The first step with a Social Media management company is to choose the platforms relevant to your business and target audience. As you can see above, there is a wide variety of platforms. Each platform has its own niche along with individual pros and cons. This means that there is simply no need for companies and brands to be active across all platforms. Below are some criteria that I would advise using when selecting the most appropriate platforms for your business. 

Choosing Social Media platforms for your business

1. What platforms do you use as personal accounts? Using platforms you are familiar with increases the likelihood of you actually being active on your business account – commitment and consistency above all others are vital to social media success.
2. What platforms do your ideal customers use? Is your audience young or old, what do they tend to use the internet for, etc.? Using a platform that most of your target audience uses will make it easier to grow and engage.
3. What kind of content do you intend to create or can you produce/source on a very regular basis and cost-effectively? Each platform engages users in different ways with different types of content. If you can create videos consistently, maybe YouTube and Instagram are good for you – if you are more likely to have written content, perhaps blogging/forums and LinkedIn are more suitable. 
4. What platforms are your competitors using? This is something to check but don’t base your decision entirely on this. Check and see what they do on each platform and whether people engage with it. If not, then perhaps the competition has chosen the wrong platform to use!

Managing Social Media: Content Creation

Content creation, in this context, refers to anything that you have created or adapted to be used for your social media accounts. Some examples of common content types used on social media are listed below.

Social Media content types

1. Text-based content including 
   1. Blog posts
   1. Short “microblog” pieces – usually 50-100 words long.
   1. Famous quotes and taglines or sayings/industry terminology
2. Photos and images
   1. Photos of products, staff, the business premises, success stories, competition winners, etc
   1. Graphic images such as posters, infographics, digital flyers, etc
   1. Inspirational quotes or industry knowledge/advice on an image background 
3. Videos and animated media
   1. Professional videos in a studio or extremely organized setting
   1. Amateur videos “on the fly” or without much planning, casual videos
   1. “Talking Head” videos where a person addresses a single issue or is interviewed.
   1. Animated videos such as explainer videos or instructional videos
   1. Short videos shot with a phone camera 
4. Sharing and commenting on third-party content
   1. Sharing news and media
   1. Sharing industry news and developments
   1. Commentary and opinion on specific news and developments