Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms For Your Brand

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Laney Goff: Welcome back to Untamed Social, the podcast where we get real about what actually works in social media. Today we're having a conversation that I feel like every brand needs to hear, and it's all about choosing the right social media platforms for your brand. Uh, the truth is, is that not all platforms are created equal. Yet, too many brands treat them like they are, where they copy and paste the same post across Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, and then wondering why nothing's landing. So once again, I brought in somebody who is an expert in this. We've got Ella Gunnell with us again today, the creative manager here at Strella Social Media and one of the sharpest minds I know when it comes to strategy meets execution. And we're gonna unpack how to choose the right platforms, uh, what it really means to adapt your content to each platform and why platform specific thinking isn't just a best practice, it's a non-negotiable.

So, Ella, thanks again for joining season three.

Ella Gunnell: Of course, happy to be back.

Laney Goff: So we've got a lot to talk about because, um, I actually did a, a, a presentation last week with a group of commercial real estate management professionals, and we talked a lot about choosing the right platforms because I think there's, um, this, this misconception, you know, you see all of these big brands like Duolingo and Chipotle on platforms like TikTok.

And I had to explain to them that your brand may not be as sexy or interesting as something that is trending like Chipotle or Duolingo. So you have to really consider where you're at. When you think about choosing a platform, how do you feel like brands should evaluate which platforms they should be on?

Ella Gunnell: Yeah, well the first and biggest thing that brands need to think about is where their audience is. Um, the users of each platform are gonna be slightly different. Um, and where they consume their content and how they consume their content, their preferences are different. Um, so that's something you should start off first and foremost, is you really need to hone in, like strategy wise, before you even start posting on social media.

Like who your audience is, how old are they, what are their, um, usage cases like, um, things like that. And that's gonna really help to drive you in the right direction of which platform you should be posting on. So please start there.

Don't do anything else.

Laney Goff: Yes, definitely. Start where your audience is at.

Ella Gunnell: Yeah.

Laney Goff: And that's, that's so true. And you know, the next question that comes along with that, that, that we typically get is, you know, well, how do I know where my audience is?

How do you feel like brands can determine not just where their audience is most active, but also how to engage on that platform with their audience? Because I think that matters, and something that, you know, you mentioned is that it's not just about like where your audience is at, but also how they consume the content.

So how do you figure out where your audience is?

Ella Gunnell: Um, there's a couple different ways you can go about it and ultimately, um, it is gonna come down to trial and error. Um, but I think you can definitely make an informed decision before that. Like you don't just have to start posting on all the platforms and see what resonates. Um, I would say like, for example, um.

If your audience is a younger audience, um, perhaps TikTok, Instagram might be a good way to go if you're trying to target, um, B2B consumers or customers, perhaps LinkedIn. Um, so there's those basic indicators of, my audience is here, my audience isn't here. But I think another thing to consider is also like your content itself and the fit from that perspective, because maybe your audience is younger, but your business isn't really highly visual. Or maybe you don't have like a lot of ways to get video content. And so I'm like, okay, that rules out TikTok for you. Like you need video content, you need to be posting videos, you know, three to five days a week.

Um, and so that one rules that out for you right there. So I think, you know, um, you can look at your competitors as well see maybe where they're at, where they're seeing success. That's a really good starting point for you and a good indicator of maybe I should be here or not be here. Um, I also think ChatGPT is a great, great little place to do some research on your audience, your potential audience, things like that.

So. Um, definitely go at it with, from a data driven perspective, so that way you're not just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping you can find your audience. Like go where you, you know, you can make a very informed decision— like, not even a guess. It's not a guess. You can make a very informed decision about where your audience is, um, and then see if you can deliver them the content that they're wanting, and then that's a pretty good indicator that you should be on that platform.

Laney Goff: Yeah, and I think that's an interesting point too, because something that I talked about last week with the real estate management professionals that I was with was, obviously, you know where your audience is matters, but in addition to that, I think it also plays a part in it when you think about how, like what type of content do you like to consume?

