Social media marketing is the most affordable digital marketing strategy most businesses can invest in. You can freely post on any social media platform and drive sales to your business.
Despite different online marketing strategies available, most businesses invest in social media marketing because it is free. With millions to billions of active users, there is a chance that your business can be discovered.
As mobile devices become in demand, so does social media. More and more potential customers are using social media, that’s why companies find it best to create engaging content on these platforms.
But with plenty of social media platforms, it may be hard to choose which will best fit your business. It is good to remember that not all social media platforms should be utilized, especially when your business doesn’t need it.
Here is a list of the top social media platforms you can advertise or post your business content to gain more attention and boost sales.
But first, what are the benefits of social media?
Social media is a place to increase visibility. The more people recognize you online, the more it builds brand awareness for your business. As people engage with your content on social media, the more you can boost your business' reputation and exposure.
Believe it or not, social media has an indirect effect on search engine ranking. When you post on social media and people find your content interesting, they will like, comment, and share your post. In return, more traffic goes to your website as people discover your content. Hence, Google or other search engines push your website or content on top of the Search Engine Result Page (SERP).
People buy and engage with content and businesses that have a human side. Consumers don’t like receiving automated messages from an organization. Social media brings out the human aspect of a business. You can post behind-the-scenes or stories about your products and your company. In this way, people know that your business is something worth investing in.
In addition, people like receiving comments from their favorite brands. Social media is the best way to reach out and connect to your customers. You can engage by writing a comment, answering their queries, or thanking your customers for buying your product.
Unlike other platforms for marketing, social media is 100% free. You can post any content that you want without the need to pay anything. However, social media platforms also offer paid advertisements, which is cheaper than other paid platforms.
Aside from the traffic that enters your website, social media is a place where you get valuable insights into your business. Learning about your customers’ interests, ideas, opinions, and behavior can help create a campaign to drive more sales.
Most social media tools now come with analytics that you can easily retrieve and study to see the demographics of your consumer.
Social media marketing is one of many online marketing strategies that pay off when you know how to use it to your advantage.
So, let’s take a look at the best social media platforms that can help your business with your marketing strategy.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with over one billion monthly users and 500 million active daily users.
This platform comprises Gen Z and the Millennial population. If your products and services cater to such a population, Instagram is the place for your content.
There are various ways to promote on Instagram. In general, it is an image-based platform but expands to short videos, IGTV, and stories. You can add a caption and hashtags below your media content.
Furthermore, it allows you to link your Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and other social media platforms for quick sharing.
You can also advertise on Instagram. If you have a business account, you can easily promote your content, choose your demographics, and pay the amount. Your ads will run depending on your budget and the time specified.
Instagram is now owned by Facebook.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with more daily active users than other social channels. Every year, Facebook’s users increase up to 10%. Now, it has 2.60 billion monthly users.
Despite plenty of controversies running around the Facebook company and its CEO, it is the most lucrative social media platform. Unlike Instagram, almost every age is seen here. That’s why it became the top social media platform for most businesses.
It is a misconception that Facebook’s largest demographic group is ages 65+. In fact, ages between 25 and 35 are the most users of Facebook, with males being 56% and females 44%.
Similar to Instagram, you can share images, videos of any length, and other content. Furthermore, live streaming is popular and mostly encouraged on Facebook.
If you are beginning with social media marketing and have no idea what platform will work for your business, Facebook is the first platform to use. With its extensive user base and demographics, you are more likely to find the right audience for your brand.
The downside to using popular social accounts like Facebook is the competitive market. So, the best way to get recognition is by advertising. Facebook has one of the best platforms for advertising your business page. Like Instagram advertising, you set your target audience, how long your ad will run, and then pay for it.
But keep in mind that there are also other businesses that Facebook prohibits, which means you need to change platforms.
It is one of the oldest social media platforms that’s still active, like its competitors. Twitter has over 397 million followers.
This social media platform is known for real-time posting, live-tweeting, and limiting its characters to 280. That’s why when using Twitter, your team must be creative.
Most demographics of Twitter are ages 18 to 29.
