Top 4 Social Media Sites for Small Businesses

If you follow me (@RogerRidpath) or Ridpath Creative on social media you will see engaged and consistant activity. Social media has become an essencial platform for businesses wanting to build their brand, expand their customer base and market their products. However, with the number of platforms continuing to increase, it's impossible for most small businesses, including mine, to maintain an active presence across all of the available social media websites. Unless you can afford to employ a team to manage all of your social media profiles, you need to focus on building your presence on the most useful platforms. I recommend the following four social media sites for small businesses.

Facebook
Facebook has long been one of the most widely-used social networking websites for both business and personal use. Customers now expect businesses to have a Facebook page, and potential customers are often influenced by the quality of your Facebook page, as well as the number of Likes and positive comments your business receives through the site. Facebook also provides a variety of useful tools to help businesses reach their intended audience. For example, small businesses can target specific geographical locations for their Facebook Live posts, enabling you to target users in your local area.

Twitter
Twitter is often the platform of choice for businesses and marketers, as it provides instant access to a diverse audience. The short message format used by Twitter is ideal for grabbing the attention of your audience and encouraging them to click through to your website for more information. Twitter also enables you to use paid advertisements and promoted posts to increase your visibility. In addition, there is a range of tools available to help analyze the effectiveness of your Twitter marketing campaigns.

LinkedIn
Originally used by job seekers, employers and those looking to further their career, LinkedIn has fast become one of the most popular social networking platforms for businesses. LinkedIn differs in format from most other social media sites, as it is designed to be more professional and formal than websites like Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn is a great place to network and connect with businesses, suppliers and influencers in your industry. You can also use paid LinkedIn advertisements to boost your marketing campaign.

YouTube
YouTube is often overlooked by small businesses, but video marketing has become increasingly popular and can be much more effective than text-based marketing. Posting regular video content is a great way to connect with your audience, while also helping to build your reputation as an authority within your industry. Webinars, instructional content, step-by-step guides and other types of useful video content can also set you apart from your competitors, as videos allow your audience to get to know more about you and your business.

Social media is a highly-effective tool that can help small businesses to build their brand and grow their customer base. The ever-expanding list of social media websites can seem overwhelming for small business owners, but it's not necessary to maintain a presence on all social networks. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are the most useful social media sites for the majority of small businesses. I assist several customers with social media, contact me today if I can help you.