Because I'm a big believer that like creating content, you have to enjoy it in order to see success with it. So I always tell people like, if you have a preferred platform, if, if you aren't quite sure in the beginning, like where to start with where your audience is, start with a platform that you know best.

Um, because the truth of the matter is, is that there's a hundred different algorithms, it's very difficult to stay up to date with which ones have, you know, certain specifications of what is gonna create successful content. And so I feel like if you say you like Facebook, you know, if you're a Gen Xer or you know a Boomer, then you're probably gonna have more success on a platform that you're familiar with than if you are like, you know what, I'm gonna go straight for TikTok.

But yet, you know nothing about the platform and, and you don't even enjoy making video content.

Ella Gunnell: Right. That's the, that's the other thing is whatever your strategy is, it has to be sustainable. And a big part of sustainability is like, do you hate this or do you like this? Are you gonna dread it every week? Or is it like something that you like doing? So that's a big part of it.

Laney Goff: Definitely, definitely. But then, I mean, of course you do have people who don't like making content at all. That is a different situation, then you need to have somebody on your team who actually enjoys it.

Ella Gunnell: Right. Hire someone else.

Laney Goff: Yes, exactly. Exactly. Okay, so, well you mentioned kind of a little bit about, you know, like LinkedIn being B2B.

Maybe a good idea would be to kind of give a basis for specific platforms of, you know, what is necessary for the tone and the style of content, what like the strengths are for each of those. So we'll start, I know you love Instagram and you're great at Instagram, so maybe we'll start there of like, what do you feel like are those specifications for that algorithm that like you need to, to participate in?

Ella Gunnell: Okay, so I have a love hate with Instagram. Um, what I love about it is that it is a really good place to build an engaged audience, and it's a highly visual platform. Um, what I don't like about it is that I sometimes feel like they're having an identity crisis, and you have to really bring a lot of different types of content to Instagram in order for it to see success.

So, um, carousels are really, really important. Um. Reels are also, I would say probably the most important. So you are gonna be having— focusing on video content there. Um, reels and videos there are gonna look different than on other platforms. So on TikTok things are generally like less polished. You can just sit there and like film a video of yourself talking about something for two to three minutes and that's gonna do well and that unfortunately does not do well on Instagram, we have found. Um, so things that are shorter. Um, people are still very much into, um, consuming content on Instagram where you don't have to listen to the audio. So like, if you're talking that's fine, but maybe have, um, text up on screen as you're doing stuff. Um, provide more details in the caption. So that's kind of what Instagram is gonna look like.

Um, and then of course you have to be on stories as well, so. Love Instagram, but you kind of have to do a lot to do it well, in my opinion.

Laney Goff: Yeah. That, and they come out with updates every day.

Ella Gunnell: Every day. Again, because they have an identity crisis and they don't know what to do with themselves, so they're just always like, let's try this. Let's try this.

Laney Goff: Yeah. Well, and I love that you brought that up too, about with reels and because sometimes you think video content can be universal across, you know, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and the truth is, is that it cannot be the same. Um, yeah, so, so like talking about video content in reels versus TikTok videos, I know you mentioned length and maybe we could touch more on that.

Like, do you find that with TikTok longer videos are more acceptable? What's like the average successful length of a video or of a reel versus a TikTok video?

Ella Gunnell: Yeah. So, um, just to give people some background, um, TikTok really started pushing longer videos, in general, but in order for creators to get paid on TikTok, their video has to be over a minute. So automatically TikTok videos over a minute. And I would even say definitely look at your analytics and play with stuff around with stuff.

But we have some clients, um, where we actually found that like three to five minute videos were their sweet spot. And so we've started posting more of those. So definitely be willing to look at your, um, analytics and make tweaks, but for sure over a minute. Um, whereas Instagram is like, it doesn't have to be over a minute yet.

I would say generally Instagram is like, depending on the content, you can still have a really short video, like a seven second video and that can do well. Um. Instagram recently started doing reels as long as three minutes, and I've been testing those for a client, but unfortunately we haven't seen the same success with those still as content that's like 60 to 90 seconds.

