The Top 10 Social Network That You Cannot Lose Sight of
We want to start the year
writing on this topic, basically, because since last year we noticed that the
selection of social networks to undertake marketing actions in companies
stopped being a design task and became a follow-up task for a sort of recipe — usually
with two predominant ingredients. This is not new, for a long time we have
observed in marketing professionals that trend that pushes them to
choose only the massive and the popular, an attitude that last year increased
considerably. What we perceive is a type of obsession with the massive that we
believed could be easily overcome, but the evidence showed us otherwise.
The recurring summary is more or less this: we sit in a
company office to talk to its managers about the design of the social ecosystem
- just in case, a social ecosystem is simply the group of social networks that
will be used to develop communication and marketing actions -. In
advance, we prepare for a discussion, but we end up in a rally where a formula
is recited. Evil! What should be an act of planning ends up becoming one of
execution - mainly because most come to the meeting with the chosen
ingredients, leaving little room for exploration and discussion?
We do not agree with this approach to the problem. We
don't think it's a good idea to turn on autopilot to design the social
ecosystem. We think that the world of social networks goes beyond Instagram and
Facebook - clarification: we are not against these two giants, we simply
believe that other options are worth looking at. In fact, we are convinced that
those who really succeed are those who go beyond and dare to open up to a planning outline without a pre-created
plan in mind; those who get out of the recipe and analyze the range of options
offered by the digital world.
But what is wrong with the Facebook + Instagram recipe?
Nothing. Both social networks are very powerful in
terms of marketing; therefore, if you do a good job on them you will get
magnificent results for your business. However, following the recipe and not
designing something to order could cost you, since you would be at risk of
losing some cheap or efficient opportunities.
So, the critical point of the issue that we address in
this article is efficiency - in administrative terms. Presenting options for
your social ecosystem is exactly what we want so that you explore other ideas
and review possibilities in the search for better results or less effort.
Could you achieve that efficiency with Facebook and
Instagram? Of course, many do. Of course, good results can be achieved by
following the recipe, but why settle? It is likely that the lack of
experimentation deceives you because you would not have points of comparison
when evaluating the equation between the achievements of your activity and the
resources invested. You lose nothing by checking other platforms! On those
alternative platforms could be the disruption that your business needs.
How to design the social ecosystem of your company?
The key to solving this dilemma lies in the following
four aspects: audience, goals, time, and resources. Reviewing the audience is
the initial task. Understanding which are the community's preferred social
networks to be pursued with digital marketing efforts is an excellent
starting point for discussions of the social ecosystem. In addition, analyzing
their motivations and consumption trends will give you information to be more
assertive in the elections.
The second step has to do with the objectives that the business
will seek in digital channels. Its delimitation will give useful clues for the
design of the social ecosystem. For example, if your goal is visibility,
the popularity of the social network is a critical variable for design; But if
your objective is community building, the coherence and the
functionalities of the platform are the variables to consider.
What follows is a study of the time available — how
urgent are the needs. This approach is essential because there are some
platforms in which the results occur in the short term and others in which they
occur in the long term. If the times are not reviewed, the strategy could be
killed from the beginning.
Finally, the resources. You cannot design a social ecosystem
without being clear about the human talent, tools, and budget available to take
action. To ignore this variable in the discussion would be irresponsibility
that would bring serious problems to the plan - and many do! The point is this:
if you have little to operate, you should use a few social networks.
Therein lies the process of designing a social
ecosystem. Told in detail but briefly. What would it take for it to be very
successful? Fill yourself with options so that the discussion is enriched with
information and so that the selection is more argued. And that is exactly what
we are going to tackle.
The 10 social networks that you should have on the radar
Our idea is not to discourage you or move away from
popular social networks —Instagram and Facebook—, on the contrary, what we want
is to open up the panorama for you to explore other channels and review where
your resources are best invested.
The list of networks that we are going to present is
divided into two blocks. The first five are very popular, but many
underestimate them. The following are the ones that are generally neglected,
but that in specific cases could be very useful.
