Some of the best social media platforms for business, like Facebook and Instagram, have become essential tools in the modern marketing toolbox.
More and more consumers are using social media to find new companies and interact with their favorite brands. However, most businesses can’t be everywhere at the same time, especially small businesses with limited marketing budgets. This is why it is essential for companies to identify the right channels and focus energy only on them, avoiding their dispersion.
The key to social media marketing success will therefore be choosing the best (or best) social media platform for your business. A number of factors contribute to this choice, including the type of business, the audience you are trying to reach, your specific goals and much more.
Below, we’ve put together a quick and easy guide to choosing the best social media for business in the new year.
How to choose the best social media platforms for your business?
Before we start listing the best social media marketing platforms, it is important that you understand the criteria for choosing the best platforms for your business.
Here are the 3 main things you need to keep in mind.
Table of Contents
1. Choose the social media platforms your audience is on
To choose the best social media platforms for your business, you need to understand your customers. Specifically, you need to understand who they are and how they spend their time online .
Questions you should ask yourself:
– What social media platforms are they using?
– Why are they using those social media platforms?
– How do they prefer to receive information on products or services?
If you have no idea, we recommend that you map a customer’s avatar first.
A customer avatar, also called a buyer persona, is simply a description of the customer’s demographics, goals, preferences, challenges, and other psychological data .
The more you understand your customers, the better you can select the best social media platforms to reach and engage with.
2. Choose social media platforms specific to your type of content
There are two types of content: macro content and micro content.
Macro content is large-format, long-form content. The 3 different types of macro content consist of video, audio and written content.
Therefore, if you have macro content, the best social media platforms to post such content would be YouTube for video content, WordPress for long-form blog content, but also Facebook for social channels. We talked about Most profitable niches to make money from a blog in a previous article.
Micro-content, on the other hand, is short-form content that’s quick and easy to consult. Think of micro-content like images you find on your Instagram feed as you scroll, or short tweets on Twitter.
Now, there are different types of micro-content social media channel, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and so on.
So, to pick the best social media platforms for your business, you need to pick the ones where your audience is.
Also, when it comes to content, you need to keep in mind that Macro content has a much longer shelf life than Micro content.
3. Limit the number of social media platforms you choose to be on
Don’t spend too much energy trying to be on every single social media platform out there.
Each social media platform is like an art. You should master a social media platform or two before considering adding a third, or even a fourth
It is not necessary to be on all platforms in the world. Facebook has 2 billion users. Instagram has 1 billion users. If you can do just one of these platforms very well, you can get astronomical business results.
It takes a lot of work and money to develop a successful presence on these social media platforms. It’s not as simple as setting up a profile and hitting “publish” on a post.
No, in most cases, you will need to think about a budget to use to promote your content. Additionally, you will need to study and analyze the data to determine whether your content is effective or not.
So, in short, as a small business on a tight budget, put all your resources into 1 or 2 platforms to get started. You can always consider expanding into other channels thereafter.
These are the criteria you need to keep in mind when selecting the best social media platforms for your business.
Now, let’s look at some specific platforms to help you choose the best platforms for your business.
The best social media platforms for business
Platform no. 1: Facebook
Facebook is not the newest and most interesting social media platform. But despite everything it is still the largest social media platform in terms of users.
It has over 2 billion monthly active users and 3/4 of Facebook users visit the social network daily . Half of Facebook users visit the site several times a day.
And if you think teens don’t use Facebook, think again. Over half of teens use Facebook. And nearly half of people over 46 use Facebook!
A better question would be: who doesn’t use Facebook ?
This is a much more interesting and worthy counter-argument.
The best Facebook features for your business
In addition to providing you with the ability to connect with a large number of people from different backgrounds, there are some unique features Facebook can offer your business. What makes Facebook one of the best social media platforms for business is its advertising platform. With Facebook Ads, you can target those who are most likely willing and ready to purchase your products or services. This ensures that your business is presenting the content of your ads to the right users at the right time.
Another reason Facebook is one of the best social media platforms for business is its ecommerce integration . Facebook makes it easy for users to purchase from your company via the platform. Making a purchase is as easy as one click. Through Facebook Messenger, you can also provide shipping updates and other order notifications.
Here you can see how easy it is for users to shop on Facebook, save items they’re interested in, and go straight to the company’s website to make a final purchase.
Platform no. 2: Instagram
Instagram is another platform that you will hardly be able to give up.
Maybe it’s because it’s owned by Facebook , or maybe it’s because it also has another billion users.
To determine if Instagram might be one of the best social media platforms for your business, let’s take a look at the demographics.
If you’re targeting a younger demographic , Instagram will be perfect.
72% of all teens use Instagram and 67% of all young people under the age of 30 use Instagram.