So big difference between the two on Instagram, you know, much shorter, to the point. Um, your delivery of that content too has to be different. And then TikTok is, again, that length is different. Um, definitely on the longer end. And then once again, just how you deliver the content is gonna be different as well.

Laney Goff: Yeah, and I think you mentioning that too. I always think about Instagram as like trends. Trending audio. Again, like you said, not so much a talking head video. Uhhuh, definitely music and like transitions, things like that are still what we're seeing on Instagram, whereas that used to be TikTok, but it's really moved away from that.

And it's more of like a soapbox, like you're there to give an opinion, tell a story, things like that. And Instagram just isn't there yet. So I think those are like the biggest differences between the two. Besides the fact that Instagram makes you, you know, check off 45 boxes, you gotta do 15 different things before you can start to see success over there.

So, okay. Well, so, okay, so that really touches on both TikTok and Instagram. Would you say Facebook is pretty similar to Instagram as far as the type of content that you should be posting over there?

Ella Gunnell: Yes and no.

Um, in terms of reels, I would say reels are pretty similar. Um, and in fact in a lot of cases, reels carry over from Instagram to Facebook. Like you have an option when you post your reel on Instagram to have it also be shared not to your feed, but like it will, it will pull from Facebook, and you can see those numbers in your analytics.

You can see how many people have watched it on Instagram, how many people have watched it on Facebook. So, in that regard, yes. I think that reels carry over pretty well, but Facebook has arguably even more options than Instagram and other ways that it might be good. So for example, for one client, we have a um, Facebook group that's a community where people can go and talk about, it's a, it's a TV show so people can discuss the TV show together. Um, that's a really great use for Facebook. It's a really great spot for groups and communities and things like that.

Um, events, if you ever have an event that you need to promote, Facebook is a really good spot to do that. Um, also Facebook still carries the ability to post longer horizontal videos.

Um, so if you have content like that, Facebook is a better spot versus Instagram. Um, and then of course, like the style of the posts you share are gonna be a little bit different from Facebook to Instagram if you're just doing an image. Um, we often have to tweak posts that we share on Instagram for our clients so that they work better for Facebook just in terms of like what the image looks like.

Um. The dimensions, right? So Facebook is similar, yes, but there's also a lot more you can do with it. Also their ads, um, huge on Facebook. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Facebook ads. That's where people go. So in that way, um, I would say if, if you have specific goals like that, um, Facebook is a really good spot for you.

Laney Goff: Yeah, I totally agree on all of that. I think that, um, a lot of times people will skip over Facebook 'cause they think it's like the dinosaur. Um, but at, at, at the truth of the matter is, is we always see the most success, like you said, with ads on Facebook.

I mean, that's just the place to go for it. And a lot— that community. I'm so glad that you brought up the community aspect because the ability to have like fan pages or an audience page where they can go and you know, especially if you are like promoting a service and you have people who have signed up for your service and they need to bounce ideas off of each other, like that is the best place to do that at.

Um, so I think those are really good tips. Now, there's so many other platforms that we could really discuss. I mean, like you could throw Reddit in there or anything else, but I think it's important that we stick to like the basics. Um, so okay, let's think about LinkedIn. LinkedIn I feel like is always a tricky one.

I mean, I think it's very basic in the fact that like, it, it is B2B. Um, if, if you are B2B, then that's where you want to be. That's a lot of B's. But, um. You know, the, the question to me, which I still, I admittedly have not mastered, is what performs best on LinkedIn. What are your opinions on that?

Ella Gunnell: Oh man. LinkedIn is another one of those that I feel is sort of having an identity crisis right now because they also just introduced carousels and videos and all the things. Um, but generally I would say what continues to do best is, um, like thought leadership type of posts. So whatever industry you're in doesn't really matter.

