What Social Media Platforms Should I Be Using to Market My Business?

Social media can be one of your business’s most successful digital marketing channels. It’s an excellent way to build brand awareness, connect with new customers, and maintain relationships with current customers.

Your business needs an active social presence. But there are over 50 social medial platforms in existence, and more are launched all the time. So, which one is going to be the best for your business?

When considering what social media sites to use, keep these questions in mind:

• Who is your target audience and which platforms do they use most?
• What message are you trying to deliver about your brand?
• What kinds of content do you plan to produce?
• How will social media support your marketing efforts?

Here is what you need to know about the top social media platforms so that you can make an informed choice about your digital marketing strategy.

Facebook

Number of Monthly Users: 3+ billion

Demographics: Men and women, ages 18-65 or older

Facebook is, hands-down, the world’s largest and most active social media platform. The company reportedly earned over $70 billion last year, a lot of it from Facebook ads.

More than 1 billion people are active on the platform daily. But does that mean it’s a good investment for your business? It might be if you want to learn more about your target audience, build an email list, and build an active community around your brand.

Pros: Massive audience reach, powerful analytics, excellent for customer interaction, and targeted advertising

Cons: Takes consistent engagement, ads are expensive, and there is little support if your account is suspended.

Instagram

Number of Monthly Users: 1.28 billion

Demographics: Men and women, ages 18-64

Facebook owns Instagram, but this platform appeals to a younger target audience. In fact, the majority of Insta’s users are under the age of 25. The content on the platform leans heavily towards short videos and photos.

Instagram is an excellent way for your brand to show rather than tell its audience about its products, services, and values. Your brand’s Instagram account can also be integrated with Twitter and Facebook so that you post the same content across multiple platforms.

Pros: More popular with younger audiences, works better on mobile devices, and short visual content performs well.

Cons: Need to post often for the best results, and metrics can be confusing.

Twitter

Number of Monthly Users: 396 million

Demographics: Men and women, ages 18-49

Twitter has a smaller user base than many of the other platforms, but its users there are incredibly active. Practically every major brand has a presence on Twitter, so it’s probably a good idea for you to consider it. Twitter can be a powerful way to make direct connections with customers and referral sources.

Pros: Simple to engage with followers and influencers, easy to target content with “@” and “#,” and ads are more affordable than Facebook.

Cons: The platform is fast-paced and competitive, you have to post a lot, and any traffic you get might not be “quality.”

LinkedIn

Number of Monthly Users: 310 million

Demographics: Men and women, ages 25-64

If you market to other professionals, your business must be active on LinkedIn. This is the world’s largest online professional networking site that allows you to make lasting connections with customers and valuable referral sources. To use the platform effectively, you’ll need to create an engaging profile, work on building connections, and stay active in building relationships.

Pros: Excellent for networking, getting referral business, and promoting business-related content.

Cons: Not ideal for some eCommerce brands and has a smaller user base than some other platforms.

YouTube

Number of Monthly Users: 2.29 billion

Demographics: Men and women, ages 18-65 and older

After Google, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine. Music and comedy do great on YouTube but so do brands that post the right type of video content. Instructional videos, product reviews, and other educational-type videos do fantastic on YouTube and get massive exposure for the brands that produce and post them. If you have customers with questions (who doesn’t?), you should be posting content on this platform.

Pros: Videos can drive conversions, and video content is highly sought-after.

Cons: Videos can be challenging to produce and ranking your videos on YouTube can be tough.

Pinterest

Number of Monthly Users: 459 million

Demographics: Women, ages 18-64

If your target audience is primarily women, you might want to consider a presence on Pinterest. Sure, the platform is popular for posting cooking and home improvement items. But people also post travel, fashion, and various infographics.

Pros: Simple tools to boost views and traffic, and less expensive advertising than other platforms.

Cons: Not suitable for every type of business and requires a consistent posting schedule to stand out.

TikTok

Number of Monthly Users: 732 million

Demographics: Men and Women (boys and girls), ages 10-34

If your target audience is incredibly young, as in kids, then TikTok is worthy of your time and attention. The video-based app has had more than 2 billion downloads. Over 41% of users are between 16-24, and users spend an average of 52 minutes each day viewing content on the app.

Pros: The platform has the highest engagement rate of any social media site, and the user base in the U.S. has grown by nearly 6x in the past 18 months.

Cons: Not suitable for every business, and it can be challenging to compete with millions of other videos.

Get Help With Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Social media can help your business engage with customers and drive conversions. You can use it for promotional giveaways, advertising, and to find out what people are saying about your business.

Social media is an excellent way to develop your brand’s voice and increase your overall reach. It can also help you attract new customers and retain the ones you already have. But creating social profiles and social media management takes some know-how and a dedication of time and resources.

At Too Darn Loud Digital Marketing, we help clients build and promote their unique brand on the social channels that make the most sense and will provide the best results. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can help you get found and be heard.