You’ll also find around half of people under the age of 50 on Instagram and even a quarter of people between the ages of 50 and 65 on Instagram.
Due to the younger demographic of Instagram users , there are fewer college-educated and high-income users than Facebook.
For this reason, some professionals believe that while Instagram is indeed an exciting platform, you should often find yourself carrying out real “price battles” over products or services .
Basically, people are scrolling without thinking on Instagram and to be successful, you need to be very engaging in order to grab their attention.
Ultimately, Instagram is a great platform for reaching consumers in general , but it may not hold the most sophisticated audience for specific industries.
The best Instagram features for your business
Instagram can provide some powerful benefits for your business. One of the best benefits of Instagram is that it allows you to tell your brand’s story with unique and engaging visual content. Unlike other social media platforms, Instagram is heavily focused on images , both photos and videos. Regardless of the industry your business operates in, you can use Instagram to showcase your products and tell your brand story in a visually appealing way.
One cool feature that can be useful is Instagram Stories. With Instagram Stories, you can record live videos and share them with all your followers . With this feature, you can easily provide behind-the-scenes footage of your business and share important news and updates with your followers.
Like Facebook, Instagram also allows you to message users directly. This can be a great customer service tool. For example, if a consumer finds you on Instagram and has a question about your products or services , they no longer have to browse your website or pick up the phone to ask. Instead, they can message you via Instagram, which allows you to answer questions and address any concerns immediately . If that excites you, Instagram could be your best social media platform for business. For more strategies on how to How To Promote Your Business On Instagram follow this link.
Platform no. 3: LinkedIn
LinkedIn began as a work-based social media platform.
It is filled with professionals across a broad spectrum of industries, especially B2B companies.
LinkedIn currently boasts just over 300 million monthly active users.
So in terms of audience size, it’s 4 times smaller than Facebook and 2 times smaller than Instagram.
However, this fact is actually related to one of LinkedIn’s main strengths: the news feed.
Because the LinkedIn news feed isn’t as competitive as other giants, Facebook and Instagram, and businesses are able to reach more leads and followers without paying for advertising .
Because Facebook and Instagram news feeds are so crowded, they rely on specific algorithms and rules to determine whether or not they will show your content to your followers.
LinkedIn isn’t so stingy with its news feed. Not yet anyway. This gives companies and professionals the opportunity to build tremendous awareness and engagement on their platform.
As for LinkedIn’s demographics, here are some noteworthy things.
LinkedIn is primarily used by professionals between the ages of 30 and 49.
LinkedIn has a high-income audience.
Additionally, roughly half of people with college degrees use LinkedIn on a regular basis, possibly looking for their next job opportunity or trying to consume professional content.
The best features of Linkedin for your business
One of LinkedIn’s best qualities is that the audience on this social media platform is business-oriented . This means they are often open to networking opportunities and listen to ways to improve the way they work or simplify their jobs. This offers an excellent opportunity for B2B brands who would like to connect with business decision makers in different industries.
Another feature that makes LinkedIn one of the best social media platforms is digital advertising opportunities . While digital ads on LinkedIn may be more expensive than ads on Facebook, this advertising opportunity allows B2B brands to reach individuals in the specific industries they target. Likewise, LinkedIn allows you to deliver advertising content to those with job roles involved in making purchasing decisions related to a company’s B2B offering.
LinkedIn also has groups that users can join and participate in based on their industry, job function, or professional interests. This provides an excellent opportunity for brands to foster real engagement with influencers and decision makers across multiple industries.
Ultimately, if you serve businesses or professionals , then LinkedIn Marketing should definitely be in the running as a top contender for social media platforms to choose for your business.
Platform no. 5: Pinterest
Pinterest is a great social media platform with major search engine features.
Most people use Pinterest to find inspiration or useful content. For example, if you wanted to try a new cooking recipe, you could use Pinterest to find a food you’re interested in cooking.
While this is just one example, it’s really how most people use Pinterest. Pinterest is full of home decor, fashion, food, and most importantly, shopping.
Pinterest has over 322 million monthly active users.
And here’s a new stat we haven’t talked about on gender. Pinterest is mainly used by women . In fact, there are 3 times more women on Pinterest than men.
This shouldn’t worry you if your business fits. When it comes to purchasing decisions regarding fashion, furniture and so on, women are normally the predominant decision makers.
This is supported by Pinterest’s high-income profile. 41% of high-income people use Pinterest on a regular basis.
And 38% of people with college degrees also use Pinterest.
So, if your business primarily targets consumers, especially women, Pinterest is a hard platform to avoid.
The best Pinterest features for your business
One of the most important aspects of Pinterest is that it has significant reach among women across different demographics, including age, income, education level, and location.
