Which social networks are right for my business?

Today, and even more so since the health crisis, businesses have never been so close to their customers. Thus, extending your online presence as part of your marketing plan is an excellent way to strengthen brand awareness, to instantly answer Internet users' questions about your products or services, to recruit qualified profiles and to reach your targets right at the heart.

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From Facebook to TikTok via Instagram and LinkedIn... Social platforms are multiplying year by year. We agree, it is not always easy to choose the best social network (s) for your business but you should keep in mind that using the right platform for your target audience can amplify your visibility and sales and take your business to the next level.

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Keep these figures from the Sprout Social study in mind:

• 74% of consumers share video content from brands on social networks.
• 57% of consumers contacted a brand on social media because they had a question.
• 45% of consumers contact brands on social media to solve a problem with a product or service, and 34% contact brands to tell them that they did a good job.

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As you know, social networks in the 2022 era are essential for businesses of all sizes. But what platforms should you bet on? What social networks should your business use first and foremost? In this article, we'll focus on which ones are most widely used and how you can put them to work for your business:

1. Facebook: the ideal platform for small B2C businesses?

Facebook is a powerful tool especially for small businesses. This platform has more than 2.91 billion active users, making it a must for small business sales and for gaining more visibility (especially local).

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1- Why use Facebook for my business?

A Facebook business page allows you to be in direct contact with customers and to offer key information about your business, products, services, and upcoming events. In addition, Facebook ads are a highly targeted and effective way to reach potential customers.

One of Facebook's greatest strengths is that it allows you to target a specific audience through its paid campaigns and ads. The platform keeps a significant amount of information about its users, which can be beneficial when targeting your ads.

A Facebook business page will allow you to highlight your basic contact information. Your customers can thus easily find your telephone number, email address and store opening hours on your page.

In addition, a Facebook page will allow you to retain and attract new customers. Share your daily life, behind the scenes of your company, news, customer feedback...

As stated earlier, Facebook has a large database of demographics and information about your audiences. These can be a significant advantage in creating a solid demographic marketing strategy in order to better target your potential campaigns.

Finally, Facebook business pages are not limited to your presence on the platform. These pages are also a real boon for your search engine rankings.

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2. Instagram: the essential tool for your brand image

Instagram is a great way to expand the reach and engagement of your business with your customers.

Instagram is owned by its parent company Facebook (now Meta) and has more than 1 billion active users including more than 500 million daily users worldwide. In France, Instagram has 22 million active users per month, 81% of whom are under 25. The social network is therefore ideal as a marketing platform for companies that cater to a young target group. This platform therefore has no limit to the success that a business can achieve by developing a relevant and effective strategy, whether you are a large and reputable company, a small family store or an entrepreneur.

This platform is therefore ideal for all companies that want to increase their reputation, their visibility and reach their target whether they are B2B or B2C.

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1- Why use Instagram to develop my business?

It's important to note that Instagram updates its platform and algorithm on a regular basis. Over the years, the platform has developed numerous functionalities that are very beneficial for businesses. It is now possible to make online sales directly from it. The “Store” tab allows users to discover and buy products directly via Instagram. This service is therefore a real asset for businesses that can easily attract real sales from their account - especially since 72% of Instagram users said they purchased products via the platform at least once. These results are therefore not negligible.

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The social network Instagram allows you to post photos, short videos (real), long videos (IGTV), carousels, guides but also 24-hour ephemeral stories and permanent stories. Stories are a real asset for Instagram when used well. They make it possible to further humanize your brand among Internet users.

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In addition, 90% of accounts follow a business on Instagram. This is why many commercial businesses have understood that collaborating with influencers can be very lucrative and can significantly increase their brand awareness in a short period of time. On Instagram, it is mainly beauty products, sportswear but also hotels and travel that can be promoted by influencers.

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3. TikTok: the social network of the moment

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TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social platforms in the world, but is it worth using for your business? Since its launch in 2016, TikTok now has over 1 billion users, and the brand estimates that the same billion are active per month. The exhibition is really top-notch. Many businesses are beginning to see that they could miss out on this major marketing opportunity with a large audience.

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TikTok is a social network that allows users to create short videos of up to 3 minutes in length by themselves. The platform is different from the others in that Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram focus mainly on image and text sharing while TikTok has made videos, its main strength.

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1- Why integrate TikTok into your social media strategy?

One of the TikTok features that shouldn't be overlooked is that it's not only a platform where you can share content with your followers, but it also allows users to create their own content with the app - which is more engaging for your brand. When you create a video as a brand and it elicits reactions or emotions from users, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised and rewarded by the virality of the content and the engagement it elicits.

TikTok users, also called TikTokers, can use common sounds with another user, perform a “duet”, “assemble” or even “react” to videos thanks to a “green screen” function that the platform has. You'll be exposed to a much larger audience than you could ever imagine, and TikTok's unique and accurate algorithm makes it likely that your business posts will end up on the “For You” page (the news feed) of your ideal customer.

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Many businesses have found success on TikTok not only because of the creativity and authenticity that the platform offers, but also because of the incredible algorithm and the visibility it offers. TikTok will give your business access to an audience that other platforms don't have. The more you invest in the platform, the more visibility you will have, which will allow you to retain your customers, obtain new ones and strengthen the overall reputation of your brand. TikTok is one of the best ways to do that in 2022 because by using a video-centric approach, you're in a position to tell your story in the most relevant way possible.

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4. LinkedIn the unparalleled platform for professional relationships

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LinkedIn is the most extensive professional social network in the world, with over 610 million users in over 200 countries around the world.

LinkedIn is simply unparalleled when it comes to professional relationships, and that's what makes the social platform the perfect fit for any business.

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1- Why should LinkedIn be part of your marketing strategy?

The success of a business, in general, depends on its customer base and its base of potential suppliers and this is your lucky day because LinkedIn happens to offer a simple connection to both! Thus, any business can increase and develop brand awareness by taking advantage of advanced search to reach its target audience.

By sharing content on the platform, users will add to your network and contribute to increasing the reach of your company's content and brand.

Top talent from around the world uses LinkedIn, and the platform makes it incredibly easy to connect with potential employers and recruiters while growing your professional network.

In addition, using the features of the LinkedIn company page will allow you to reach your target audience. A LinkedIn company page can also be used to promote the core values of your brand, maintain prospects, strengthen relationships with your customers, develop your employer brand, your brand image, your reputation...

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Your employees, partners, customers and candidates form a community and, together, can contribute to the growth of your business through their engagement under your posts.

In addition, as with all social platforms, you can use LinkedIn to generate traffic to your website. Be aware that 46% of social media traffic to B2B business sites comes from LinkedIn. So, now imagine the reach you could have thanks to the paid advertising offered by the platform or by setting up a LinkedIn influence campaign!

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Because like all social networks, LinkedIn has its own influencers, decision-makers capable of influencing a large number of managers/managers as well as other less popular profiles, but just as influential in their respective fields. We thus find experts in Human Resources, Disability, Management, Digital Marketing, Sales... They are generally followed by a community that appreciates the relevance of their position and speech. They are identified as references in their professional sector by those who work in the same field. They are thus in a position to bring real visibility and credibility to the companies with which they collaborate on LinkedIn.

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Creating innovative, creative and engaging content through LinkedIn opinion leaders will generate considerable traffic to your website!

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By creating and publishing content that is rich, relevant and based on your expertise, this will allow you, perhaps over time, to become a thought leader in your sector on LinkedIn too!

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Who knows? Maybe you'll join our LinkedIn influencer label in a few months!

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To discover some examples of brand-employer campaigns with B2B influencers on LinkedIn:

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