As marketers, we're spoiled for choice with numerous social media platforms to engage our audience. But let's be honest: determining the best medium for our content can be daunting. You might have even wondered, "Should we use TikTok for public sector marketing?"

The answer? Probably not. The public sector isn't exactly hanging out on TikTok for work-related information, and they don't quite trust the platform, either. It may seem obvious to some (especially those of us over 35), but not all social channels are created equal when it comes to reaching your audience.

A major systems integrator client once told me that when they audited all marketing efforts across the public sector, they found the team was spending most of their time creating and posting content to Snapchat and ignoring LinkedIn.

Was this a good use of time?

You be the judge.

• Only 11% of public sector respondents in our media study access Snapchat more than twice weekly.
• Compare that to Facebook, where 53% of federal respondents and 65% of state and local respondents access the platform more than twice a week.
• For LinkedIn, those numbers are 38% and 40%, respectively.

(Note: While Facebook is more commonly used, respondents tend to trust LinkedIn more, which matters as much, or maybe even more, than how many people see the content.)

Now, back to Snapchat. If those users were converting into customers, then the investment in Snapchat would have made sense. But in my client's case, they weren't seeing significant returns. So, they wisely redirected their team's efforts to meet their audience where they were actually spending their time.

The moral of the story is that while dozens of social media platforms are available, choosing the ones to use doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Put your energy where your prospects are spending the most time and have the most trust in the content they encounter.

How do you pinpoint where they're spending their time?

It all comes down to research, research, research.

For more information on public sector content and channel preferences, or other research and insights, contact Solutions@GovExec.com.