Over the last few years, social media has taken the world by storm. With over 3.7 billion users across different platforms, there’s no wonder businesses are trying to grasp marketing for their business across social media platforms.
Knowing where to start posting content can be hard as there are so many different platforms available that can attract different audiences. This is why we have created a list of the best social media platforms you can join that will boost your business to the next level.
The biggest social media platform of all is Facebook. Founded in 2004 by the CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has grown immensely over the past 17 years. Go Banking Rates evaluated Facebook’s net worth as of February 2021 at 279.95 billion dollars which is obviously an insane amount of money.
Facebook has an average of1.88 billion daily users and 2.85 monthly users, so there’s no wonder it’s the best platform to market on as it’s by far the most used.
With so many daily users, Facebook is easily one of the most successful platforms to help establish your target audience, get new customers and build an email list.
A great way to use Facebook to benefit your company is by using Facebook ads. Paying for ads on Facebook allows you to potentially reach the 1.88 billion daily users so it is definitely worth the investment.
Another great aspect of using Facebook is that once you have established your target audience you can contact them through the app. Your audience can leave reviews on the app as well as share your page so it’s great for gaining engagement.
In 2010 Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and it was a huge success. Within just 2 months of the platform being launched, it had over 1 million users. In 2012 Facebook bought Instagram for 1 billion us dollars, making Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, have power over the biggest social media platforms in the world.
Essentially Instagram is an app whereby people post pictures and gain followers. It’s a great way to grow a business because with over 1 billion users every day, it’s what the lead generation use therefore it’s perfect for promoting a business.
Instagram has adapted over the years, starting off as just simply posting pictures, following people and direct messaging them. They now have features like Instagram live whereby you can go live to all of your followers or Instagram stories whereby you post something for 24 hours then it leaves your page. Also if you gain 10,000 followers you can add a swipe up link to your stories whereby followers can swipe up and be directed to a website of your choice.
As the lead generation use Instagram, it’s the most effective way to reach the generation. According to a study, 90% of Instagram users are under the age of 35. With 2.7 billion monthly users, that is A LOT of people. This is why it is the place to be if you are trying to reach the younger generation with your business as it is the app the majority use to engage online.
Another great reason to start an Instagram account for your business is that because it is now owned by Facebook, they support Facebook ads. This means that like Facebook, you can also pay on Instagram to advertise your business, allowing you to reach more people. Instagram also set up a “checkout” system whereby you can directly purchase products from the app, making it a great way to sell products.
The final reason Instagram is a great platform for businesses is because of influencers. Influencers are men/women on Instagram that have gained a large following and therefore when they post it reaches thousands and sometimes millions of people. Companies can approach influencers and pay them to promote a product on their page. This then allows the company to have a large number of people to discover their brand and hopefully engage with the brand.
Created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams in 2006, Twitter is a “microblogging” system that allows you to send and receive short posts called tweets. It has roughly 350 million monthly users.
Twitter is a great way to use your “voice” for your business. Journalists, celebrities, businesses and even presidents use Twitter to share news, stories, humour or just updates about their life/business. It is the first platform, in terms of social media, that people use to find out the latest trending news.
Twitter is known for making things go viral as a lot of the content posted to Twitter will be re-shared and posted on Instagram. It is a great way to build brand awareness and connect with other customers/clients or even influencers.
Twitter is perfect for businesses as it allows them to post any company news/updates in a quick and efficient manner. People can also re-tweet which essentially means they are re-sharing what you have posted, this is great for businesses as it allows you to reach more people, creating a higher engagement.
In 2002 Reid Hoffman alongside members of the founding teams from PayPal and Socialnet.com founded Linkedin.
Linkedin is a social media platform used for professional networking. This platform is absolutely perfect if you are looking to find other professionals/business people to network with.
On Linked In you not only can make connections with other professionals but you can also state if you are actively looking for employment or if you are hiring. This is great as the platform is full of people that are career-driven therefore it’s a perfect way to find people in your field.
With 250 million active monthly users, it’s no surprise that many professionals use the app to network with other professionals. If you are a company predominantly marketing towards customers then this platform potentially isn’t for you as it is very much B2B based rather than B2C.
That being said, if you are looking to widen your business associates, promote your business to other professionals or recruit/find work then LinkedIn is the platform to be on.
Created in 2010, Pinterest is a visual discovery engine used for finding ideas that the users have posted. With 478 million monthly users, the app has become increasingly popular for not only business owners but for people who are either looking for inspiration or how to learn something.
A great feature of Pinterest is the ability to create ads for a low cost. And as there are so many users, the ads reach a large audience and therefore makes it very easy to make a profit from investing in ads.
A great reason business owners use Pinterest is to share things that people can learn from, for example, a cakeshop owner may post a recipe to Pinterest. After posting the recipe people can choose to follow them so they get updated every time a new recipe is posted as well as being able to visit the cake makers website as you can link them to your posts. This is then driving more traffic to the business owner, making it a higher chance for them to find consumers.
Now you are aware of the five best social media platforms for your business. If you haven’t already, get your business on each of these platforms as it can be highly beneficial in the long run. By using various social media platforms to promote your business you will have a higher chance of engagement ultimately resulting in a higher chance of making profits. So what are you waiting for? Create an account for your business today!
For further insights and guidance, we invite you to explore our blog at 07hm.co.uk/blog. Here, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to the needs and challenges of SMEs navigating the digital landscape. Additionally, if you have specific questions or need personalised advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at info@07hm.co.uk or telephone on 01702 410663.
