In this day and age, it is almost impossible for a business to be successful without any kind of social media presence. But there are so many social media sites; it can be difficult to know which would be best for your business. This is the criteria we created when we were deciding which social media sites we wanted to focus on.
Which Social Media Types Are Best For What?
While each social media platform attracts a range of demographics, certain demographics have higher numbers on one platform rather than the other. The media type and algorithms of each social media platform can also lead to one type of social media being more beneficial for your business too. Here are some insights into the most popular social media platforms.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform and attracts a wide demographic. Teenagers are still making Facebook pages, and their parents and grandparents are likely to be on Facebook too.
Monthly Active Users: 2.7 billion
Content Type: Allows a wide range of content, including pictures, posts, videos, stories, etc.
Business-Friendly Features: Facebook groups to create a community amongst your fans and Facebook Marketplace to offer an additional sales platform.
LinkedIn is a professional social network used to look for jobs, job candidates, and improve your industry standing. It is great for B2B companies and freelancers.
Monthly Active Users: 350 million
Content Type: Allows a wide range of content, including slide decks, documents, pictures, posts, videos, stories, etc.
Business-Friendly Features: LinkedIn live allows you to share live videos which get large viewerships. Target audience settings allow you to target certain demographics for your posts.
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform where people and businesses can share short thoughts and interesting content. Twitter is especially popular with millennials but sees a large range of demographics. The popularity of hashtags means it is still fairly easy to build a following organically on Twitter where it may be a little more difficult on other social media platforms.
Monthly Active Users: 353 million
Content Type: Twitter only allows tweets, but you can share content within the tweets, like videos, photos, gifs, etc.
Business-Friendly Features: Twitter offers a range of different promotion options for businesses to help them achieve their goals. You can promote your tweet, video, or even just your account.
Instagram is one of the most popular platforms for small businesses and service-based industries. It is a visually-focused platform that has recently announced that it is shifting to prioritise videos over images.
Monthly Active Users: 1.16 billion
Content Type: Images, videos, stories, and lives.
Business-Friendly Features: Instagram has recently added a range of “stickers” that allow brands to engage with followers in stories. It has also recently included links in stories and a shop feature.
TikTok
TikTok is the new kid on the block, and it became a popular social media platform during the pandemic. It offers great organic growth potential as it defaults to the “For You” page, where new and trending content is recommended.
Monthly Active Users: 689 million
Content Type: Short videos and lives
Business-Friendly Features: There are no special business features that TikTok offers. It allows for a range of different promotion options, and brands have been creative in starting challenges or using content marketing to increase brand awareness.
Reddit is the slightly jaded sibling of Tumblr. It allows the community experience and sharing of interesting content and personal stories of the internet circa 2010. It attracts a wide range of demographics looking to engage with people with similar interests, entertainment, and in some cases, to learn.
Monthly Active Users: 430 million
Content Type: Written posts, videos, images, memes, lives, etc.
Business-Friendly Features: While Reddit allows advertising, it is a community-based social media platform. Many of the communities have strict no soliciting or self-promotion rules, but brands can engage with followers, add value, or even create their own communities.
How Many Social Media Platforms Should I Be On?
That depends on your size and how much time you have. We recommend focusing on one social media platform; you can always increase that number as you grow. If you hire a full-time or freelance social media manager, you can always ask them to grow you on two or more channels if you see fit.
How to Pick the Best Social Media Platform For Your Business
There are a number of considerations when deciding which social media platform will give you the best results. Firstly, you need to work out where your ideal clients hang out. Instagram and TikTok are popular with B2C companies for this reason. Customers are consuming interesting or valuable content in their downtime and will pay attention to businesses that regularly offer valuable information or interesting content.
Secondly, you need to look at a social media platform that lets you produce content that works best for your business. Some products or services may be best demonstrated by videos, some by sharing posts or pictures. Find a social media platform that is optimised to give the type of content you pick the best reach. You may not want to make videos; you may want to share posts or slides, then LinkedIn may be a better fit than video-focused Instagram and TikTok.
Thirdly, you need to consider your marketing and branding strategies and how each social media platform will allow you to achieve your goals. Look at the tools they provide for business and how you can use the algorithms and priorities of those platforms to your advantage.