Acting as a company on social platforms can make a lot of sense. At the same time you can also burn a lot of money unnecessarily. In our two-part series we therefore deal with the different social media platforms and their sense of content marketing and content strategy of companies.
Topics in this article
- Facebook: The social media channel for the masses
- LinkedIn/Xing: Business networks for B2B content marketing
- Instagram: Photo Network for Influencer and image-based marketing
Facebook: The social media channel for the masses
Please do not believe any rumors and alleged expert opinions that see the social media giant on the descending path again: With around 28 million members in Germany alone, Facebook has become something like the new Internet for many people. Many users are on Facebook all day long – and when they surf the net, it’s with the Facebook browser in the Facebook app.
Of course there are always reasons not to be on Facebook – for example, because another channel is more important for one’s own customer target group and resources are limited. But here you can reach all age and social groups and address very specific demographic segments through targeted microtargeting and so-called dark posts.
In addition to the meaningful use of Facebook ads, the supreme discipline of content marketing on Facebook is to “train” the algorithm – the entity that decides what Facebook users actually see in an organic, unpaid way. The challenge here is to create content that ensures a high level of interaction in the form of likes, shares and comments, thus signaling to Facebook that it is “valuable”.
There are a number of best practices that show that it makes a lot of sense to see Facebook not just as a pure traffic bringer, but as a real marketing platform for customer retention, positioning and customer acquisition. And by the way, this also works in the B2B segment.
Conclusion: If you want to reach a broad target group and pursue goals such as brand management, positioning, customer retention, branding and customer acquisition, you should first and foremost consider Facebook as a social channel.
LinkedIn/Xing: Business networks for B2B content marketing
The two business networks Xing and LinkedIn have developed enormously in recent years. From better address books, they have evolved into real platforms where you can meet decision makers and business people for whom Facebook has become too childish and who are looking for serious exchange in a business environment.
Similar to Facebook – but significantly more expensive – members can be targeted according to their demographic profiles with paid media (sponsored posts, ads).
Even more interesting, however, is the way of positioning and branding through expert contributions in blog form and the exchange in relevant groups. On LinkedIn you can read many valuable texts from international experts and business leaders. Daimler boss Zetsche, for example, now also blogs on LinkedIn.
Conclusion: If you want to reach a business target group and enter into a communicative exchange with them, LinkedIn and Xing are the right choice.
Instagram: Photo Network for Influencer and image-based marketing
Instagram is one of the crown jewels in Facebook’s portfolio alongside WhatsApp. The number of users of the picture network is growing rapidly, so-called influencers have several hundred thousand followers on Instagram and achieve an enormous advertising value. For companies, it can be worthwhile to work with such influencers, as well as having their own Instagram channel.
However, you should know that organic posts on Instagram currently do not offer the possibility to set links – this is only possible with paid ads.
Also, it is even more important on Instagram to have or be able to create good image content. As with any social network, it’s all about the channel-specific content that has to compete with the content that millions of Instagram users produce every day.
Conclusion: Instagram is the perfect channel to position your brand, branding and retain customers. But launching an Instagram channel should be well thought out and requires a high level of visual expertise.
Read in the second part of our special Platforms for your content marketing strategy: YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest and Twitter.
