By Tiffany Nieslanik
As of March 2023, there are 4.9 billion social media users in the world, and on average, a typical social media user interacts with over six different platforms. With numbers like this, it can be hard to remember the importance of focusing on only a few platforms that will best serve you as a creator or brand. We all have limited time, not to mention creative energy, and not all platforms work for every goal, so engaging strategically in the right place is paramount to your success. You should spend the time to deliberately consider each platform to find the best fit for you and your brand’s goals.
You should start by considering your goals
No one has a goal to create ho-hum content and spread it over as many social platforms as possible. Take the time to consider what you want to get out of your social media presence. Who is your target audience, and which platform(s) do they spend the most time on? Are you more of a photo, video, or blog sharer? You don’t need to be everything everywhere, all at once. It’s better to do one or two platforms really well, regardless of the size of the social media site or your total number of followers. Figure out what you can provide to an audience and where your target audience spends their time, then create your strategy around those points to achieve your goals.
You should understand each platform’s demographics and focus
Every platform has its own set of demographics and focus, which are important to consider as a creator. For example, about 47% of TikTok users in the U.S. are aged 10-29, so if you or your brand relate to a younger audience, then TikTok is a great platform to be on. On the other hand, users on Instagram skew a little older as the majority of folks on IG are aged 18-34. When thinking of creating on social media platforms, it’s important to consider if your target audience is using that social site or not.
It’s also necessary to consider what kind of content you want to create. Photos and videos are fairly common across most platforms, but it’s no secret that TikTok or YouTube is a better platform for creators that favor producing videos, while Instagram or Pinterest might be a better fit for creators that like to focus on photos. Of course, almost all content formats work on Facebook, and if you are considering creating content geared toward professionals or positioning yourself as an industry expert, then LinkedIn might be your platform of choice. The main takeaway is to find the right fit when considering your social media efforts.
You should take advantage of creator programs within platforms
Influencer marketing increases every year, as does the percentage of businesses that use content creators as part of their marketing strategy. With this increase, more and more social platforms are offering tools and various revenue streams for creators. From platform creator funds to special opportunities, it’s important to understand what is out there.
The O.G. – Instagram has been long-known to court creators. As the creator economy continues to grow, Instagram has increased its bid for creators’ attention, allowing for more opportunities to make money from your content and stay active on the app. Some examples of this include Instagram Live Badges, where users can send monetary tips during a Livestream, shops for creators to sell directly to fans, Instagram Reels Play Bonus Program, in-stream video ads, branded content, affiliate programs, and bonuses.
TikTok also allows for tipping or gifting in its Creator Next program. Plus, they offer a creator marketplace to connect brands to creators and a $200 million creator fund, which is open to creators who have a comparatively smaller follower size (at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views within a 30-day period)
Instagram and TikTok aren’t the only players in these fields. Facebook has subscriptions and paid online event options. Last April, Pinterest launched its first creator fund in the U.S. (To be eligible, users only need 1,000 followers.) And Twitter also launched its tipping feature late last year, making it easy for users to tip their favorite Tweeters. Even LinkedIn has a creator accelerator program.
And, of course, there are programs that interact with multiple social platforms, such as YouShd, which allows anyone on social media to earn cashback on Shopify purchases just by sharing about your shopping experiences on Instagram or TikTok. All of these programs add up to money earned for creators, and that is definitely something to take into consideration when deciding which platform(s) you plan to have a presence.
You should incorporate other creator tools
Whether you are thinking about scheduling, analytics, or content creation itself, it’s worthwhile to incorporate some other tools into boosting your social media efforts. Here are some of our favorites:
- Canva is an excellent tool that makes design easy, even for those of us that are graphically challenged.
- VSCO has an enhanced library of filters for photos and videos.
- Splice is a mobile video editor that offers a set of intuitive tools to create the videos your audience wants to see.
- Gleam is awesome for contests or giveaways.
- Keyhole is helpful for looking at hashtag performance data and gives additional hashtag inspiration for future posts.
- Linktr.ee lets you use your bio link to send your followers to a unique screen that offers multiple possible link options.
- TrendTok helps influencers track, identify, and forecast TikTok trends – on the basis of location and categories, making it easier for you to take advantage of upcoming trends and create entertaining videos.
- Pinterest offers creative specialty partners such as Adobe Spark, Snappa, PicMonkey, Over, and Canva.
There are a plethora of platforms and tools out there. Be selective to find the platform or platforms that best fit your brand, and then customize your content using some or all of the tools above to best reach them.
Head of Community at Youshd | Marketing Strategy | Good Weird