Um. Basically building your personal brand so you, you can have a business page and that's great. And I think that's, we can talk about different strategies for both. Um, but in terms of like, what I feel like I see the most and does best is people who are building their personal brand as a business owner, um, or what, whatever your line of work is, maybe you're not a business owner, maybe you're a CEO or maybe you're a CFO or anything that you, whatever your line of work is, building your personal brand as that. Um, and coming out with different posts that show, um, insights or, um, guiding people. Um. As to how to do that job best, um, connecting with people, things along those lines.

So I know that you've had posts that have done really well where you sort of talk about different things within your area of expertise, um, or more like motivational, relatable posts. I think you had a post where you were like, what was, what's the post I'm thinking of that did really well for you?

Laney Goff: The, it was like a dear social media managers, you are a real marketer.

Ella Gunnell: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Laney Goff: Yeah. Yeah.

Ella Gunnell: That one. And I think that resonates with people because number one, you're speaking to social media managers. Um, you're showing your expertise and, um, talking to your peers and doing it in a way that is like motivational, motivational and relatable to them. So that's the type of content that I feel like still does best on LinkedIn.

Um, and there's different ways that people do that now. People do that with videos now. I've seen people talking, um, to their camera sort of doing this, but I think just a classic good old text post is still, is still shining on.

Laney Goff: And it's, it's easier, like I liked LinkedIn because I feel like it's just easier, especially when you do stick to that kind of thought leadership. If you are an expert in your industry, then it should be easy and natural to come up with these things.

And last week when I was consulting with that group, they had mentioned that they're actually really sick of seeing personal posts like people's kids and all of this stuff. Which is funny because I feel like Rachel, the CEO of Strella, she actually does really well with more personal posts on LinkedIn.

I don't see that traction though, so that's where my confusion comes in with LinkedIn. I think it's a balance, right? Like you've gotta give a little on both ends.

Ella Gunnell: Yeah, and I think it depends on who you're connected to. Like if you are a person who connects with your friends that you know on LinkedIn, like you've met them in real life and you make connections that way. Then more personal stuff could be good, but a lot of people on LinkedIn, um, they don't like even know half the people that they're connected to.

And so their audience isn't really gonna care about more personal updates. Um, so it just kind of depends. But overall, LinkedIn has changed a lot, but I do feel like the core of it is still the same as it always has been.

Laney Goff: Yeah, I think so too. I think that, I think that's, that's good advice. Um. Now I, I really, I have a feeling that I know what you'll say about this, but just because I feel like it's still kind of considered a main platform, but in maybe our eyes, it's not so much.

What are your thoughts on X? Like who should be there?

Ella Gunnell: Um.

Laney Goff: I'm just kidding.

Ella Gunnell: I mean, no. So, um, X is really good for a very specific type of person, I would say. Like if you're involved in the sports world at all, like X the place to be. And I think that that is because X is so good at like timely conversation, like anything important that happens, like this is basically the only time that I'll use X is like, oh, I just watched The Summer I Turned Pretty finale, and everyone's talking about it. Where should I go to find conversation about it? Oh X. Um, and it's very easy, like you just type in like the hashtag or it'll often show stuff that's like trending that people are talking about, and you just go click and you check it out that way. Um, so in terms of like stuff like that, um, if you have, you know, if you're involved at all with like, events or current events or things that are, are happening and that people want to have quick conversations with each other about, then X is a really good spot for you, I would say. Um, really good for, yeah, conversation, fast news, current events, thought leadership.

Perhaps it could be a good spot there too. Any sort of commentary. Um, I just feel like Twitter's a really good spot to get people's like unfiltered thoughts about stuff.

Laney Goff: Definitely unfiltered.

Ella Gunnell: No, the filters don't exist on X.

Laney Goff: It's the wild, wild west over there.

Ella Gunnell: Which

Laney Goff: I think, I think you, you really actually nailed it. You know, I always like sum it up as like if you're, if it's news or sports, X is for you, but I do like that you brought up like, I mean, trending topics is, you know, newsworthy, um, and it being very timely. Uh, and another way that brands could really spin it, and a lot of them do, is even when they don't have like I think like when Taylor Swift got engaged, you know, a lot of brands hopped on that on X to give, you know, some sort of quick snip of something that brought up the engagement but also related back to their brand. Um, so I think X can be really great for those situations. So I'm glad that you brought that up.

