Como você escolhe as plataformas de mídia social certas para seu público-alvo e mensagem?

Start with your audience and a blank sheet of paper, don't try to retrofit your existing messaging and platform strategy to a new audience. Use tools such as Sparktoro and Brandwatch to work out where your audience are and what they're talking about, then go to them. You can maximise platform functions (dark ads, banners etc) to test the waters on a new platform before committing a large proportion of your budget. Make sure you use the insights from initial research to weave your messages into the conversations your audience is already having. The conversations and tone will change per platform, so strategically selecting which messages work where is essential.

"Define your ‘why’ before the ‘what.’” Goals keep us focused, so take a moment to nail down what success looks like to you. For example, if you're after brand awareness, a goal like "boosting brand mentions by 10%" might be easier to track. Personally, I’ve found that setting clear, specific objectives not only keeps content on track but also simplifies measuring progress. And remember, each goal should ultimately serve your audience – when they're winning, you're winning too.

I would start with this critical first step: Determine who is your target audience and who are their influencers. Then, find out what social media platforms they are using, not just on, but in fact doing something on, that are relevant to your business/industry. It all starts with where are the people. Once you are clear about who is your target audience and where they show up, then you can move on to what you want to do on the social media platform(s).

Marry your business goals with the goals of your target audience - and go and find where they are. Make it a win-win, create content that your target audience is seeking.

Once you have figured out what your goals are and how you plan on achieving them, consider the following: 1. Figure out what platforms are best suited to what you are looking to achieve. 2. How many platforms do you need to be on to reach your goal? 3. If you are using multiple platforms, how are you using the others to drive traffic to your hub? 4. Adjust content so that it works on the platforms you are using. 5. Please pay attention to any changes to the platform algorithm; they change consistently.

A competitive analysis is a great place to start in getting to know your audience: Rather than starting from scratch, study your competitors and others in your field. Look at: ➡The platforms they are using. ➡What's working for them and what topics they are discussing. ➡Potential gaps or opportunities. ➡The level of audience engagement on each platform. Although the strategies what work for your competitor may not always align with your needs, conducting a competitor analysis serves as a solid starting point in helping you make well-informed choices for your own strategy.

Whenever I talk to people about their audience I always say "remember you're competing with Cat videos". Make your content interesting to your target audiences. Plus don't take your audience for granted. Knowing your audience likes and also dislikes is fundamental to any social media campaign.

Think of your audience as your friends; what do they really care about? Beyond analytics, ask, “Why are they spending time on this platform?” Are they looking to learn, connect, or just unwind? From experience, I've found that diving into comments, reviews, and competitor insights can reveal so much about what people need and value. Remember, their preferences evolve, so keep checking in to meet them where they are today.

Rather than guessing where your audience might be, go straight to the source - ask them directly. Run simple polls and surveys across your owned channels to learn exactly which 1-2 platforms they actively use, what conversations they crave, and what formats they engage with most. These qualitative insights straight from community members themselves hold more weight than third-party analytics assuming when deciding where to focus.

Conhecer sua audiência é o ponto mais importante para entender onde você irá veicular seus conteúdos. Hoje temos diversas redes no mercado e cada uma tem seu público específico (mas claro que não únicos e muito menos definitivos). É muito importante conhecer não só o público mas como ele consome o conteúdo em cada rede para decidir qual a melhor abordagem pra ele. Você pode sim atingir um público mais velho no tiktok, mas o que exatamente ele consome nessa rede? Muitas vezes não será o mesmo tipo de conteúdo que a Gen Z consome. Então estude e entenda seu público e os formatos de conteúdo de cada rede para se adaptar da melhor forma para ser assertivo na hora de se comunicar com seu público-alvo.

"Speak the platform's language.” LinkedIn might be your go-to for industry insights, but Instagram is all about visual storytelling. Once, I tried using the same content style across platforms – it fell flat! Tailoring each post to the platform’s strengths makes a huge difference. Get creative, mix in polls or stories, and always think about what will make your audience pause mid-scroll. Small touches like high-quality images or quick tips can really boost engagement.

Resist repurposing identical content across platforms. Craft customized messaging per community aligned to each's expectations - professional posts for LinkedIn, visual stories for Instagram, short takes on Twitter. Analyze competitor content formats that resonates with each before creating your own. Ultimately, you can pivot your approach based on performance data - double down on message types and platforms driving real progress.

Matching the message is the most integral part of success on every platform because users and followers, on each platform differ, they might overlap, but the engagement levels are different within each platform. Focusing on the message on a specific platform, but not focusing on others is also not good, the goal should be to focus higher efforts on the platform that engages specific items from your inventory on that platform while maintaining or trying to increase the presence on the other one, it should not mean the first objective but rather a goal, as growing opportunity on a platform where you are obscure is much more rewarding as it not only shows your commitment but also highlights the effort you put into growth of your work.

While it's essential to adapt your content to each platform, you should maintain a consistent brand identity. Use a unified brand voice, color scheme, and logo to ensure your audience recognizes your content across different social media platforms. This consistency helps to build trust and strengthens brand recognition.

“Data doesn’t lie.” Reviewing metrics isn’t just for the numbers – it’s about spotting trends. I've seen incredible shifts by tweaking post times, formats, or even wording. Experiment regularly, ask for feedback directly in posts, and pay attention to what your audience says. Optimization is an ongoing journey, so schedule regular check-ins to adjust and keep your content fresh and engaging.

Create test accounts. These three words will save any social media professional so much heartache! Create a private Instagram, start a private LinkedIn group, change your Facebook publishing settings to "Only Me" and see what your post actually looks like once it's published. You might not realize that an emoji displays differently on desktop vs mobile, or you catch a misspelling on your graphic that you hadn't seen before. Maybe the link you're sharing is broken — you might not know these things until you hit publish. While not directly performance related, ensuring your posts are 100% accurate will set you up for success.

Stay on top of everything - platforms, algorithms and audiences continuously evolve. Continually test new content types and evaluate performance data weekly. Ask followers directly what resonates or loses their interest. No platform will convert customers forever on autopilot; regularly reassess organic content ROI. If certain platforms fail to drive measurable progress towards your goals over time, then make to decision to reallocate resources to those showing traction.

For small marketing teams, efficiency is vital. It's all about integrated marketing: create one piece of content and adapt it across different platforms. Social media can be incredibly time-consuming so you have to be smart and disciplined when allocating resources to to it. Rather than trying to maintain a presence on every platform, small teams should focus on channels that are most frequented by their target audience. This targeted approach ensures better engagement and a stronger connection with the audience.

"Stay flexible and have fun!" Social media changes fast, so adaptability is key. Once, I planned out a whole campaign around a certain platform’s format, only for an update to change everything. Lesson learned: always leave room to pivot. And remember, social media is a conversation, not a monologue – engaging with comments, sharing user-generated content, and responding to DMs adds real value. One insight that’s helped me over the years is to celebrate small wins. Social media success builds over time, so celebrate those small jumps in engagement or the first time someone shares your post. It keeps you motivated and your strategy focused on long-term growth.

From my point of view one of the most important factors for success is: authenticity. Don't try to copy someone's communication style if it doesn't fit your or your brand's personality. Try to find your authentic style to stay credible and unique. And once you found it: stay consistent.