Let's go! These are the ten social networks that you
should explore — yes, some are obvious… that is exactly why we put them on the
list because they are so obvious that we ignore them:
1. Tik Tok
A unicorn in sight! Tik Tok is a beast on the lookout
for leaders. It is the fastest growing social network in recent years. China
was born in 2016 - initially with the name Douyin - and a year later it opened
to the rest of the planet. It has grown strong due to the type of content
published in it - short videos, with good editions and lots of music - and for
its powerful predictive capacity to adapt its content to the user's taste.
2. YouTube
This social network - or should we present it as a
search engine? - is definitely in the category of giant, but few appropriate
it. Why? No idea. We do not understand why many businesses continue to view
YouTube as a simple platform for publishing videos, ignoring its social
potential. This network can give you reach, visibility, and virality.
Furthermore, it can be a source of relationship, interaction, and rapprochement
with audiences.
3. LinkedIn
Like YouTube, LinkedIn kills two birds with one stone.
This platform offers two benefits: it is a social network and it is a great
tool for recruiting talent. Yes, it is not massive like Facebook, but it is
very specific in the profile of the audience that uses it: professionals. And
that is the secret of this channel, its focus. That specificity is the one that
filters the type of content that is published and the one that creates more
prone scenarios for conversion.
4. Pinterest
This social network always surprises those of us who
are passionate about measuring results. The traffic it generates is very high
when compared to the resources that must be invested in it! Pinterest is a
fantastic channel for its simplicity, for the durability of the content and for
the quality of the traffic it generates. Additionally, its refined aesthetics
contributes a lot to brands, and that is a good reason to add it to the social
ecosystem.
5. Blogs
How difficult it is to run a blog! Yes, it is torture
for business - and for us too. Having it forces you to generate content on a
regular basis, a task that can be unbearable for most. Even so, few digital
channels are equated with blogging in the equation invested resources versus
results obtained. A blog is a key piece within the social ecosystem and a solid
pillar of content marketing strategies. They are powerful communication
and outreach tools with audiences, allowing us to share useful and relevant information
in a practical and effective way.
6. Spotify
Making a brand sound is opening another dimension to marketing
efforts and Spotify is the best platform to do it. Building relationships from
music could be an excellent bridge to building a community - in fact, such
actions are so rare that a few months ago, the Fabulous detergent was trending
to create playlists on Spotify; a simple action in planning and
execution that generated a huge social impact.
7. Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a must-see source for most internet users
and is a huge repository of information with social features. Does your
business go there? We hope so because it is very easy to upload information and
gain some visibility on this platform. Also, it is a cheap and fast action.
Companies should monitor, edit, and enrich the information that is published
about them on Wikipedia because it costs little and contributes a lot.
8. TripAdvisor
Attention! TripAdvisor is much more than an application
for tourists, it is a reliable channel to validate the convenience of
purchasing a product or service. For many people, the valuations on this
platform are very important when they are making purchasing decisions - we
repeat, not only for tourists. Attending to what is written about your products
or services in this network and having an active presence - especially for
physical stores - is a good way to contribute to sales from the digital side.
9. Snapchat
Yes, this social network has deflated a lot, but it is
still highly consumed by teenagers. Ignore it, because a guy told you that his
quarter of an hour had passed, without giving you the opportunity to try it, it
is not a very good idea. In the digital world, you can test things quickly and
cheaply! Therefore, discuss this option with your team and open yourself to any
possibility. This attitude could bring you many benefits.
10. Medium
Of the ten social networks that we propose in this list
to increase your range of options, this is the rarest - but we could not leave
it out because, in businesses where knowledge is the main value proposition,
this social network is essential. Originally, Medium was a blogging platform,
but it has recently evolved into a hybrid of documented and professional
contributions, with a highly social component. This evolution has made the
platform a very useful scenario for B2B and for the knowledge industry.
