Privacy concerns, dwindling organic reach, and rising advertising costs. For the small business investing a ton of time and often money into Facebook, the hits just keep on coming. So, despite it having 15 million monthly active users in Australia, many businesses are considering alternatives to Facebook now that it’s largely a pay-to-play platform.
Here are five social media platforms that you could turn your focus to instead:
With ecommerce and retail the two most popular Australian sectors on Facebook, Pinterest was the first alternative platform that came to mind.
It might only have 290,000 users in Australia, but Pinterest users are worthy targets according to Oracle, saying “Pinners are 39 per cent more likely to be active shoppers – and when shopping, they spend 29 per cent more than non-pinners.”
It’s a good fit for: Homewares, gifts, fashion, home improvement, baking and anything wedding-related. These are all popular categories on Pinterest. So, if your business is targeting a female-oriented audience, the chances are Pinterest is a good bet.
It seems crazy to criticise a social platform for only having 330 million monthly active users (MAU), but that’s what happens in tech media. After all, Facebook reports 2.2 billion MAU. But these numbers mean nothing for the small business anyway.
What you need to know is this: 93 per cent of people who follow small- and medium-sized business on Twitter plan to purchase from the SMEs they follow, according to a report from Twitter and Research Now.
It’s a good fit for: Customer service. It’s a terrific platform for that. Twitter users will also help to amplify your content to a broader audience, so if you publish content on your website, then Twitter would be a great fit.
Reddit has been reported as the 8th most popular website on the web and it has 250 million users worldwide. However, the site often heralded as the ‘front page of the web’ is a minnow in Australia with only 110,000 users.
But does that mean it’s not worth your attention? No. It’s definitely worth your attention. If you want to engage an active and influential niche audience, Reddit may be just what you’re looking for.
It’s a good fit for: Potentially any small business. Just start searching for relevant subreddits and gauge if there’s an opportunity by the number of subscribers. You should start first by looking at your local area, then to your industry.
YouTube
The planet is addicted to video consumption right now and it shows no sign of slowing. For instance, Cisco predicts that 82% of consumer internet traffic will be video by 2020.
According to Statista, “60 per cent of Australians watch an online video on a daily basis.” YouTube of course is the big player. It’s the second-biggest search engine on the web behind Google, which owns YouTube anyway.
It’s a good fit for: Businesses that can provide educational value related to their product or service. For instance, Bunnings is the number one Australian brand on YouTube with 124k subscribers. YouTube can also be a terrific asset for customer service or sales because it provides an opportunity to give your customers the information they need promptly.
Known as the social media site for professionals, LinkedIn is bucking many social media trends by increasing engagement. Digiday reports, “LinkedIn’s ‘comments, likes and shares are up more than 60 per cent year-on-year, due to product updates, new features and analytics.”
It’s a good fit for: Businesses that need to build relationships and demonstrate authority. Any B2B business would be well-suited for LinkedIn.
Quentin Aisbett, Digital Strategist, OnQ Marketing