Twitter is the best platform where users discover new things. With hashtags, they can easily find what they need and discover new accounts and businesses.
It’s the platform that most businesses use to build brand awareness, reach out to potential customers, and engage with their audience.
When it comes to trending topics, Twitter is on top of the list. If you want to gain recognition and your business can be in line with the current topic, you can use trending hashtags to be seen.
You can share images and videos on Twitter. Also, they are accepting ads on their platform.
Using the proper hashtag and playing along with trending topics can help businesses gain more audience.
TikTok is the youngest social media platform on this list but deserves to gain the attention of its older and popular competitors. In fact, TikTok’s users have surpassed Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat’s number of followers.
It was released in 2018 but gained more attention during the pandemic in 2020.
Most users of TikTok are Gen Z, which is the latest target of marketing agencies.
Despite being a great platform to reach out to a younger audience, TikTok still has a far way to go for advertising. The only effective way to advertise on TikTok is by influencer marketing.
Brands reach out to TikTok influencers to promote their product by creating a short video and adding music and effects.
Some brands with the most followers in TikTok are Red Bull (5.2 million), Nickelodeon (7 million), and NBA (10.6 million).
Is your target audience other businesses? Then look no further.
LinkedIn is a social media platform designed for people in the business world, professionals, and those whose consumers are other businesses.
This social media platform has over 722 million members. It may be behind other social media networks, but ahead of Twitter and Snapchat.
It’s a place where professionals network to find a job, hire someone, or collaborate with others.
Since it’s a social media network, professionals in this channel can post and share text, images, and video content. Most of the content on LinkedIn is about a specific industry, technology, and career opportunity.
Simply LinkedIn is a social media for businesses and professionals.
The advertising on LinkedIn is not as simple as other social media platforms. It has a bidding system when you start your campaign.
YouTube is the second-largest search engine. It is a platform that mainly posts videos, short or long. It has every niche and topic you want.
Video has taken over other forms of content. It generates more sales than text and image content combined. The simple reason is that consumers prefer watching videos as most retain 95% of the message.
96% of people who watch an explainer video understand a product and are more likely to purchase the item. Hence, it is more preferred than other content.
Seeing the demand for video content, marketers rush to include it in their campaigns. Creating video, although not easy, can still be worth a try for businesses. Also, video software companies have made their tools now beginner-friendly. Therefore, it’s not only made for professional editors anymore.
Adobe Premiere, Filmora, and Pinnacle editing tools are affordable and easy to learn. You can find other video marketing software for beginners online for you to start your video marketing campaign.
YouTube also has a text section, but it’s used by content creators to announce an upcoming video, post a poll, and gather ideas from their community.
With over one billion videos watched per day, marketing professionals and business owners can find this platform to share their content. Also, you can share your YouTube posting on other social media platforms.
If you haven’t known yet, Pinterest is still an active social media outlet. The platform has gained a hundred million users from last year, now has a total of 450 million active monthly users.
Most people go to Pinterest to “pin” images of different kinds, but mostly they use it as a platform to buy a product. Unlike in the past, you can share videos and purchase directly on Pinterest.
Business owners can post their products and link the item to their store. If someone is interested in the item, all they need to do is click on it. Furthermore, Pinterest made it easy for users to find what they want. You can use an image to search for the item you are interested in.
All you need to do is click on the search icon in the lower right corner. It will show images or products similar to the one in the image.
Most users of Pinterest are female. However, there is a growing number of male users.
Advertising on Pinterest is profitable. You spend less and gain more, with over 200 million people to reach on the platform.
Pinterest is a platform that can boost traffic and sales on nearly any business.
Other Platforms to Try:
Facebook Messenger
Tumblr
Snapchat
Medium
Quora
Social media is an online place to market your business and the products you offer. With millions to billions of monthly active users, you can gain more traffic and sales. Choosing the best platform doesn’t mean using one social media channel. It means making sure to utilize those that best fit your content.
That’s why it is vital to study your business’s website traffic and who your target audiences are. Combining these two can help you determine the platform that can suit your content. Also, you can reach out to more audiences who are more likely to be interested in your business.
