Where to Show Up Online- Finding the Best Social Media Platform to Grow Your Business

The best social media platform to grow your business is where your audience is. Or is there more to it than that? Here’s what Duolingo made me realise about content marketing through social media.

Social media channels will feature on most business’ content plans. 

They are a fantastic way to reach new audiences, have a low barrier to entry, and can seem, on the surface, to be a fairly low effort marketing method (spoiler alert- it’s not).

Your family and friends love you, but your customers might not… yet.

Social media shows up in nearly every business marketing plan. It’s accessible, has a low barrier to entry, and feels familiar.

We post holiday photos, get a rush of likes, and assume the same will work for business. But here’s the difference:

Personal accounts involve a one-way transaction with friends and family who already care.

Business accounts demand a two-way transaction where strangers have to choose to engage and eventually buy.

That shift requires strategy, not just posting.

Show Up Online Where Your Customers Hang Out

A common school of thought says that the best place to focus your efforts is the place where your ideal customer is already showing up online. It also possibly depends on what you’re selling.

If you’re marketing something highly visual to a millennial audience, Instagram is your obvious go-to. Reaching Gen Z will be a lot easier through TikTok and SnapChat. If you’re selling to other businesses, LinkedIn might be the best bet.

Showing up online in places devoid of your ideal customer IS pointless. You have to be where they are.

But I have one little dispute to throw into the mix. Humour me for a minute whilst I tell you what I learned from 2 years on Duolingo…

727 Days Later I Can’t Speak Spanish

As I write this, I’m currently on a 727 day Duolingo streak.

My cotton anniversary is JUST around the corner. Wow. What an over-achiever I am. Feel free to shower me with praise.

The big question is, after all this time, can I actually speak Spanish?

No, I cannot.

So, was that two years of wasted time?

I don’t see it that way.

Whenever anyone asks me, what’s the point of doing two minutes of Spanish a day to not speak Spanish, I have a simple answer. 

Two minutes of exposure Spanish per day is better than no minutes per day.

Sure, there are more efficient ways to learn a language. If I’d really focussed on optimising my learning, I could have been fluent by now, but in reality, the chances are, I would have simply given up.

Days would have gone by where I lived a purely English-speaking existence.

Two years of Duolingo might not have made me a fluent speaker, but last year, I visited Barcelona and overheard a conversation on a bus. I was able to understand enough to follow the conversation.

Growing Your Business on Social Media Will Happen Where You Feel Comfortable

I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s better to keep showing up imperfectly, than not to show up at all.

I tried for a long time to show up on LinkedIn. I’m pretty sure my business would be growing faster if I dedicated more time to LinkedIn. But I never felt comfortable there. It felt like an uphill struggle to press publish on a post. I wasn’t inspired to keep creating.

Growing a business online takes time and consistency.

There’s something to be said for choosing the social media platform where you feel like you can show up week after week, putting your best foot forward.

What’s the Best Social Media Platform for Growing Your Business?

Well, it comes down to knowing your audience, and even more, understanding yourself.

Are you someone so driven to succeed that you’ll happily push out of your comfort zone every single day, or are you someone who needs to enjoy what they do in order to keep at it?

You have to be where your audience are, but you also have to be able to show up for them, if your efforts are going to have impact.

The choice is yours!