The benefits of diversifying your social media channels

The social media marketing landscape is ever-changing and each channel is constantly evolving.

Just take a look at the dramatic changes happening around TikTok in the past few months. The company caught steam with Gen Zers last year, then experienced extreme growth in March following the stay-at-home orders. Now, TikTok is jumping through many hoops as the Trump Administration tries to ban new downloads of the Chinese-owned app in the US. 

And it doesn’t end with TikTok. Instagram launched many new features and tools like Reels and more shopping capabilities, YouTube introduced a new program that allows creators to sell ad space directly to the brands they work with regularly, and most recently, Pinterest built influencer “Story Pins” to make the platform more creator-friendly. 

Who knows what’s next?

With so many changes happening on each channel, marketers need to build a presence across multiple avenues, including the latest social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest, as well as traditional channels like print media and email. Here are 3 benefits of diversifying your channels. 

Avoid dependency on any single channel

Investing all of your budget in one channel is risky because many platforms constantly experience changes, both big and small. There could be a new feature that shakes up the way you measure your campaign results, such as Instagram’s hidden “like” counts last year, or a new rule that limits what your influencers can promote, such as Facebook’s policy that prohibits ads about diet or weight loss products. Or there could even be an algorithmic change, which could lead to a sudden drop in engagement.

By spreading out your budget across multiple channels, you can avoid burning away your budget on a platform that can potentially fall flat and future-proof your marketing campaigns. This tactic is particularly useful when having to pivot quickly.

For example, many brands boycotted advertising on Facebook in July this year to protest the platform's handling of hate speech and misinformation. Brands that were solely relying on Facebook either had to scramble to come up with a new campaign on a different channel, or risk coming off as tone-deaf by not participating in the boycott. On the other hand, brands that were already using other channels in conjunction with Facebook could easily shift their focus to their campaigns on, say, YouTube and Pinterest.

Create multiple touchpoints with your audience

It’s getting harder and harder for brands to meet their customers where they are. Especially as 3rd-party cookies diminish off the web, marketers will have fewer ways to track, retarget, and connect with customers. 

So, stretch the impact of your campaigns organically by running them on multiple channels. Work with influencers to engage current customers and find new ones across many different social platforms. Because they have devoted audiences who share similar interests, your brand will get great exposure among various micro-communities, as well as the creators’ authentic endorsement of your product. 

For example, Mercedes-Benz worked with influencers on multiple channels to promote its CLA model to a target audience in their early 20s to early 40s. This included a Super Bowl television ad featuring its celebrity partners, Usher and Kate Upton, while its social media campaign #CLATakeTheWheel documented millennial influencers like Casey Neistat as they embarked on a five-day road trip across the country in the sporty vehicle. Content was posted to Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

As a result, Mercedes-Benz had its best product launch in 20 years, with 1 million impressions and more website visitors than ever before. Additionally, the brand reported a 82% conquest rate, or the percentage of new buyers who had previously purchased from other luxury vehicle brands.

Source a diverse array of authentic content

Diversifying your media channels also means that you’ll need to source a variety of content that looks native to each channel. So, collaborate with social media influencers on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and more to create content that seamlessly fits on each platform. 

Work with YouTubers to produce high-quality, long-form videos about how they incorporate your product into their daily lives. Join forces with TikTok creators to lead a branded hashtag challenge that showcases before-and-after shots of using your product. Partner with Pinterest influencers to create beautiful images showcasing your product and link out to your product page. The list goes on.

Best of all, this high-quality content can also be repurposed on channels outside of social media. Use influencer-generated content on your website, email newsletters, out-of-home activations, television ads, and more to add a touch of authenticity. Their images and videos, paired with their real customer testimonials will be much more relatable and trustworthy than any corporate message. 

Run campaigns on multiple channels

The bottom line is: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Instead, build a presence across many different channels to meet your customers where they are. Today, it’s crucial to diversify your media channels to avoid having dependency on one channel, build more customer touchpoints, and create a unique assortment of content.