The importance of social media in a digital marketing and communication plan is undeniable. For business, even more, social networks can bring many benefits to companies. For this reason, they are increasingly used professionally. But do we know how to choose which are the best social networks for companies?
The Types Of Social Networks
It could be said, always exaggerating, that there are as many social networks as there are styles of people. We can classify them into different types, according to different criteria such as the target audience, the theme, or the use, for example.
According to the public: If we attend to the public to whom social networks are directed, we can differentiate two types: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal RRSS are generalists, they are directed to a wide public and without specialization by subject or style. Vertical social networks are segmented and specialize in a specific audience, usually thanks to the theme.
According to use: Depending on how your users use social networks, we can divide them into professional, leisure, or mixed networks. Professionals are those used only to share articles or meet people in the work or academic environment. Leisure activities prioritize entertainment, the social relationship. The mixed are a mixture of both.
According to the content: Taking into account what is published in them, two types of social networks can be differentiated: thematic or generic. Thematic networks have their content grouped around the subject, while in the generic networks, any subject has a place.
According to the location: We can find sedentary social networks, which only change when sharing content, or nomads, which, in addition to that, are also updated depending on where the user of the social network is.
Depending on the relationship: Finally, we like to clarify them also by the type of relationship between users that are made when using the social network. Thus, we can divide them into human or content. Human social networks are designed to promote social relationships while content networks are based on joining profiles based on shared content.
The Best Social Networks For Companies
Six are the most important social networks for companies. Each of them can be useful within the communication of a business depending on its strategy. As we are going to see, they all have their benefits and can be used in combination or exclusively.
Facebook: It is mainly used to relate to the end customer in the B2C business. It works very well to promote products or services, although you always have to do it in a subtle way since the Facebook user does not want to be overwhelmed by advertising. It is also very useful to derive and increase traffic on the web.
Instagram: As it is the social network with the highest growth in users in recent years, betting on it is sure to win. Instagram achieves great interaction with the user. It can therefore serve us to promote products or services, especially through ‘stories’.
Twitter: Twitter serves similar purposes to Facebook, bringing traffic to the web, and promoting business. However, Twitter can also help you improve your brand image and know what is being said about your company at all times. It is a good platform in which you must be attentive to an active and passive conversation about your company and your professional sector. In addition, it helps you share content, stay informed, and interact with leaders in your sector.
Youtube: Youtube is a basic tool for video marketing and one of the best social networks for companies. The user increasingly reads less and consumes more video and image formats, so generating quality content on this channel is vital for brand positioning and promotion.
Linkedin: It is one of the best social networks to generate B2B professional contacts, as well as to attract talent from future employees of your companies or improve brand positioning.
Google+: Although it is one of the least used social networks by the general public, we must not forget about it since it will help us in SEO positioning in search engines.
How To Choose The Best Social Network For My Business?
Now comes the decisive moment… how can I choose which social network is going to help me the most in the communication of my company? There are three aspects to take into account: the audience we want to address, the social media objectives, and the competition.
The first thing we must find out is where our customers move. What social network do they use? What time? For what? This is the best way to know where we should position ourselves and in which social network we are going to invest our communication efforts. If we do not do this, we may find ourselves wasting time and company resources in a social network that is not going to contribute anything to our business strategy.
Another point of vital importance is to establish the social media objectives that you want to achieve. That is, what do you need to use social networks for? We must avoid phrases like “I want to sell more” or “I want more clients or followers”, as they are not things that social networks can achieve. You have to set goals such as improving customer service, achieving more engagement with the public, creating a community, improving brand reputation, or even publicizing new products.
Lastly, keep an eye on your competition. See what it does, how it does it, and where it does it. It will give you new ideas and help you assess whether your social media marketing plan is well established.
How Do I Manage Social Networks For Companies?
Once you know all this, you may find yourself with one last problem, how do I manage and manage my company’s social networks? Not just anyone is good for it. Social networks for companies are similar to a kitchen: that someone is capable of making good spaghetti does not qualify him to run a restaurant. The same thing happens with social media, although almost everyone manages their private profiles, not everyone knows how to do it professionally. Therefore, when it comes to social media for companies, we must trust social media or digital marketing professionals. How? We have three options:
Train your employees on social networks: There are many digital marketing professionals who are dedicated to teaching and can help you establish social media strategies according to your objectives. An example of this is Sergio Magan, an Instagram expert, who does a multitude of social media courses.
Hire a Community Manager: Another good option is to expand your staff by incorporating a social media management position. That person will know from within the ins and outs and needs of your company and will handle the social media profiles of your business with total availability.
Put yourself in the hands of a digital marketing agency: This is one of the best options. If your employees don’t have time to dedicate to social networks and hiring someone else is out of your budget, a communication or digital marketing agency is the solution. For a small price, it is integrated into your communication and makes all the professional means available to you.