How Do I Choose the Right Social Media Platform For My Business?
In 2025, it's clear that having a social media presence is essential for any business. However, contrary to popular belief, spreading yourself across every platform isn’t the most effective strategy.
But how do you figure out which social media platforms you need to be on and what’s worth your time? In this article, we’ll take a look at five things to consider when deciding which social media platforms to use.
Define Your Goals and KPIs
Before you start creating your social media accounts, you’ll want to ensure you're clear on your goals. Without a clear vision of what’s important to your business, you may find yourself aimlessly posting irrelevant content and, even worse on the wrong platform. Are you looking to grow your community or drive traffic to your website? No matter the goal, nailing this down is the first step to your social media success.
Here are some goals and KPIs to consider when strategizing your plan:
Expanding your company’s reach
Generating more leads
Boosting brand awareness
Driving website traffic
Engaging customers
Providing customer support
Gaining insights about your industry or market
Building a community
Improving search engine rankings
Boosting your brand’s reputation
Gaining monetization from the platform
Understand Your Target Audience
If you try to speak to everyone, you risk being heard by no one. That’s why it’s crucial to solidify your target audience before choosing your social media platforms. You don’t want your efforts to go unnoticed, so you’ll need to be clear on who your audience is so that you understand where to place your efforts. To do this, you’ll need to research where your ideal audience is most active.
For example, let’s say that you run a business selling affordable vegan leather handbags.
Your goal: To attract new customers and boost sales
Your target audience: Women between the ages of 25-45
With Pinterest’s user base weighing in at 76.2% women and 85% of its weekly users making purchases (Source: Sprout Social), Pinterest would be a great platform to pursue.
Adopting this targeted approach will save you time and resources, and boost your overall social media effectiveness. Just because you can be on every platform doesn’t mean you need to—or should.
Analyze Your Competitors
By looking at the platforms your competitors are active on, you can gain valuable insights into what’s working well for them. After all, you want to focus on the platforms most likely to deliver results.
Analyze the type of content your competition posts, the amount of engagement they receive, and their audience demographics. Are they seeing more success with videos, photos, or text-based posts? Is their audience actively commenting, sharing, or reacting to their content? Take note of their strategies, successes, and weaknesses to help you determine which platforms might offer the best opportunities for your business. For instance, if your competitors are thriving on Instagram, it’s a strong sign that your business should also establish a presence there.
Think About the Content You Want to Share
When deciding on the right social media platform, it’s essential to consider the type of content you plan to share. Different content types resonate with audiences uniquely, and some platforms are better suited for specific formats (like long-form videos, images, etc.) or content pillars. Let’s take a look at a few examples:
Customer Testimonials: Sharing customer stories builds trust and credibility. These testimonials showcase real-life experiences, making your brand more relatable. Instagram and Facebook are two platforms you can utilize for this.
How-To Videos: Educational content, such as tutorials or demonstrations, is highly engaging and positions your business as an expert in your industry. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok (with 40% of people now using it as a search engine) are ideal for this type of content.
Employee-Generated Content (EGC): Sharing content created by your team members adds a layer of authenticity to your brand while showcasing its unique personality. By humanizing your business, you foster a sense of connection and relatability that encourages your audience to keep coming back for more. EGC is also a budget-friendly way to produce engaging material. This type of content performs well on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where organic, relatable posts resonate most with users.
Defining your content types will help you choose the right platforms for maximum impact.
Determine How Much Time You Can Afford
Posting multiple times a day, every day sounds great in theory, but realistically, time is a major factor. The truth is, sometimes, we simply don’t have enough of it. When crafting your social media strategy, consider how much time you can dedicate—not just to posting, but also to planning and content creation. Will one team member be solely responsible for this role, or will you set aside specific hours each week to take this on? Answering these questions early on will help you stay consistent without biting off more than you can chew.
After reading this article, I hope you feel empowered and ready to tackle your social media plan head-on. But if this still feels overwhelming to you, no worries! I get it, and we’re here to help you manage what can feel like an untamable beast. Just fill out an inquiry form, and let’s see if we’re the right fit for one another.
Happy posting!
