Social media has become a staple in digital marketing as it provides brands with a platform to directly engage with a large audience. More than half of the world’s population (62.3%) actively uses social media. With this massive viewership potential, social media opens opportunities to reach and interact with target customers.
Social media marketing definitely brings out results, but it does not mean it’s an easy feat to sustain, even when you outsource social media management. One of the challenges of marketers today is keeping up with the fast-changing social media trends.
With numerous channels to manage, brands are finding it resource-draining and stressful to effectively compete in all available platforms. As a result, brands are making a decisive choice to leave some social media giants behind and focus on their top-performing channels instead.
The Challenges of Managing Social Media Accounts
The phrase “be where your customers are” is common in the marketing world. Since users scroll on social media for an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day, social media marketing has become a staple for establishing an online presence.
However, on average, people switch between seven social media platforms. If we’re still applying the phrase here, that means brands have to be active in seven social media channels at the same time to maintain their presence. Not only is this difficult to accomplish, but it also puts a strain on the company’s marketing budget.
Other challenges to managing numerous social media accounts include the following:
- Each Platform Has Its Own Trends and Marketing Techniques
Each social media platform, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or TikTok, has its unique algorithm, audience demographics, and content preferences. Marketers have to learn and adjust to these, so they stay agile and align their campaigns with the evolving social media trends. If they have to do this for every social media platform, it means social media marketers will be overrun with constant adaptation and strategy shifts.
- Marketing Budget is Stretched Thin
Managing one social media account can cost about $3000 per month. Imagine spending that much for several other platforms; soon, your social media marketing will be unsustainable and inefficient.
Suppose you can do the bare minimum social marketing tactics to stay on as many platforms as you can. You may be establishing your presence in more channels, but that would still mean you’re stretching your budget thin. A smaller budget on every social media platform means you will be less effective in maximizing your results.
- ROI Impact of Each Campaign
When marketing budgets are spread thin across various channels, it becomes difficult to allocate sufficient resources to each social media marketing platform. Limited budgets mean that marketers cannot fully leverage advanced features, tools, or targeted advertising options. This often results in subpar campaigns that fail to engage the audience effectively or convert leads into customers. Consequently, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of marketing efforts are compromised, leading to a diluted return on investment (ROI).
Solution: Prioritizing the Brand’s Top-Performing Social Media Channels
Instead of attempting to maintain an account on every available platform, organizations should determine and prioritize their top-performing social media channels. This will help them bank on channels that are already working.
Companies can use various metrics to determine which channels to focus on. One of the most common is ROI. Using ROI helps identify which platforms deliver the highest returns relative to their investment. You can also use ROI to determine the budget distribution per social media channel to make the most out of your budget.
Moreover, you can also base your decision on the top social media channels right now. As of July 2024, the most popular social media marketing platforms based on how many users are in it are:
| Social Media | Number of Global Users |
| 3.97 billion | |
| YouTube | 2.5 billion |
| 2 billion | |
| 2 billion | |
| TikTok | 1.6 billion |
| 1.36 billion | |
| Facebook Messenger | 977 million |
| Telegram | 900 million |
| Snapchat | 800 million |
| Douyin | 755 million |
Picking the top social media based on the number of users means prioritizing channels with the largest user bases to maximize your brand’s exposure and reach. However, it’s still important to consider how well these platforms align with your target demographic and marketing goals. This will ensure that the reach translates into meaningful engagement and results for your brand.
A Trend in Social Media Marketing Investment
Leaving certain social media giants is a trend that is slowly gaining traction in digital marketing today. Some are doing it to maximize their marketing budget, leaving certain social media platforms so they can focus on a few specific channels that yield more results.
An example is Lush, a beauty brand in the UK. They decided to leave Meta platforms after determining that it was not the best place to market its products. To make up for this significant loss of online presence, they have strengthened their brand visibility on YouTube, X, and Pinterest.
Meanwhile, a few are entirely going away from social media presence to protect their brand. The best example of this is Bottega Veneta, an Italian luxury fashion house that dropped off social media in 2021. Their reason for this decision is they want to avoid the negativity that social media sometimes creates.
However, marketers caution brands about this trend, emphasizing that only big brands have the luxury to fully commit to having no social media presence. This is because they have already established their brand and built a niche customer base. They also have strong relationships with their customers to help maintain sales even if they do not post on social media.
Get Social Media Support from Professionals in the Philippines
In 2024, social media marketers are slowly resisting the pressure to maintain their presence on every social media platform. Forward-thinking organizations are realizing that it is more cost-effective to identify their most effective channels and concentrate their efforts solely on those platforms.
Are you in doubt about which social media platforms you should focus on? Find the expert help you need with Digital Marketing Philippines (DMP).
DMP offers comprehensive outsourced social media marketing services on various platforms of your choosing. We can help you with:
- Brand exposure and awareness
- Reputation management
- Remarketing
- Audience building
Upon starting your engagement with us, our experienced social media experts can assess your social presence on various platforms to help you assess which ones you can best leverage. We will also guide you through the strategies you need to undertake to build on your existing online presence and take it to your target level of exposure.
Contact DMP today to partner with experts and boost your social media game.
References:
https://www.hootsuite.com/research/social-trends
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-marketing-advantages-disadvantages-2023-digiphlox-pmrhf
https://www.flaunter.com/blog/big-brands-are-leaving-social-media-should-you
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.