How to Select the Right Social Media Platform for Your Influencer Marketing Campaign

How to Select the Right Platform for Your Influencer Marketing Campaign

Selecting the right platform for your influencer campaign is important, each platform provides different strengths and weaknesses. This blog aims to provide a greater understanding of which platform to use based on the goals of your brand.

Instagram

Instagram is a fantastic platform that was first introduced in 2010. It is a social media platform where users can share photos and videos with their followers. Instagram has recently begun experimenting with reels/videos that users can film and share on the app.

• Strengths:
  • It is a fantastic and simple way to share creative content
  • Very useful for businesses to promote their products by leveraging their followers and the algorithm’s natural push
    • Convenient ad creation platform
  • A fantastic platform that encourages organic user communication and networking
• Weaknesses:
  • The algorithm no longer distributes posts based on timing; instead, Instagram distributes your content to those who interact the most with your page
  • Promotes curated content rather than organic content
  • The editing software for photos and videos built into the platform has seen much improvement since its initial release

TikTok

TikTok is a relatively new social media platform. It made its debut in 2016, but it really took off in early 2020. This platform is based on the concept of video creation, with a primary focus on 10sec to 3min videos showcasing a variety of types of content produced.

• Strengths:
  • TikTok focuses on authentic/natural content creation and pushes your content more based on the authenticity of your video
  • It is very simple for users to share and create content on the platform
  • Removes any pressure to get a certain number of likes or comments per post, creating a safer space for individuals to feel more comfortable posting what they genuinely have interest in 
• Weaknesses:
  • It is still in the early stages for users to go viral and or to grow their following on the platform, but it is increasingly getting more difficult for individuals to discover your page
  • The algorithm does not push your content to your followers, but rather tracks and shows the users more of their reported interests
    • These said interests are generated based on the analytics TikTok has on you
    • These analytics are generated from the length the user spends interacting with each post they come across
  • It does not foster organic connections with people in their community, but rather with people across the world
    • It only allows users to message people who follow them back compared to Instagram which keeps direct messaging open to anyone

Facebook

Facebook is the oldest platform featured in this blog post, having launched in 2004. It primarily connects users with friends, family, and other individuals they know. Sharing photos and videos, sending messages, and receiving notifications. 

• Strengths:
  • The platform has over a billion users, allowing individuals to access a wider audience
  • It is very localized, with users sharing content mostly with their friends and family
  • It is a simple platform to create/purchase ads to target a specific market
• Weaknesses:
  • Over the last few years, the number of users interacting with the platform has substantially decreased
  • Their target market is primarily the older generations, with a concentration on baby boomers and early millennial
    • This is a negative because they are not the primary users of current booming social media platforms
  • Their platform has not been upgraded to create a visual means to connect with your users, instead opting for written posts
    • This is a disadvantage because current generations are gravitating toward more visual platforms such as TikTok, which consists only of short videos.

Twitter

Twitter was founded about the same time as Facebook with its release in 2006. Twitter is a fantastic social media tool that focuses on allowing users to post short/quick updates with their followers. The major goals that drive users to the site have evolved over time. From a platform that was formerly used to provide current status updates with your personal network of followers has now evolved into a platform that is mostly used to convey current news topics.

• Strengths:
  • Hashtags were first introduced by Twitter, and they are used to index keywords and themes, making it simple to identify interesting subjects to follow
  • Has a large user base enrolled on the platform
  • Has a simple user interface that allows people to interact and search for content that they are interested in
• Weaknesses:
  • Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters, which is both a pro and a con for each user because it limits how much you can share and elaborate on the issue you are talking about
    • As a result, people are posting in the comment threads to share the whole story
  • The platform is no longer as popular as it once was
    • As a result, many businesses do not typically use it as a platform to market their brand on
  • While there is no limit to how many accounts you can follow on Twitter, there are some restrictions if your account has more than 2,000 followers
    • With more followers, your account is scrutinized more attentively, resulting in many users’ accounts being removed or reported

While there are multiple social media networks that can be effective tools for marketing your brand, these 4 are the most used platforms. Highlighting Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook allowed for an in depth analysis of each platform. Now that you understand the basics of each platform, you will be able to make an informed decision on which platform is right for your brand. Knowing the benefits and shortfalls of each platform can help to make the right choice on which platform to utilize for influencer marketing. If you are interested in learning more about how to use influencer marketing methods, book a consultation with a member of our team by clicking here or by visiting: https://embold.co/getstarted/