If your business has a social media strategy that includes Facebook, you may want to consider scaling way back or even bailing on the platform altogether.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few months, you’ve undoubtedly heard the earth-shattering news: The latest update will diminish posts from brands, publishers, marketers and news stories.
Over the past year, Facebook has made it almost impossible for businesses to get organic exposure, forcing them to pay for placed advertisements instead. And with the latest algorithm change, those paid advertisements are even harder to find! Businesses are already leaving the platform as a result.
Combine that with the statement from Facebook’s CFO, who claimed the company would be posting losses for “more than two years, but less than many” – essentially due to the GDPR (General Data Protection Act), which took effect in the EU earlier this year, and congressional pressure to stop runaway data-gathering operations from companies like Cambridge Analytica, and the outlook isn’t super sunny for businesses wanting to break through the clutter.
In that single 90-minute finance meeting, Facebook lost over $100 billion of its value. It’s being billed as “the worst single-day stock tumble of any company in U.S. history.”
The good news? There are plenty of social media channel alternatives, and they’re looking more appealing every day.
We’re here to walk you through your options and help you choose what’s best for your company.
All a-Twitter (or not)
To start, let’s get the stuff you may want to avoid out of the way.
We’ve already said you may want to scale back or avoid Facebook, and Twitter is fast becoming another waning platform for acquiring new customers.
Twitter is great for responding to customer service inquiries or complaints to demonstrate your brand’s responsiveness and caring attitude toward customers, but the platform isn’t great for acquiring new ones.
Additionally, Twitter has been rocked by its own set of challenges, including the purging of tens of millions of non-active, suspicious and fake accounts created through bots, which started earlier this year.
This caused advertisers to flee the platform in droves, leaving Twitter’s share value tumbling by 16 percent this quarter.
Bottom line: Twitter is in an uncertain place right now, and it may be wise to expand to other, more-suited platforms for new engaged follower acquisitions.
Win-stagram
Until recently, Instagram was a much-overlooked market for brands and advertising. Although it’s owned by Facebook, its advertising mechanics have mostly been left intact.
Instagram focuses on engaging images and other visual media, meaning it’s a perfect fit for brands wanting to showcase interesting products or share an inside look into your company’s personality to humanize your brand.
Plus, it’s an excellent way to reach the growing mobile market. According to recent data, 61 percent of all North American users are accessing social media via mobile devices. And, 53% of account holders follow brands on Instagram – unlike other channels where individuals reign supreme.
Another study by Pew Research Center indicated that Instagram is the place to be if you’re looking to reach that ever-elusive youth demographic. As of 2018, 71 percent of all Americans ages 18 to 24 regularly use Instagram.
With the highest engagement rate of all social media platforms (approximately 2 percent to 7 percent per post) there really is no reason your brand shouldn’t be on the channel.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a solid social media platform that helps your posts and paid ads reach the mobile and youth markets, Instagram is it.
Hyper LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the professional social media network that connects businesses, entrepreneurs, employers and employees – not only when you’re looking for that shiny new job, but also when you want to demonstrate your expertise as a thought leader in your space.
LinkedIn is fast becoming a great way to promote your business’ content.
While it doesn’t sport the same abilities to engage with individual followers as a brand that some of the other channels do, LinkedIn is often the go-to resource potential clients use when investigating your business and comparing you to your competitors.
Maintaining your business’ image and thought leadership content on LinkedIn is a must if you want to distinguish yourself from the competition. And that starts with at least posting and sharing interesting articles and information relevant to your business every week.
But most importantly, if you produce any sort of content your target audience would find valuable (like this blog article for example) you should be sharing it on LinkedIn to increase exposure to your brand.
Bottom line: LinkedIn is a great way to showcase your company’s expertise and attract potential clients.
Choosing your brand’s perfect social mix
Still having trouble deciding which social media channels are right for you? Stealth offers a full suite of social media services. From consulting, strategy and editorial calendar creation to post development, execution, monitoring and reporting, we’ve got you (and your pages) covered.
Send us a message today, and let’s get posting!
Also, check out our awesome infographic on the best practices for boosting your social media presence!
As always, stay tuned for more helpful tips from Stealth Creative next time we go Off the Radar.
