There is no doubt that social media is a powerful tool for businesses to reach customers, network with other businesses, and showcase their products and services. When it comes to effective social media marketing for your business, it’s important to choose the right networks to achieve the best results.
Which social platform best suits your business?
Different types of businesses have different needs when it comes to social media. One thing is for sure, social media will continue to be a popular marketing tactic due to its ability to effectively reach target audiences at scale.
Finding the right social media platform for your brand starts by studying your audience, understanding how your audience behaves, and identifying the pros and cons of every platform. Get a head start by knowing which platform your target audience uses.
Here, we’ll break down the major social networks, the pros and cons, and which platform is best for each type of business.
Which social platform best suits your business?
Facebook has been around since 2004 and continues to be one of the most popular social networks today with over 2.93 billion monthly active users. Despite going through a tough 2022, Facebook remains the most-used social platform worldwide. It’s a great platform to target a range of audience types, engage with customers, promote products and services, and share company updates. On Facebook, businesses can create Groups, which are a great way to build relationships with customers and create a sense of community.
Additionally, businesses can use the Facebook shop feature to create storefronts, promote products for sale, link or “tag” products in posts, and give customers a streamlined ordering experience. Business pages can also post Stories, which are engaging, short videos or images that are featured at the top of the newsfeed, similar to Instagram Stories, which expire within 24 hours.
Pros:
- Custom Facebook profile graphics
- Long “About” and “Information” sections allow greater detail
- Variety of content types (photos, videos, carousel, etc.)
- The storefront offers a new marketplace to sell products
Cons:
- Difficult to break into consumer newsfeeds without paid advertising, due to algorithms
- Meta Business Manager can be complex and difficult to use
Best suits:
- Content creators
- eCommerce businesses
- Small and medium-sized businesses
- Large enterprises
Most Flexible Visual Platform: Instagram
If you’re looking to engage with a younger audience, Instagram is a great choice. Instagram, which started as a photo-sharing social network, is great for businesses that rely heavily on visuals, such as fashion and beauty, food, and travel. With more than 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram has been ranked as the 4th most popular social network based on monthly active users. It is the perfect platform to showcase products and services in an engaging way, as well as connect with customers and followers. Additionally, businesses can take advantage of Instagram’s “Stories” feature to share more timely updates.
Through stories, brands can create polls, and quizzes, go live or even react to the Stories to provide fast engagement with their audiences. With the Highlights feature on Instagram, your Stories can stay on your profile for more than 24 hours, which is ideal for FAQs, sharing the order process, showcasing behind-the-scenes content, and more. With hashtags, users can easily discover new posts and show the same content through their Explore section.
Pros:
- Variety of visual content types (photos, videos, carousel, etc.)
- Hashtags increase post visibility as they are searchable
- Storefront (powered through Facebook/Meta) offers a new marketplace to sell products
Cons:
- Mobile-only platform is not suitable for desktop use, making it difficult for those who are accustomed to using computers to manage their social media accounts
- Business profile details are very short and require a secondary site or link in bio for more details
- Difficult to break into consumer newsfeeds without paid advertising, due to algorithms
- Meta Business Manager can be complex and difficult to use
Best suits:
- Influencers and content creators (e.g., travel, lifestyle)
- Female-oriented brands and businesses
- Small and medium-sized businesses
- Large corporations
For businesses that want to reach a professional audience, LinkedIn is the way to go. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that is best for B2B businesses. It’s a great platform to showcase your business, network with other companies, and find potential customers. Additionally, LinkedIn Groups are a great way to connect with other professionals in your industry.
Companies can create their pages, make product and service announcements, post job openings, and highlight longer-form content like blogs. For some industry thought leaders, this is an excellent place to start building your authority and connecting with like-minded people in the industry.
Best for B2B Businesses: LinkedIn
Pros:
- Variety of visual content types (photos, videos, carousel, etc.)
- Hashtags increase post visibility as they are searchable
- Storefront (powered through Facebook/Meta) offers a new marketplace to sell products
Cons:
- Mobile-only platform is not suitable for desktop use, making it difficult for those who are accustomed to using computers to manage their social media accounts
- Business profile details are very short and require a secondary site or link in bio for more details
- Difficult to break into consumer newsfeeds without paid advertising, due to algorithms
- Meta Business Manager can be complex and difficult to use
Best suits:
- Influencers and content creators (e.g., travel, lifestyle)
- Female-oriented brands and businesses
- Small and medium-sized businesses
- Large corporations
Most Entertaining Platform: TikTok
TikTok is a rapidly-growing social media platform that is best suited for businesses targeting younger audiences. With more than 1.53 billion monthly active users, TikTok is used by 30.25% of the world’s internet users. It’s a great way to showcase your products and service, entertain your audience, and engage with customers in fun and creative ways.
