Social media continues to be a top performer as a marketing channel for brands, and irrespective of what you would possibly hear, its power for spreading brand awareness, converting latest customers, and interesting with loyal shoppers hasn’t waned.
However, much has modified over the past decade of social media marketing. The number of channels on the market has grown enormously, and the way in which that these different channels are used — and by whom — has likewise evolved a great deal.
Today, your target market is lively in lots of more channels than they ever were prior to now, and there’s inevitably a lot of overlap. According to DataReportal’s latest report, people use a mean of 6.6 social media platforms every month. But that doesn’t mean which you could just cover one or two platforms and consider you’re done. Channel diversification is crucial for a number of reasons.
Reach different audiences
Despite the aforementioned overlap, each social media platform has unique user demographics, characteristics and purposes. What’s more, different creators have strong followings on different channels. By maintaining a presence on multiple channels, you may reach several segments.
For example, over-40s make up 51% of Facebook users but only 36% of Instagram users, 30% of TikTok users, and 20% of Twitch users. Other channels reign supreme for 18-29 year-olds, who comprise only 29% of Facebook accounts but 39% of TikTok users and 50% of those on Twitch.
There are even key variations inside each age group. For example, Pew Research reports that teen boys are more prevalent on YouTube, Twitch and Reddit than teen girls, while teen girls are more likely to use TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat than boys. In terms of ethnicity, you’ll find higher concentrations of Black and Hispanic teens on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp than White teens.
As a result, when brands diversify their presence across quite a few channels, they will reach a broader range of audiences and connect with potential customers who will not be lively on other platforms.
Build stronger relationships
It’s not only audience demographics that adjust across different social media platforms. Each one has its own distinct tone and atmosphere, in addition to offering different features and formats for user interaction. For example, TikTok is more popular as entertainment, Reddit for community, or Twitter for news. Understanding the several network’s essential utilities and popular formats can make it easier to adjust your messaging per each channel.
Maintaining a presence on many channels enables brands to leverage each platform’s strongest engagement strategies and formats, whether those involve live video, stories, polls, and so forth.
Brands may also adapt content and communication styles to higher suit the preferences of users on each platform. This way you may showcase different facets of brand personality, share diverse content, and interact along with your audience in a more authentic manner that’s a closer fit for the audience on that channel.
Creators are intrinsically good at this, too, and may effortlessly translate a brand message to content that seems native per each platform they’re on.
Doing so strengthens your branding authenticity and trust, ultimately driving more interactive and meaningful experiences in your audience, stronger connections, and increased customer loyalty.
Mitigate marketing risks
Putting all of your eggs in a single basket isn’t just a concern for investors. Brands and marketers also needs to bear in mind of the risks of relying solely on one social media platform for brand presence.
Changes in algorithms, policy updates, or the decline in popularity of a specific platform can arrive alarmingly quickly, and significantly impact a brand’s visibility and engagement. By diversifying their presence, brands can mitigate such risks and ensure they’ve alternative channels to fall back on if one platform becomes less effective.
Facebook is a superb working example. At one time it was the dominant social media channel, however the landscape looks different now. In 2014, 71% of teens said they used Facebook, but now just 32% say the identical. Meanwhile, TikTok launched within the US in 2016, became probably the most downloaded app by 2018, and is now utilized by 67% of teens. Twitter took just a few months to lose its position as a favorite for brand promoting.
It’s hard to predict which changes in user preferences could affect today’s leading social media channels.
Don’t get boxed in
If you emphasize one channel too heavily, even for those who are also present in others, you possibly can find yourself being identified with it. This can have its advantages, but demographics that don’t use that channel much may assume your brand isn’t relevant to them.
For example, for those who’re heavily engaged with Facebook, younger TikTok users might write off your brand, and vice versa, which risks turning away potential customers. That’s why it’s not nearly having a presence on multiple social media channels, but about having an engaged presence. This helps stop your voice from becoming a monotone.
Equally, social media platforms evolve rapidly (as mentioned above). Diversifying keeps you up-to-date with the most recent trends and technological advancements within the social media landscape, which, in turn, helps you to stay relevant and adapt your strategies to meet the changing needs and expectations of your target market.
Channel diversification is a smart marketing strategy
It’s inconceivable to predict the longer term of any given social media platform. Diversifying your presence and maintaining engagement across many channels brings a number of advantages, in addition to shielding you from the risks of anyone platform becoming less exciting in the longer term.
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