Social media has become an integral part of our lives over the last two decades (remember ICQ?), and therefore it should not come as a big surprise that these beloved virtual town squares are now included in just about any marketing campaign you can think of.
The reasons are ample – it’s free for anyone to join, gives companies a chance to connect with an audience on a personal level, and establishes presence in a virtual space. What has changed, however, is the sheer number of platforms one can now choose to target the right audiences.
Let’s take a look together at how each individual social media platforms perform.
It probably comes as no surprise to those of you who work in marketing that LinkedIn, a platform focused on professionals and their career-related achievements and news, maintains the clear first place when looking at social media through the cybersecurity lens. It’s the most used platform by people who work in cybersecurity and also a common place for companies looking to invest in their security posture. It’s worth noting that LinkedIn also has a function that allows you to showcase your products and services as part of your profile. If you’re still not convinced LinkedIn deserves your attention, try reading this article about its undeniable benefits.
It’s the current largest social media platform with a targeted advert algorithm that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop. Facebook paid adverts used to be the complete package when considering advertising on social media, and for many industries, they are still an excellent pick. In case you are asking yourself why it is not the best platform, there are a few reasons that contributed: many cybersecurity professionals have concerns over data privacyData privacy is the process of safeguarding an individual’s personal information, ensuring it remains confidential, secure, and protected from unauthorized access or misuse. More policies and have deleted their accounts. That effectively minimized the amount of traction cybersecurity gets there. Another issue is that Facebook’s user base is aging upwards in most Western countries, with fewer and fewer teenagers and young adults considering it their platform of choice. Right now, however, Facebook still has a tremendous user base, so ignoring it completely would be to miss out on a huge number of users, even if very few of them would end up being hot leads.
Twitter’s a great tool for marketers to establish a company’s presence and keep in touch with the world, especially for the businesses who operate in the US, Japan, and the UK. While not necessarily the best from the conversion perspective, active Twitter accounts can gather substantial followers, thus increasing awareness of their business.
Up-and-coming Social Media Platforms
The following platforms are by no means unknown or unpopular, but we need to look at things from a cybersecurity perspective. Besides the big three listed above, there are a few others that are currently on a trajectory to become a decent pick for cybersecurity marketers. The three growing platforms are Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. All three have one thing in common – they are focused on visual content, predominantly photos, and short videos. Rich media is becoming the go-to option for marketers as they stand out from the crowd and tend to generate much higher interaction rates. Don’t fall to the temptation to take these platforms as just a means of entertainment – there is a place for engaging and educative content as well. As was the case with Twitter, the goal here is to create touchpoints and entice the audience into following you but won’t directly translate into bottom-of-the-funnel leads.
Final Thoughts
The means to generate product awareness have never been as plentiful as they are today. If you invest the time and effort into maintaining your social media presence with engaging content, you are, sooner or later, bound to reap the fruits of your labor! Now it’s time to get out there and try what works for you.
