The Learning Center

Social media influences everything about our day-to-day activities. If your mutual company isn’t taking advantage of social media, you’re undoubtedly missing out on a large percentage of business opportunities. Which social media works best for your interests? Is it LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook? How can you determine the best outcome for the chosen social media platform? It’s all about diving into what each respective platform is good at portraying to the audience. 

LinkedIn to What? 

LinkedIn is a social networking platform that is designed to benefit business professionals, B2B networking, and placing your business portfolio all in one place. The goal of the site is to allow members to establish and document networks of people they know and trust professionally. The typical type of content seen on the platform is generally surrounding the subject matter of business professionals and this content often includes:

• Educational posts, discussions, and other posts that relate to the profile 
• Podcasts that relate to the profiles’ work and business
• Webinars that showcase what others can learn in the job environment
• Networking events that the profile/business plan to attend
• Promote services or products that the business offers

Twitter Me This 

Twitter is used as a conversational tool for both casual users and business professionals. It creates a way to have real time communications between users. A captivating factor for twitter users is the quick read type of posts. A large percentage of users on the platform are young adults, ages ranging from 18-29. What’s the challenge from a business standpoint? Many users on the platform use Twitter to keep up with celebrities and be notified of breaking news. More popular posts surround the following topics: 

• Political conversations 
• News coverage
• Casual conversations 
• Customer service inquiries 
• Images and video 

Companies can have multiple profiles for different purposes; i.e. recruiting, customer service, or product oriented.

A Shot at Insta-Success 

Businesses are using Instagram as a new way to ‘humanize’ their companies. In other words, a feel-good way to connect with consumers. They can present themselves to the users on the platform in a more relatable way. The largest number of users to the platform are a mix between the ages of 18 – 34. Instagram is the favored platform for many because the communication is done solely through images. Many use the platform to maintain relationships with their friends in their everyday lives, following along with updates from celebrities, brands and businesses, and influencers. Typical posts businesses share to utilize the platform include:

• Sharing photos that make the company more relatable 
• Employee Showcase 
• Team Building 
• Community Involvement 
• Accomplishments 
• Sponsorships & Branding 
• Fun Graphics 
• Celebrate Holidays 

Writing a Chapter in the Facebook 

Facebook was created with the initial purpose of handing people the power to build a community that could be closer together. Staying connected with friends and family is the most popular use of Facebook. It’s a fast way to discover what’s going on in the world and to share and express what matters to the specific user. Most prominent users are between the large range of 18 – 49 years of age. The average age of the user for Facebook is 40. When Facebook was created in 2004, those users were around the average age of 21. This shows a great deal of loyalty to the platform. Features and benefits of this platform include:

• Discussion posts
• Finding and creating groups fit for any niche
• Photo and video sharing 
• The ability to share an opinion with friends, family, and the world
• Professional tools: check-ins, tagging, job posts, etc
• Geared towards making communication easy

All for One or One for All? 

One of the toughest decisions faced by companies in today’s digital age and market is, “How should we market the company?” Should your company utilize just one social media platform or try a hand at all the platforms available? We recommend trying a hand at one of the platforms you feel best fits your needs and goals.