Social Media Expert & Founder of Snack Toronto.
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One major thing that happened as a result of the pandemic was that many brands dramatically increased their spending on social media ads. This, paired with a captive audience of users who were forced to stay home all day with nothing but the internet to keep them occupied, allowed new social media networks to successfully break into the mainstream for the first time in over a decade, the last one being Instagram in 2010.
Last year, TikTok caught a massive break and filled in a gap created by uncertainty and fear about the future. It was easy to zone out on TikTok for a few hours or spend time learning a new dance or trend. We also saw the launch of the invitation-only platform Clubhouse. By keeping it exclusive, this audio-based platform generated huge buzz and now has more than 10 million weekly active users.
The big question I think you should be asking yourself now is, “Where do I invest my time, energy and marketing dollars?” Here’s a simple breakdown of which platforms you should be using for what.
Although incredibly oversaturated with content, users and ads, I’ve found that this space is still working the best for brands. Large percentages of people with higher incomes use Instagram, and the Shop feature, paired with Instagram ads, makes it very easy to move an Instagram follower to a purchase.
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While your current marketing strategy might be 80% Instagram-focused, I recommend scaling this back a bit to 40%-65%. Keep it fresh, keep it interesting and keep it active, but know that you’re not likely to gain 10,000 followers overnight anymore. There’s too much competition in this space now. Keep your content light and not too sales-heavy (leave that for your ad strategy), and try to be as authentic and real as possible. Post behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and talk about your vision, your members and your bad ideas. Try to unpolish this space a bit to make it more appealing.
TikTok
This is the big winner of 2021 so far. I recommend moving at least 25%-60% of your strategy to this space for a short period of time — just long enough to go viral and rack up a substantial following. This could mean a month, or this could mean half a year. You may be able to easily gain 10,000 followers overnight in this space because it is still so new and not overpopulated. This window is closing quickly, though, so if you want to grow a big audience quickly, do it now. In a previous article, I shared some tips on how to grow your TikTok account fast.
That being said, TikTok has only recently made its Ads Manager globally available, and there are (understandably) things that need to be improved. Wait a little while before sinking significant ad spending here.
Clubhouse
If you are branding yourself as a thought leader for a specific niche, consider being active on Clubhouse. It might mean being a part of a discussion once a day. This could mean 10%-20% of your strategy. Once you’ve contributed enough to other discussions, you can create your own Club, which can position you as a leader for a specific niche. The kinds of discussions you can participate in or lead could be specific to your location, but you also could host Q&As or even give some free advice to entice customers.
If your company is product-based and you are not the face of your brand, this platform likely is not for you.
So What About The Rest Of The Major Platforms?
Facebook has had a solid run. You can still dump a small amount of your budget into increasing organic Facebook likes each month, but in my view, the platform has become so complicated and unappealing for many brands and users alike. Feel free to keep your pages active — sharing to Facebook from Instagram is a key feature — but I don’t recommend making content specifically for this platform first anymore.
I’ve found that Twitter tends to be more about the replies than it is about the content you put out, so I wouldn’t make it a major part of your social media strategy in 2021. I recommend staying active but not focusing heavily on it. Stay up to date on world events (if it’s part of your PR strategy), and engage with other accounts that engage with you.
YouTube
YouTube is the second-largest search engine (behind Google, of course), but I find it to be cumbersome from a mobile user standpoint. Why can’t you listen to a video without having the app open on your phone screen?
If you have an existing YouTube audience, this is the only reason I would recommend you continue to use it. Otherwise, make the switch to TikTok.
Snapchat
I don’t know many smaller brands that use Snapchat as part of their normal marketing strategy, but this is an active space to watch if you have the resources to invest in it.
Final Thoughts
Video is the future. From what I’ve seen, both Facebook and Instagram have been pushing this message. But TikTok beat them to the punch with a better app. Don’t miss this window to grow your TikTok account. Instagram and Clubhouse are the other major platforms where I recommend spending the biggest chunks of your time.
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Author: Kelly Samuel, Forbes Councils Member
