kids, age 25 - 35 income between 25k and 45k

 

[James.C]

UGC (user generated content) on Instagram. Have a look at what some other businesses are doing on Instagram and copy them or adapt it to your business. Ask your customers to upload a photo and tag you in it. You can then respond and share it to your page.

 

[Tech4UK]

All your offers / services could be more relevant and perfectly fit to target audience. then you may try & track the selected social media channels, which is getting more clicks and response.So you can target that channel...

 

[The Sourcing Division]

I wouldn't start a new business without Instagram & Facebook. I've never had much luck with Twitter but user engagement on Instagram has always been easy. Start adding new photos of your products or workplace, quotes (or memes even) & re-post customer photos and you're away

 

[dariadavis]

Just hold some interviews with your potential buyers about their preferred online channels: what social media do they love, what sites do they read, what influencers do they follow and you'll have all the answers at your fingertips.

Hope it helps.

 

[Businessquotes]

They all require a lot of time investment to get working correctly, and spend to get data if you plan on advertising. Most companies on low budgets dabble a little then quit because they didn't see instant results. Facebook has some amazing targeting capabilities, if your product is your own look at some specialist agencies agencies/individuals for advice - there are some freelance experts around who wouldn't charge you much for some initial advice - you can also ask the platforms directly through their forums. In the end you should be where your audience is if it's 60% Facebook put your efforts there, if it' 90% on Mumsnet then go there. I'd imagine though as you have a product to sell a large proportion of your audience will be on Amazon.