Secure your future: Essential insurance for self-employed success
Why life, critical illness, and income protection insurance are not just nice-to-haves but essential pillars for your financial security.
- 23 Jul 2024
However much you’d like to, you can’t ignore social media.
From humble beginnings in Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard bedroom in 2004, Facebook is now used by around a third of the world’s population. Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn have fewer users, but still in the multiple millions.
It’s estimated that at least half - probably more - of users only access social media on their mobiles. It’s increasingly a 24/7 medium.
So even if your business isn’t on social media, it’s virtually certain that your customers are. Not to mention your competitors.
And it’s not a question of “Which platforms should I be on?” but, “How should I use each platform?”.
Facebook has over 70% of the global share of minutes spent on social media, and is used by around 2.7 billion people every month.
Gender-wise, it’s split 52% female and 48% male – a pretty even balance. (I know some believe 52% to be an ‘overwhelming majority’. But we won’t go there.)
You may think Facebook is just for posting selfies and cute pics of your kids, but it’s great for:
40% of Twitter’s 330 million active users are on there every day – not all of them replying to Donald Trump’s latest tweet.
It’s the ideal platform for:
Owned by Microsoft, LinkedIn has around 250 million members logging in every month. The difference with LinkedIn is its overt business focus. It’s not built for selfies and social chit-chat – although that doesn’t stop people doing just that, much to the disdain of some users.
Use LinkedIn to:
Instagram’s millennial-heavy audience means it’s perfect for anything aimed at 18-34 years olds, who make up more than two-thirds of its user base. Owned by Facebook and with lots of cross-posting opportunities, it boasts around 1 billion active users every month.
It’s a very visual medium so is perfect for:
The key thing with social media is to engage with your customers, not just talk to them. It’s a dynamic and ever-changing medium that allows you to interact with your audience in a way your website, brochures and emails can never do.
So find out where your audience is and don’t just show up, join in!
Mary Whitehouse is a copywriter, PR and content marketing strategist and runs Word Service Marketing Communications. Based near Birmingham, she works with organisations in the UK and beyond to give focus and personality to their marketing and publicity efforts.
See more at the Word Service website or Mary’s online portfolio. Follow her on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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