The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Social Media Platform for Your Business in Australia (2024)
How to Choose the Best Social Media Platform for Your Business in 2024
Selecting the right social media platform is essential for maximising your business’s reach and impact online. With a diverse range of platforms available, each with its unique audience, engagement styles, and content preferences, understanding which ones are most effective for your business can make all the difference in achieving your marketing goals. Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, targeting the right channels is crucial for connecting with your ideal customers and driving conversions. In this guide, we’ll break down the most popular social media platforms used by Australians in 2024, highlighting their user demographics, engagement levels, content strategies, and business suitability to help you make the best choices for your online marketing. As always, I recommend you spend 80% of you time on your income producing platforms and the rest on brand awareness on the other channels. Always respect the platform you are on and respect the audience there.
1. YouTube: The Leader in Video Content
- Users in Australia: Over 17 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: High with videos watched daily, with an average session duration of about 40 minutes.
- Audience: Broad age range, particularly strong engagement from 18-49 years; popular across urban and regional areas.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: How-to videos, tutorials, vlogs, product reviews, live streaming, both long-form and short form (Shorts) video content.
- YouTube supports hashtags in video descriptions and titles, which helps users find content related to specific topics. Use 3-5 relevant hashtags to enhance video SEO.
- Business Focus: Both B2B and B2C.
- Business Types: Education, entertainment, fitness, tech, personal brands, and consumer goods.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Optimise for YouTube SEO. Use high-quality production and a consistent posting schedule to build a local audience. Ideal for businesses looking to educate, entertain, or build brand awareness.
2. Facebook: The Social Media Giant
- Users in Australia: Over 16 million monthly active users (approximately 62% of the population).
- Daily Engagement: Checked multiple times daily. High engagement on mobile.
- Audience: Broad age range, predominantly 25-54 years, slightly more women, widely used across urban and regional areas
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Videos (live streams and short videos), community driven posts, user-generated content, storytelling, infographics, polls, and interactive content.
- For Facebook, while hashtags aren’t as widely used, they can still increase reach when used sparingly and strategically, particularly in groups or community posts.
- Business Focus: Both B2B and B2C, but primarily B2C.
- Business Types: Local businesses, retail, community focused brands, and organisations targeting a broad, diverse audience.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Leverage Facebook Groups and Marketplace for community building and direct sales. Perfect for businesses looking to engage with a broad audience and drive local traffic.
3. WhatsApp: Direct Communication for Customer Engagement
- Users in Australia: Approximately 12 million users.
- Daily Engagement: Extremely high, with frequent daily check-ins, often used for personal communication and customer service.
- Audience: Broad global audience, including all age groups; popular
in urban areas.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Direct messaging, group chats, customer service, updates, and community engagement.
- On WhatsApp, hashtags are not typically used, as it’s more of a direct communication platform.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C.
- Business Types: Retail, small businesses, service-based businesses, and organisations seeking direct communication with customers.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Use WhatsApp Business for automated responses, product catalogues, and customer engagement. Effective for personal and direct marketing strategies in Australia.
4. Instagram: Visual Storytelling and E-Commerce Hub
- Users in Australia: Over 13 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: Checked multiple times daily, high engagement on Stories and Reels.
- Audience: Predominantly 18-34 years, slightly more women, strong presence in metropolitan areas.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Short videos (Reels), carousels, visually appealing photos, Stories, behind-the-scenes content, and influencer partnerships.
- On Instagram, hashtags are crucial for discoverability using a mix of popular, niche, and branded hashtags (up to 30 per post) can help attract the right audience.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C.
- Business Types: Fashion, beauty, travel, food, lifestyle brands, personal brands.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Focus on Reels for higher visibility, leverage Instagram Shopping features for e-commerce, connect with local influencers to reach Australian audiences.
5. LinkedIn: The Professional Network for B2B Connection
- Users in Australia: Over 13 million registered users.
- Daily Engagement: Checked a few times a week, engagement spikes during weekdays.
- Audience: Professionals, B2B decision-makers, recruiters, job seekers, strong in the 30-49 years age range.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Thought leadership articles, industry news, case studies, personal stories, and video content.
- On LinkedIn, hashtags help categorise content and improve searchability. Focus on 3-5 professional or industry-specific hashtags to reach a targeted audience.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2B.
- Business Types: B2B companies, professional services, consulting, SaaS, recruitment, and corporate brands.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Build authority with long-form content, engage in local industry-specific groups, use LinkedIn Live for webinars and product launches targeting Australian professionals.
6. Google My Business (GMB): Essential for Local Visibility
- Users in Australia: Widely used by local businesses and consumers searching for services.
- Daily Engagement: High. Frequently checked by local searchers and mobile users.
- Audience: Local customers, predominantly 18-65 years, using Google for search and navigation.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: High-quality images, regular updates, customer reviews, Q&A, product listings, and Google Posts.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C, with some B2B.
