Social media is one of the top organic acquisition channels to educate, inspire, and retain customers. It’s far reaching, wielding unmatched influence over billions of people around the globe. It also has an uncanny advantage of serving as both a marketing and customer service channel—two functions that go hand in hand in building a strong, defensible brand.
In this article, we’ll cover how social media can fulfill these two roles, and the top 7 platforms at your disposal.
7 Social media marketing channels
When it comes to using social media for marketing purposes, temper your expectations of going viral overnight. Social media is a long-term strategy that times deliberate planning and consistent engagement to make a meaningful impact. Consider starting with these seven popular social media channels to establish your online presence, build a rapport with your audience, and strengthen your brand.
Twitter attracts more than 206 million active users each day. A whopping 83% of the world’s leaders are on Twitter, including POTUS, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. Twitter’s dominance makes it one of the best social channels to get your brand voice out there. But with millions of tweets being sent each day, you’ll need to bear the below tips in mind:
- Foster two-way conversations, knowing that your audience isn’t there to be talked at, but to discuss shared interests.
- Leverage strategic hashtags without cluttering your tweets. Users like to see clean, authentic tweets—not ones that are manufactured to attract an audience.
- Tweet storms are popular ways to share more in-depth thoughts that require a series of tweets to explain (e.g., a recap of a blog or news article).
- Use Twitter Polls to invite engagement and to receive candid feedback on questions related to your industry, product, and/or a trending topic. These are a great way to do some market research and get product insights as well.
About six out of 10 (63%) U.S. adults on Instagram use the app daily, and the average Instagrammer spends at least seven hours a week on the app. In recent years, Instagram has unveiled more eCommerce-friendly features, making it easier for brands to turn followers into customers. Here are some ways you can use Instagram to your advantage:
- Add product tags to your posts, Stories, and videos so that followers can easily buy your products when purchase intent is high.
- Test Instagram Live to broadcast product demos, teasers, or other content that humanizes your brand. Viewers will be able to message you in real time as you film, allowing for two-way conversations.
- Tap micro-influencers to help showcase your products on their pages, making sure that they actually understand and enjoy your brand before requesting them to promote it.
LinkedIn is especially powerful for SaaS companies. With more than 57 million companies and more than 774 million total members as of 2021, LinkedIn is the largest professional network where you can employ account-based marketing strategies, alongside tactics like:
- Share expert insights, opinions, and content with your network, which can choose to “follow” your company profile for updates.
- Ask your employees to add your company to their profiles, share (and react to) your content to boost reach, and join LinkedIn Groups related to your industry.
- Test videos, images, and other multimedia—not just text-based posts—to increase engagement rates.
- Experiment with InMail, which is available with a Individual Premium account, to connect with prospects on a one-to-one level. Like email, you can use InMail to distribute content, send offers, and/or spark organic conversations.
Facebook flaunts a massive network and has even been dubbed “king of social media.” The platform reaches 59% of social media users and provides plenty of opportunity for your brand to connect with people at the individual level. Make sure to:
- Share user-generated content, which you can curate through UGC contests, giveaways, and other fun campaigns.
- Use Facebook Live to host live chats, product demos, and other dynamic content.
- Engage in Facebook Groups (as yourself, not your company) and participate in conversations that matter to you and your prospects. Avoid spamming groups with links and product mentions; focus instead on building yourself up as a subject matter expert that people want to follow.
YouTube
There are more than 1.9 billion active YouTube users each month, but only 9% of U.S. small businesses are active on the channel. This means that there are tons of opportunity for your business to grow, so you’ll want to make sure to:
- Create how-to videos, which 70% of YouTube viewers watch. Focus on educating or entertaining prospects, not just promoting your products.
- Stick to a consistent publishing schedule and mimic tactics used by other popular channels to get to the top of YouTube’s search results (e.g., title formats, tone, length).
- Tap influencers who already have an established audience that may have an interest in products like yours. However, resist the urge to dictate how influencers share about your brand.
TikTok
TikTok’s meteoric rise has turned the heads of people all across the globe. Despite national security concerns, TikTok is swiftly earning millions of new users each month and a reputation as a highly addictive app. Consider the following tips when adding TikTok to your marketing strategy:
- Identify trends (sounds, hashtags, dances) that your brand can creatively use to broaden your reach.
- Invest some time watching other popular TikTokers and understanding the platform culture before posting your first video. This will help you to relate, and create content that resonates.
- Create behind-the-scenes videos, spoofs, and other shareable content—not simply commercials of your brand. Above all, be authentic.
Quora
Quora is the popular Q&A website where users can ask questions and get them answered by others in the community. It’s an excellent knowledge-sharing platform, and a prime channel to educate your target audience. Here are a few tips to succeed on Quora:
- Don’t be overly promotional, as Quora is primarily a channel to educate, not sell. Focus on answering questions that are relevant to the problems your product or service solves instead, so it’ll come up naturally.
- Look at what questions are being asked often among your target audience, and answer them in-depth on your blog. Write up a summarized answer to a Quora question, and link to your full blog after to get visitors to your website.
- Add a disclaimer of your affiliation when sharing anything about your brand. A simple “Disclaimer: I’m the co-founder of X” will suffice at the end of your answer.
How and why to make Quora a cornerstone of your B2B eCommerce content strategy
Social media for customer support
For your customers, social media is often the most immediate way to express frustrations. Many customers know that brands care about their online reputation and/or have a separate social team that’s more responsive than traditional customer support teams.
Not every social media channel is a good fit for customer support, or a natural destination for your frustrated customers.
To catch any complaints and protect your customer relationships, have your support team focus on these channels:
- Twitter – Customers will often tweet about their frustrations with a company, or probe their peers for advice on Twitter. Monitor for brand mentions or convos that you’ll want to hop into.
- Instagram – Monitor your direct messages on Instagram closely, as customers who discover your brand with Instagram ads are likely to check out your page and send their questions as messages. You should also add an FAQs section to your highlighted Instagram stories that visitors can scroll through.
- Facebook – People tend to ask a lot of product-related questions and express their opinions via Facebook Groups. Have a team member(s) join and participate in relevant groups, but make sure they abide by community rules.
- YouTube – Consider publishing video tutorials that can be discovered on YouTube as well as used by your internal teams to train customers on how to use your product(s).
Wrapping up — Use social media to acquire customers and provide 5-star support
Social media deserves a seat at the table, but you’ll want to know which channels to use and why. Don’t just leverage any channel. Use the ones that jive the best with your brand values, target audience, and marketing goals.