As a freelancer or in an agency, you will think carefully about which social media platforms you want to and can be active on. After all, your resources are limited. In this article, I'll provide you with some facts, figures and tools to make your decision easier. From the classics to Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, Clubhouse and more.
In a separate article, I already described the basics of how to find the right social media platforms for you. Important factors for this are, for example
- Who do you actually want to reach
- What is your goal
- Which media formats are suitable for you
- What can you achieve on the respective platforms
- What suits you and your offers
In other words, you need to know as much as possible about your target group(s). And secondly, you need to be able to assess what different social media networks actually offer, what character they have and which users you will find there. This is exactly what this article is about.
Business networks: LinkedIn and Xing
LinkedIn and Xing (the latter is mainly known in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) are the only examples in this article that see themselves as social networks specifically for professional use and in B2B. I list them here first because I believe they have the greatest potential for most freelancers and agencies.
Their general advantage is the context: Users already expect content here that revolves around professional life in some form. Private matters tend to take place on the fringes - if at all. Talking about yourself and your own expertise is therefore normal. Making contacts is also normal.
This should not tempt you to post aimlessly about yourself and write to every person with a meaningless standard text. Please don't! You should definitely think about what you want to publish here that is relevant to your target group. You should also build your network consciously, pay attention to sustainability and be respectful of other people's time. Despite this small warning, the following still applies: On LinkedIn and Xing, you won't always attract negative attention if you talk about yourself, your work and your skills.
LinkedIn has established itself as an international business network. It now has over 200 million users in Europe - more than in its home country, the USA. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), the figure is 14 million. Xing is still ahead in these three countries with around 19 million users. However, it is clear that such figures alone do not say much. This is because interaction rates usually seem to be higher on LinkedIn. Ultimately, in many cases it boils down to being present and active on both platforms if your target market is the DACH region. Otherwise, you can concentrate fully on LinkedIn.
An interesting tool on LinkedIn is the Social Selling Index. It provides assistance for all those who (also) want to use the network to acquire new customers. In four categories, you can find out how your profile and your activities compare to your industry and your contacts. You shouldn't take this one hundred percent seriously. But it can give you some good ideas. If you want to go even deeper, you can use paid tools such as the LinkedIn Sales Navigator. This helps you to find and write to suitable potential customers.
Xing, on the other hand, has a different character to LinkedIn. Posting on your own profile or a company page, for example, is not the main focus here. Life takes place more in the 85,000 or so groups. This is a great place to connect with like-minded people, exchange ideas and demonstrate your expertise (or learn something new) along the way.
Personal networks: Facebook, Instagram & Co.
Now, life is not all about work - or at least it shouldn't be. And there are a variety of networks that are primarily intended for private and personal use. While direct selling and advertising is less popular here, these platforms can still play an important role in your marketing.
After all, people still prefer to communicate with people. In addition, our decisions are often based more on irrational and emotional reasons than we give ourselves credit for (see behavioral economics). An agency or freelancer should therefore be likeable and appear trustworthy to their target group. And this is exactly what you can achieve on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Co.
Also, don't underestimate the power of direct referrals. If your network knows what you are working on and where your skills lie, they are more likely to recommend you when they see suitable content. Let's take a closer look at some of the social media networks:
Facebook is particularly useful with its numerous groups. You can also use your own profile page from time to time for your professional content. This is especially true if you keep your posts primarily personal and don't try to be a salesperson. New projects, new learnings, ideas and thoughts from your industry, special success stories: You can share all of this with your contacts.
Of course, you can also create a Facebook page for yourself as a freelancer or agency. It is just generally much more difficult to achieve a significant reach here.
Facebook Ads for beginners
Instagram has undergone an enormous transformation since it became part of Facebook. And the number of users has increased considerably in the process. It has around 21 million users in Germany alone and up to one billion worldwide.
