Finding the Right Platform For Your Business

Step 1: Identify your audience
The first step is to identify who your audience is. You want to be as specific as possible, since it will make your decision easier. Write down the answers to the following questions:

• Who is your typical customer?
• How old are they?
• Are they male or female?
• What is their income and education level?
• What are they interested in outside of your product and service?

Use the answers to these questions (and any other pertinent questions that may relate to the business or industry you’re in) in order to help build out a profile of your audience.

Step 2: Define your goals
Once you know your audience, you need to define goals for that audience. As a business owner, your primary goal will likely be to drive sales by attracting customers-yet, there are other creative goals for social media. While some brands use social media to drive brand recognition and to develop friendly relationships with potential buyers, others use social media for customer support.

For example, on-demand media company Netflix uses the Twitter handle @Netflixhelps to address customer service issues. Not only does it free up their phone lines, but it gives satisfied customers an opportunity to promote their brand.
When it comes to creating your social media goals, brainstorm a list of both typical and unusual ways social media could work for your brand.

Step 3: Find your audience
Now that you have your audience profiled and your goals defined, it’s time to find your audience. To do this, you’re going to determine which platform your audience uses by looking at the demographics of the users on each platform. You’ll also want to consider how active your audience is on that platform. For example, while young Facebook users may have profiles, they’re more active on Instagram.

Besides demographics and engagement, you’ll also want to look at how individuals use the platform.
Below is a guide to some of the major social media platforms to help you find your audience.