Choosing the Right Social Media Outlet(s)

It is extremely important to keep in mind the target audience of a business when deciding which platform (or platforms) to utilize. If information on social media platforms isn’t reaching the right audience, the content is more or less useless.  By researching which social media platforms are used more frequently by a company’s desired target audience, marketers are able to quickly learn and analyze which platform is best suited to accomplish a firm’s desired goals. Doing this particular research with a particular target audience in mind is the first step in the right direction when thinking of where to advertise your product.

Additionally, I think it is equally as important to keep in mind company KPI’s, content and conversion rates when deciding how to reach that particular targeted audience. When thinking about which factor is more important, content or conversions, it’s hard to say exactly which is more significant, since one really cannot be achieved without the other.  The content of a businesses’ website is only important if it is communicating the desired message to its audience. Additionally, desired conversion rates can only be accomplished with the right content available to users. For example, an individual may not sign up for a businesses’ electronic mailer list without knowing exactly what that company does and/or the benefits of signing up for it. The better the content is, the greater chance there is of having a higher conversion rate. That being said it is also important to market advertisements the right way using the most suitable and relevant platforms. By tracking the number of unique visitors on your website, you can help eliminate customers who are not carefully taking time to evaluate and consider all options before purchasing (or whatever the conversion rate may be equivalent to) an item. (Kaushik, 2010)

With that being said, companies and businesses don’t necessarily need to narrow their social media platforms down to one versus another (if appropriate). For example, it may make sense to use Google AdWords in combination with Facebook ads for companies such as Pixie Market, where the target audience is primarily females in their early to mid-twenties. Pixie Market in particular, is an all e-commerce business that sells young women’s clothing and accessories. Google AdWords can be particularly important for this company so their marketers can use filters to narrow down which key words will appear for users in their desired demographics. Additionally, 83 percent of Facebook users are women, and 88 percent of Facebook users are between the ages of 18 and 29-years-old. (York, 2017) Pixie Market also has a very established Instagram account, with over 102,000 followers. Even though I haven’t seen ads on this particular social media platform yet, it may be extremely beneficial to look into it given they already have a very dominating presence on it. Instagram users are primarily female, with 59% of their users being within the age group of 18 to 29-years old. Using a social media platform with a proven track record of users within a company’s specific demographic audience (such as Pixie Market) can be extremely beneficial to reaching a broader audience and ultimately raising their conversion rates.  Using the proper tools (in this case, Facebook, Instagram and Google AdWords) will ensure firms are getting the greatest amount of reach to their target audience when users are simply browsing and/or doing a Google search for specific items.

Not all websites are equal; therefore, marketers cannot look at social media platforms as a “one size fits all” ordeal. (Lake, 2009) Taking a look at a completely different company with a different target audience; OrthoFeet, can take a different approach to what social media outlets they use. OrthoFeet is a specialized shoe company for people who need medical shoes for additional support. In one particular focus group conducted for orthopedic shoes and the benefits from them, the average age for users of these products are men and women between the ages of 65 to 96-years old, with a mean age of 82 years old. (Benz, 2014) Since foot pain is highly prevalent in older people, this specific shoe ware can be extremely beneficial to this targeted group of individuals. When doing some research on social media platforms used by men and women of that age demographic, no matter where their geographic location is, there is slim pickings for which outlet will be most beneficial. 40 percent of men and women ages 65 and older look at Facebook, and 94 percent of those users are accessing it from a mobile device. (N.a., 2017) Furthermore, only 23% of adults ages 65 and older own cellphones, but not smartphones where they can access social media apps. (N.a., 2017) In this particular example, using simply Google AdWords may be sufficient enough for their target audience to stay informed and order their desired products. (York, 2016) When simply searching the key words, “medical shoes for elderly” an advertisement for OrthoFeet popped up. Although it wasn’t the very first ad, which is probably because I am not in their primary target audience, it did eventually appear. When I searched through different media outlets, however, OrthoFeet had no or very little presence.  Using my own grandmothers as an example, both have OrthoFeet shoes. They both have computers and know how to do a quick Google search using key words (although they aren’t aware what key words are) to search for these shoes and other items that they may need at any given moment and time. However, neither of them utilizes Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts, nor even know how any of those outlets would work. Using Google AdWords (in this particular businesses’ case) is particularly beneficial because it’s proven to reach their sole target audience.

With properly established company objectives and KPI’s, the appropriate content on a website and research on a very specific target audience, it should be straightforward for a business to determine which tool(s) will be most effective. Having an abundance of social media platforms is only beneficial if a businesses’ target audience is heavily utilizing them, and furthermore only if the content being advertised on those outlets is applicable. Possessing a robust mix of social media outlets is the appropriate direction for businesses with a target audience that is checking multiple outlets for their information. Using solely one social media platform and sticking with it is probably a better solution for a very unique business with a target audience that is not typically checking any social media, let alone knows how social media platforms work in the example given above. Pixie Market and OrthoFeet are just two different examples of companies that have proven to approach social media participation in different manners in order to best reach and best serve their target audience.

Works Cited

Kaushik, A. (2010). Web Analytics 2.0 [The Art of Online Accountability & Science of Customer Centricity]. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.

Menz, H. (2014). Effectiveness of Off-the-Shelf, Extra-Depth Footwear in Reducing Foot Pain in Older People: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Retrieved from https://watermark.silverchair.com/glu169.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAb4wggG6BgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGrMIIBpwIBADCCAaAGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMsdiMt4O_gLCKYZQiAgEQgIIBccSKI0fZ6LEg47LtYpMce21F8L5CPCcxgkxkdil3CUvjmSA8Hg_vygQkWYxNBnTyRo9ZffBSiOR1dTryfj6n_oyziQigVIyh4ngvZOsqLDVObEwOP6AwOEzoDNe7QiKfCOFCgOv_weIPb6WITlEV-k-_89HDCz6vHV6AZEIRe1Z3iNcD4d9YrIEJVGSmm2nGOS4NKzoUYsiKfrbsAmyzSvr67BHyzfXZG55aFPweNGkdMHkU8BTZo4krRBavu4MCVbcxdzeCidDPQZOujsGlaxUGv8Jm1iX85rk9sMWDMX4GJO_QYfdtW-5jUL5nGszf2HEfKGEhj6Tndbd9IS44K3FXkpgs7d-XE2pA0stHj9gXgAl0544sYVRVna1xZy7mn8o7AC-5VLB-GMP7uKB_widM0LRewXvt2INMx7l9IWyuuAOYN_fKbdrlGTpv57ouCmNjW-NTXIZ2QWdU4XRHlK96sk3IMWcqgubYnj-LszByQw

No Author. (2017, January 12). Mobile Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/

No Author. (2017, March 29). 10 Things to Know About Facebook’s Demographics. Retrieved from http://mediakix.com/2017/03/facebook-demographics-marketers-should-know/#gs.uwDdC30

Statista. (2017). Number of Facebook Users by Age in the U.S. as of January 2017 (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/398136/us-facebook-user-age-groups/  

York, A. (2017, March 6). Social Media Demographics to Inform a Better Segmentation Strategy. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/