TikTok was originally deployed in China as Douyin (Chinese: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn), a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Today, it powers billions of user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
Video is the most-favored content type, now reaching 97% of internet users worldwide. Through the use of 15-second videos, users can bring comedic value, product reviews, recipes, and other informational content to the masses. It’s a great way to increase brand visibility and recognition.
Pros:
- Ideal for creating authentic content and showing the personality behind your brand
- Great for reaching younger audiences
- Easily increase brand visibility and recognition
- Content can be shared with other platforms
Cons:
- TikTok is mostly used by teenagers and young adults, so reaching other age groups can be difficult
- Advertising options are limited, and the cost of running ads can be prohibitive for small businesses
- It can take time to accurately measure the return on investment of a TikTok campaign.
- If you focus too much on TikTok, you may neglect other social media platforms that could provide more value to your business
Best suits:
- Content creators
- Small and medium-sized businesses
- Tech companies
Youngest Audience Reach: Snapchat
557 million people used Snapchat on a monthly basis as of January of 2022. Snapchat is an excellent platform for businesses that want to reach a younger audience and is a great way to engage with customers in a fun and interactive way. Through its geotagging filter, local businesses can expand their reach and become easily discoverable across Snapchat. Posting snaps or quick stories enables businesses to share timely updates and behind-the-scenes content. These snaps expire within 24 hours upon posting, similar to the way Facebook and Instagram stories work.
- Snapchat is particularly popular among millennials and Generation Z, enabling businesses to reach these younger age groups
- Geofilters help your brand to be easily discovered
- Snapchat Ads are often cheaper than other forms of advertising
- Snapchat’s ephemeral nature encourages users to interact with content in real time, helping businesses to boost engagement
Cons:
- Limited user engagement is available because the platform is limited to text, photo, and video messaging, and does not allow audio or other features
- Lack of comprehensive analytics tools
- Limited targeting options
- Difficulty in reaching older audiences
- No resharing
Best suits:
- Media companies, bloggers and authors
- Fashion brands and female-oriented businesses
- Tech companies
- Small and medium-sized businesses
Fastest Pace: Twitter
Twitter, which has approximately 450 million monthly active users as of 2022, is another great option for businesses that want to stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends. You can post short updates, respond to customers, and get involved in conversations related to your business. Brands can share information and details about their products and services within the 280-character limit, four images, a video, or even GIFs.
Twitter is also a wonderful platform to provide customer service and stay up-to-date with industry news. Additionally, businesses can take advantage of Twitter’s “Trends” feature to see what topics are popular and join in on the conversation.
Creators and brands use Twitter to create threads that share vital information with their customers. Threads are formed by replying to a tweet, providing a consecutive flow of information. Browsing through Trends on Twitter will give you information about current updates by following topics, specific hashtags, and other accounts.
Users can quickly join in the conversation by replying to a thread, retweeting, or liking a post.
- Twitter offers a wide range of audience demographics
- Trending topics help businesses stay in the know with topics that matter most to their audiences
- Hashtags allow businesses to appear in search results for specific topics
- Cost-effective advertising platform with multiple types of ad campaigns
- No need to use link shorteners
Cons:
- Occasional issues receiving a blue check verification
- Twitter has a post limit of 280 characters, which can be restrictive for businesses looking to communicate a more detailed message
- It can be difficult for businesses to stand out among the millions of other tweets that are posted each day without advertising
- With Twitter’s fast-paced nature, businesses must be prepared to post regularly and respond quickly to comments or messages
Best suits:
- Small and medium-sized businesses
- Large corporations
- Content creators
- Artists
- Thought leaders
Key Takeaways for Managing Your Social Presence Online
Ultimately, the best social networks for your business will depend on your target audience and the type of content you want to share. Hopefully, this guide has helped you determine which networks are best suited for your business.
If you’re still stuck or need assistance creating content, AffinityX offers social media marketing services with custom content creation that will save you time and improve your brand presence online. Get started today!
