Social Media Platforms for Specific Industries?

It’s clear to any business owner that social media can be used in numerous ways to increase brand awareness, improve your search rankings or assist in selling your products. Given the time constraints that most businesses tend to be under it’s not surprising that there often simply isn’t time to focus on more than one – this can result in a rather patchy social media presence, which brings its own issues. Instead, it’s better to choose one or two channels to pursue, but which one? As it turns out, some platforms are better suited to certain industries than others so it’s actually not as difficult as you might think.

Twitter – although Twitter might be one of the most recognisable platforms it comes in fourth in terms of actual usage. Having said that, Twitter users tend to login more often than other social media users. Twitter is ideal for technology businesses, news and sports companies and agencies as it moves fast. It is an important resource for marketers looking to find influencers for their business.

Instagram – obviously a social media platform that utilises images is going to be more suited to some sectors than others. Instagram has a devoted following and is fast catching up with the more established social media sites. If your business is operating in a very visual sector, such as food, hospitality, fashion and architecture, then Instagram is a fantastic choice and likely to make far more impact for your brand than text based social media options, particularly if your target market is 18-29, the age group that dominates here.

Google+ – Android, Mashable and Chrome are the top three brands on Google+ and showcase why this is a great platform for tech and engineering businesses. Google+ helps to improve your Google rankings, and should be used by any business for Local SEO purposes. It also has a lot to offer individual businesses and the Communities function is a great networking tool.

Pinterest – this social media platform has gained enormous ground in the past year and, interestingly, has around three quarters female users. Again, the very visual nature of the platform makes it ideal for anyone in the fashion industry, especially jewelers, as well as food and DIY businesses.

LinkedIn – although people tend to use LinkedIn less often it has become a hub for business men and women across all fields and any professional should really have a presence on the site. As well as somewhere to make networking connections and catch up with industry news, it’s a great way to generate business leads too. 79% of users are over 35, which tends to give LinkedIn a more ‘serious’ business feel.

Facebook – this is a brilliant platform for marketers and business owners who are willing to utilise newsfeeds with vibrant, creative content and interesting stories to build brand awareness. Whether B2B or B2C, be sure to create a blend of content that is topical, brand, and product related.

  This article originally appeared on Klood and has been republished with permission.
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Author: Olivia Spinelli

As Head of Content at Klood I work with clients to help meet their business targets through their social media pages, ensuring that a client’s engagement is maximised by posting exciting and fresh content. If I had to choose some favourite career moments so far, it would have to be… View full profile ›