'Cause I didn't necessarily think about that at first, but it is an option. We're not saying no.

Ella Gunnell: It's an option. It just has to be very specific, like—

Laney Goff: Yeah.

Ella Gunnell: Very specific use case. Otherwise, just stay away.

Laney Goff: Definitely. Definitely. So, well, I'm glad that we went through all of this. Like I said, there are def of course, more platforms out there and I think something, maybe what we should end on, because there's a lot of changes coming, especially with TikTok and the new deal that has come up with America owning 80% of it and China owning 20%.

What is your advice for brands when a platform that they've heavily invested in starts to die out or shift, which we're about to see with TikTok? I don't know what it's gonna look like. My thought is we are going to be, from what I've heard, we're going to be deleting our current TikTok app and having to download a brand new America version.

What is that gonna look like for like, you know, fall? Is it all gonna transfer over, your followers, your videos? I don't know, but what would be your advice on something like that? If you've got somebody who's really heavily invested in a platform like that, and then it's going away.

Ella Gunnell: Yeah. Oh man. This is gonna be something for a, a lot, I'm sure it's causing a lot of people anxiety and stress. Um, at the end of the day, I think that people need to remember that social media is rented land. Um, yes, you've built a following and you've built a community, and I see creators talking about like how they love the community that they've built on their platform.

Um, but as much as we hate to say it like that could all go away. And so it's really important that you as a business owner, or maybe you're a personal brand, maybe you're an influencer, whatever is your brand. You need to have a spot and other forms of content that belong to you, whether that's on your website, maybe you have a podcast.

Um, it can look like a lot of different things, but you need to have content that is yours and that lives on a spot that is yours. Um, which unfortunately none of the social media platforms are that, which is, is sad. Um, and then I think it's important to remember that social media. Shouldn't be the end of the funnel for you.

It should actually be the beginning, one of, you know, one of the first steps of the funnel. So your goal, it's great to have an audience and a following on a social media platform, but your eventual goal should be to lead them away from the platform and get them further down the funnel. Whether that's an email list, whether that's like a group, a community group, maybe it's an app download.

Um, there needs to be another place where you can send your followers to achieve whatever your goals are, whether that's sales or, or something. So you need to have a overall strategy in place. Your strategy can't just be TikTok, like that's not a strategy. Um.

Laney Goff: As much as we want it to be.

Ella Gunnell: As much as you want it to be. And so I'm nervous for a lot of these influencers who like that is their livelihood and it's like, uh, you need, you need something else. You know? So definitely I would say diversify early as well. Like we talked about, you don't wanna be too many places at once, but you also don't just want to be in one place.

Um, I've seen a lot of influencers kind of scrambling to get people over to Instagram and things like that, um, so that they have sort of like a backup if TikTok, for whatever reason changes. So I would say it's those three big things, making sure that you have content that is owned by you, that exists in other places. Um, I would say diversifying and having your content be spread across other platforms and not just relying on one. And then remembering that social media shouldn't, you know, followers shouldn't be your end goal, and social media should be the start of the funnel for you, and you should be leading them to take further actions to get them further down the funnel.

So if you do those three things, then really the platforms can come and go and you'll be set.

Laney Goff: You're safe, right? Which is, is what we're looking for. I think that's really great advice overall today, you've given us a lot of insight.

Especially a lot of platform specific insight, which I think that a lot of brands, they just don't know a lot about what works on each platform.

So hopefully that part is going to really resonate with you and you'll be able to take something away from it. But if there's one thing that you could take away from today, it's that your brand doesn't have to be everywhere, but where you do show up, you need to show up with intention. Strategy isn't just about the what, it's about the how and why for each platform that you use.

So definitely keep that in mind. Ella, thank you so much, um, for giving us all your and joining us. If you love today's episode or any from this season for that matter. Take a second, leave us a review, send it to a friend, or comment your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you and what resonated with you.

So until next time, we will see you around. Bye.

Ella Gunnell: Bye.