Mix & Match: Different content for Different Platforms
By: Grace Okoliko
Tags: Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Social Media, Social Media Management

A few years ago, say 2011 or thereabouts, I joined Facebook. Like most people, Facebook was the first social media I joined. Back then, I simply posted any photo that catches my fancy in my gallery. I liked a couple of other people on my feed and then I logged out. There wasn’t much interaction and engagement like we have today. Businesses more than ever are becoming more intentional with their attitudes towards social media. People now post with lengthier captions, respond to comments and so much more. And we see this progression across all the other social media platforms as well.

I ventured out into more social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc., and true to what a colleague said, “I am almost everywhere now! lol”(it’s about time ‘lol’ got added to the dictionary please).

In my entire voyage, escapades, and research on these platforms, here are a few things I found:

- They are all unique

- There are secrets to navigating each platform and only those who understand them can maximize them

- Your granny is on Facebook

- There is a thing called ‘Algorithm’ (will explain further down this post)

- Videos are the new trendy

- Instagram consumes truckloads of data and

- If you get a hang of Twitter, you’re a genius!

The same way we dress depending on the occasion or places we’re going to, it’s the same way we must approach posting on social media. Posts should be tailor-made to fit the kind of social media platform we’re posting to and also, the type of audience there.

Facebook

What’s on your mind, grandma?

When my mum finally joined Facebook, she was a sight for sore eyes. She’s normally a jolly and always busy fellow so whenever we catch her quiet and pressing her phone, we know immediately that she’s trying to decipher something on Facebook. And the next minute I’ll get a notification comment where my mom prays for me on a post I made 2 days ago on Facebook.

If your parents haven’t discovered you on Facebook, trust me, I’m jealous. Everyone is on Facebook. Research reveals that over 22% of the world’s population uses Facebook. And with over 1.59 billion daily active users, be sure that this platform provides an ample wealth of audience for your business. Although certain sects like teenagers are decreasing daily on Facebook with most migrating to Instagram and Tiktok, there are still many users joining the wagon daily.

Now for what works:

Facebook is called a monopoly for a couple of reasons. Apart from being one of the brands that sell themselves, it is one platform that boasts of being capable of hosting manifold kinds of content. Ranging from text-based content types to photos, videos, links, etc. With the video part just recently beginning to make waves, businesses can expound on the benefits of using video on their Facebook pages. Even though Facebooks’ algorithm tends to favor personal accounts more, leaving most business accounts to rely on sponsored posts to gain better traffic.

Also, posts with links embedded are less shown to the public by Facebook. though there is such a thing as optimized link sharing. Posting links on feed, therefore, when done correctly have proven viable.

What works on Facebook is also largely dependent on your business goals. While some businesses are looking into just building brand awareness and establishing relationships, some are keen on driving sales and making purchases. If yours is the former, you want to post more engaging content e.g. photos of your products or person(s) behind them, fun or educative or hilarious videos, etc. And if yours is to boost sales or traffic to your website, share your product, website, and/product reviews through links and you may want to consider boosting reach through sponsorships and ads.

Instagram

Cheers to luxury, colors, and fun

Yes, Instagram can be summed basically into these 3 words; luxury, colors, and fun. We won’t negate the fact that it is professional as well. Instagram has become the fastest rising social media platform with over 1 billion monthly users as of June 2018. It is also the most popularly used social network among teens. It owes its rapid growth to its highly visual nature as the popularly content types are photos, videos, and animations. With even text-based type of content having to be converted to carousels and/or infographics.

Businesses aiming to thrive on Instagram should take note of these facts and if possible invest in producing image-rich kinds of content. They should also be consistent and have an established frequency of posting. As the pattern of feed arrangement on Instagram makes it easy for a visitor visiting your profile to be able to tell how much of a presence you provide on the platform.

LinkedIn

The professional leech

Because really, almost everyone on LinkedIn is there for professional purposes. So you want to create contents that revolve around professionalism. You also should put some effort into making your profile especially your ’about’ slot stand out. Whether you want to go for succinct and concise, or witty and humorous, or strictly professional, it’s entirely up to you. But bear in mind that your audience would appreciate it if they knew what you represent and this should be as clear as possible from the first glance at your profile.

Twitter

Tweeting birds

I have always thought it would have been better if it were called Tweeter and not Twitter. But well, what do I know! Everyone here seems to talk a lot and yet has no patience for boring, lengthy stuff. On Twitter, contents with the capability of going viral through retweets and engagements are contents that possess either of the following characteristics:

- Trending (with the right hashtags)

- Controversial

- Witty

- Fun

- Educative

- Troublesome

- Served in midget sizes

When your Twitter post passes any of the above criteria, It makes your post comfortable for your audience and hence increases engagements.

Pinterest

Visual bank

It is a visually appealing site. One thing I love and dislike about Pinterest is how it behaves like an onion, with so many layers. As one pin leads to another and another until you get swamped. But Pinterest has its benefits in that it can link directly to your website. Pins are designated to boards that others can follow so that whenever you make a post on that board, your followers are notified. These pins and boards help visitors narrow their search and it also double functions as a bank for sourcing photos.

Youtube

If videos were a social network

Youtube is easily the most popular site for videos. With over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, it is no surprise it has become the focal point for businesses and brands looking to increase their reach. And 88% of marketers say videos give a higher ROI. Youtube allows you to optimize your videos for search engines and is a great platform for running advertisements and campaigns for your business. Creating content on Youtube can sometimes be tasking since the videos uploaded have to be of high quality. Here are quick tips to know to maximize Youtube:

- Narrow the keywords used for your videos in a single topic

- Make your titles keyword-rich

- Use tags

- Create valuable content (it should either entertain or educate)

- Optimize your thumbnail image

- Frequently reformat and update existing quality content

- Have a niche and be consistent

Other social networks that exist include Whatsapp, Tiktok, Vimeo, Snapchat, Behance, etc. The truth is, to get the most out of your content across all social media platforms, you must understand what works and doesn’t work for each of these platforms.