Social media offers a vital avenue for small businesses to boost their brand and create a presence in a sometimes crowded marketplace. With so many apps and platforms, the question becomes, where is the best way to target your message?
An experienced social media marketing agency may propose and manage several platforms at once to capture the broadest possible audience. In fact, a recent Forbes article recommends participating actively in at least five to display your brand and vigorously grow your audience.
Two of the most popular social media platforms for businesses and more are Facebook and LinkedIn. While both have become very prominent and offer unique advantages, which one is better presents the best opportunity to build your brand?
Facebook or LinkedIn?
This Hubspot marketing article takes a whack at comparing the business marketing advantages and disadvantages of two of the most familiar social media platforms: Facebook and LinkedIn.
Unless you have been away from our solar system for the past decade, you likely know about Facebook. This popular platform is the most influential, boasting nearly 3 billion users, about one-third of the world’s population. Never before has any media or network offered this kind of marketing reach.
With a strong ad program, marketers can target their message toward specific segments of the Facebook public. Further, Facebook users’ naturally occurring sharing and communication offer a robust potential for brand building if handled strategically.
LinkedIn began as a network designed to be a professional recruitment platform. Individuals could post their profiles hoping that a corporate recruiter might find a match between their skills and experience and any current open positions. Since those earlier times, LinkedIn has added many of the features of other social media platforms and includes blogs, live status updates, and messaging.
Today companies find vendors, business partners and alliances, business funding, and, very importantly, customers on LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers businesses to inject longer posts allowing some social media managers to become “thought leaders” in particular matters.
The platform is considered very effective at audience engagement and content quality. Forbes even names LinkedIn as the “powerhouse of social media for small businesses.”
Comparative Factors
Both social media platforms are powerful in their way, and a well-developed social media strategy will use both, plus perhaps a few others.
Here are some comparative factors between Facebook and LinkedIn:
- Facebook has a larger audience, approximately 2.8 billion active users, while LinkedIn has around 64.7 million.
- LinkedIn offers superior B2B engagement, while Facebook is primarily social
- LinkedIn focuses on professional business people while Facebook hosts everyday consumers. Depending on your product or service, either may be a preferred option.
- ROI on both is excellent, although Facebook’s return is better, according to a Hubspot State of Marketing Report from 2020.
- LinkedIn was developed for networking. Therefore, engaging with others with similar interests is easier.
- LinkedIn’s platform encourages thought leadership development, a way to interact to build credibility and visibility.
- LinkedIn has more “restricted” ad content than Facebook – for example, you can advertise alcohol on Facebook but not LinkedIn.
Determining the Best Platform for Building Your Brand
The single factor determining the best social media platform for your brand happens to be your target audience: Who are they? What do they need? Where do they go to interact? What drives their buying decisions?
Working closely with a professional social media agency to develop and execute your strategy is vital to success. Often, business leaders don’t have the time required to manage their social media presence successfully.
WSI Next Gen Marketing in Napa, CA, consists of experienced professionals who create, implement, and monitor timely and highly effective marketing programs throughout the social media universe. To learn more and schedule a no-obligation interview regarding your company’s marketing needs, fill out our contact form. One of our social media professionals will contact you. You can also call (707) 927-5139.