The variety of content formats is now enormous. While everything used to revolve around square photos, there are now also the very successful "Stories", the TikTok-inspired "Reels", the collections for places, products or posts called "Guides" and, with IGTV, an offer for longer videos.
The focus on visual content has remained the same. Of course, this works particularly well for topics and industries such as fashion, which are visual by nature. But the platform can also be used by web developers. You could use the story function to publish short how-tos or show good examples. Or you can give a look behind the scenes of your work. You could use the guides to present useful posts that you have published yourself or saved on other profiles.
Each profile can be converted into a "business profile". In return, you get better statistics and can offer direct contact on your profile. At the same time, there are no direct disadvantages for the reach of your content. In addition, you still have the same options and functions with an Instagram business profile as you do as a private person. In this respect, there are only advantages to using this option.
YouTube
YouTube is a hybrid between a visual search engine and a social network. On the one hand, you can create a profile here and collect subscribers who follow your activities directly. On the other hand, your videos can still be found weeks, months or even years later. This is an advantage over many other platforms on the social web that should not be underestimated.
If you're not too shy in front of the camera, I would definitely recommend getting active here. You don't have to deliver polished masterpieces either. Explainer and how-to videos are a good idea. They show your expertise and (hopefully) make you look competent and trustworthy. And if you still feel unsure: Practice, practice, practice. Many of today's successful YouTube channels started small and modestly. As long as you know what you're talking about and can communicate it well, the rest will come with practice.
In the beginning, you can shoot your videos with comparatively simple means. Your smartphone, a tripod and perhaps a ring light are all you need. Or you can start with a (good) webcam. The potential reach is enormous: according to studies, up to 65% of the population aged 14 and over use this platform.
Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, Clubhouse and more...
Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest and even more so the still very young audio app Clubhouse are niche offerings among social media platforms, each with a very clear focus. It would go too far to go into all of them here.
They can each have interesting potential and are particularly suitable if you "just feel like it". Because, yes: social media can also be fun. It really can. Even if this article is mainly about how you can use these platforms professionally and professionally, this should not be forgotten.
Because at the end of the day, as already mentioned, you will only be able to actively maintain a few profiles. And these should include ones that you enjoy. Your followers will notice the difference.
Tools for social media analysis
Another basis for your decision should be concrete figures. And from two perspectives:
- How successful is what you've been doing so far?
- How successful are others in your industry?
For point 1, the biggest difficulty is finding the right numbers to measure your success. As I wrote in my article on content KPIs, the really interesting values are often the most difficult to find out. Of course, you can see at a glance whether you've gained or lost followers, but what exactly does that mean for your business success? First of all, next to nothing.
The click rate on a social media post is more interesting. Social networks often provide you with such figures free of charge. Thanks to UTM parameters and a suitable web analytics tool, you can also track how many whitepaper downloads have been generated by your post on LinkedIn, for example. That's not bad at all.
The second point, competitor analysis, is actually even more difficult. Because here you will only see the figures that are made public. So you see the followers (moderately interesting) and can get an impression of the interaction rate. By looking at how many likes and comments there are (somewhat more interesting). But unfortunately you can't see how much revenue was generated in the end.
With this restriction in mind, you can start analyzing and use tools such as the free Talkwalker search to help you. For example, you can use it to see how much resonance your competitors' hashtag campaign has achieved or who is talking about you on the social web. Other examples are mention, quintly or Fanpagekarma. Such comprehensive services can sometimes be too expensive for individual entrepreneurs. Logically, the calculation looks different if you use them in parallel for your customers.
My conclusion on social media platforms
Of course, the business social media platforms LinkedIn and Xing are often recommended first when it comes to the business use of social networks. This is especially true in the B2B sector and makes sense. However, I would like to emphasize a point that I have already explained above: Platforms such as Facebook or Instagram can be just as suitable for you. Here, too, people talk about their work, their successes and their plans.
At the same time, you should not underestimate how important the human side is when it comes to business decisions. If you then keep an eye on how successful your activities really are, it will pay off for you sooner or later.