- Business Types: Local businesses, service-based businesses, restaurants, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and professionals.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Ensure all business information is accurate, encourage customer reviews, use Google Posts to share offers, news, and events for local visibility.
7. TikTok: The Hub for Short-Form, Trend-Based Content
- Users in Australia: Over 7.5 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: Extremely high. Users spend an average of 52 minutes per day. Audience: Predominantly Gen Z (under 25); growing among 25-34 years.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Short-form, trend-based videos, challenges, user-generated content, educational content, and storytelling.
- OnTikTok, hashtags are key for participating in trends and challenges. Mixing trending hashtags with niche ones helps maximise visibility.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C.
- Business Types: Fashion, beauty, entertainment, education, consumer products, food, and beverage.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Participate in trends relevant to Australian culture, collaborate with local influencers.
8. Twitter: Real-Time Engagement and Updates
- Users in Australia: Around 6 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: High. Many users check multiple times a day for news and updates.
- Audience: Predominantly 25-49 years; more men; popular among urban professionals and tech-savvy users.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Short, concise updates, news, trending topics, GIFs, polls, and real-time engagement.
- On Twitter, hashtags are used to join trending conversations or events. It’s best to use 1-2 relevant hashtags per tweet to boost engagement without cluttering the message.
- Business Focus: Both B2B and B2C.
- Business Types: News agencies, tech companies, startups, political organisations, customer service.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Use Twitter Threads for storytelling, engage in trending topics relevant to Australian users, leverage Twitter Spaces for live audio content.
9. Pinterest: Inspiration and Planning for E-Commerce
- Users in Australia: Over 4 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: Moderate. Often used for inspiration and planning.
- Audience: Predominantly women (60%+), aged 18-45. Strong presence in home decor, fashion, food, and DIY.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: High-quality images, infographics, how-to guides, DIY tips, and product collections.
- Pinterest uses hashtags for keyword discovery, particularly in pins. Using 2-5 hashtags that describe the content can improve search results.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C.
- Business Types: E-commerce, fashion, beauty, interior design,
food and beverage, travel, DIY.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Focus on visually appealing pins, use Pinterest SEO to increase discoverability among Australian users.
10. Snapchat: Engaging a Younger Audience with AR and Stories
- Users in Australia: Around 4.5 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: High. Checked multiple times daily.
- Audience: Predominantly Gen Z (under 24). Strong presence among younger users in urban areas.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Short, casual videos, behind-the-scenes content, influencer partnerships, and augmented reality (AR) content.
- For Snapchat, hashtags aren’t supported, but users can participate in trending themes or use keywords in Spotlight submissions.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2C.
- Business Types: Fashion, beauty, entertainment, tech, food and beverage.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Leverage AR filters and lenses, use Snapchat Spotlight to reach a younger Australian audience, collaborate with local influencers to boost engagement.
11. Reddit: Community Building and Niche Marketing
- Users in Australia: Around 3 million monthly active users.
- Daily Engagement: Moderate. Users visit for niche community
discussions and content.
- Audience: Predominantly 18-34 years, slightly more male, tech- savvy and community-driven.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: AMA (Ask Me Anything), long-form posts, discussions, educational content, memes.
- Reddit does not utilise hashtags, but users should engage with relevant communities and keywords within their posts to increase visibility.
- Business Focus: Both B2B and B2C.
- Business Types: Tech, gaming, consumer electronics, education, niche products.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Engage authentically, provide value without overt selling, focus on Australian-specific communities and discussions.
12. Clubhouse: Audio Conversations for Niche Communities
- Users in Australia: Smaller user base, around 300,000 weekly active users.
- Daily Engagement: High engagement within niche communities.
- Audience: Diverse, with a slight skew toward 25-44 years; entrepreneurs, professionals, creatives.
- Best Content for Reach and Visibility: Live audio conversations, panel discussions, interviews, and Q&A sessions.
- On Clubhouse, hashtags are not part of the platform’s interface, but rooms and clubs can use specific keywords in their titles to attract the right audience.
- Business Focus: Primarily B2B.
- Business Types: Thought leaders, coaches, consultants, education, SaaS.
- Why It’s Right for Your Business: Host regular rooms on topics relevant to Australian markets, collaborate with local influencers or industry leaders, build a community through clubs.
Take Control of Your Social Media Strategy with a Marketing Expert
Choosing the right social media platform for your business is crucial to maximising your online presence and connecting with your target audience in Australia. By focusing on the platforms where your audience is most active and engaging with content that resonates, you can drive higher engagement, boost brand awareness, and achieve your business goals.
Hashtags are a powerful tool for expanding your reach and visibility on social media, but their effectiveness and usage vary by platform. Effective hashtag strategy involves understanding each platform’s unique culture and how users search for content, ensuring your posts gain maximum exposure and engagement.
To make the most of your social media marketing, consider working with a marketing strategist who can guide you in creating a tailored strategy that aligns with your specific needs and objectives.
Ready to elevate your social media game? Contact a marketing strategist today and transform your online marketing into a powerful growth engine for your business!
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