This makes it the perfect platform for any brand with products or services aimed at women. The focus of the platform’s image also makes it ideal for brands in the fashion, home decor, art, food or fitness industries.
The button to purchase Pinterest makes it easier than ever to sell products directly from your Pinterest page. Users can now conveniently search and pin products on Pinterest, then, with the click of a button, they can add their favorite items to their shopping cart. This feature makes Pinterest another way for brands to gain exposure and increase sales.
Platform no. 6: YouTube
Last but not least, YouTube.
YouTube is arguably the best social media platform out there.
For one thing, over 1.9 billion people use YouTube on a regular basis. This puts YouTube above Instagram and almost face to face with Facebook in terms of usage.
But not only is YouTube widely used, it is also the second largest search engine after Google.
So not only do you have the ability to reach a large audience, but you are also able to reach the people who are looking for you .
If we add all this to the simple fact that video is consumers’ preferred type of media , YouTube becomes even more difficult to avoid.
About 2 billion people use YouTube
– You can reach people who are looking for your content
– Video is the preferred multimedia format today
– So what could be wrong with YouTube ?
Well, nothing is fundamentally wrong with that. But it takes a lot of work to get it to work.
Not only do you need content, but you need an entire video setup with camera, lighting, microphones, and video editing.
YouTube is very effective, but production can be quite expensive if you want to stand out.
Let’s see some YouTube stats.
In terms of age, people of all ages use YouTube. 85% of teenagers and even 38% of people over the age of 65 .
In terms of income, YouTube is widely used by high income people.
The same goes for education. 80% of graduates use YouTube.
So, in terms of YouTube’s benefits, it’s arguably the best social media platform for businesses . However, again, an astronomical amount of work is required to produce video.
The best features of You Tube for your business
Perhaps the biggest benefit of YouTube is that it allows brands to access an unlimited amount of video hosting . This makes it a cost-effective way for businesses to post video content that can increase engagement and influence conversions. YouTube content can also be easily integrated into your website or shared on other social media platforms for greater reach.
YouTube not only allows you to reach a large audience of viewers around the world, but it can also help you with search engine optimization (SEO) . The content you post on your brand’s YouTube channel is searchable on both YouTube and Google.
This means that Google may post your YouTube video content on its search engine results page for the keywords you are trying to target. Remember, it’s important to make sure your YouTube videos are search-optimized if you want to get the most out of this useful feature.
Platform no. 7: Twitter
Twitter allows users to send and receive 140-character messages on any topic. This restriction in the length of the tweet (i.e. the Twitter post) is both the strength and the weakness of this social network. In fact, on the one hand, it allows you to communicate quickly and directly; on the other hand, however, it is easy for your tweet to get lost in the background noise produced by the large flow of short phrases.
Twitter is not an easy to use tool if your purpose is to directly push your business; many companies, in fact, use it mostly to assert their brand – in which case it is very functional. However, this social network also lends itself to many uses: we talked about it in a previous article on Twitter for companies. Some also use it as a platform for complaints , although the 140 characters available require that the dialogue then continue by other means such as e-mail. Twitter also has a platform for paid promotion of content or products.
The best features of Twitter for your business
Drive sales through paid advertising
Firmly push brand awareness
First point of contact for customer service
Support customer loyalty
Platform no. 8: TikTok
Active user numbers to date: 800 million – In Italy there are 40% of generation Z
It is the social network of the moment: in the last year, TikTok has undergone a surge in membership that has amazed the whole world. A little YouTube for the attention to the videos – even if short -, a little Instagram for the immediacy of the contents and a little Facebook for having established itself as a simple platform to use: TikTok is the perfect mix for those who want to make your brand is more “familiar” and “everyday” . Put your imagination and creativity in motion and have fun creating sketches in which you present a new face of your business, the most human one, that “behind the scenes” that your customers do not expect!
The best features of TikTok for your business
Bringing the brand closer to new potential customers
Attract an audience of teenagers and young adults
Leverage the popularity of the channel to meet new sales opportunities
Share the sketches also on other social profiles (Facebook and Instagram) to create a well-rounded social media marketing strategy.
Platform no. 9: Twitch
The digital entertainment platform par excellence. Not just gamers then. The audience and the content offer is constantly growing. If it is not suitable for promoting your company, it will certainly allow you to analyze the trends and interests of your audience. For the creation of content the competition is fierce but it allows you to create the right atmosphere in the creation of your community. Its potential has not yet been fully explored.
Platform no. 10: Snapchat
Despite the bleeding of younger users who migrated to TikTok, it still remains a powerful platform with its 360 million users. The peculiarity of the platform means that the creation of content is continuous, as a consequence of this, your profile will always be attractive and will never bore your followers . But it is also an innovative reality for the development of augmented reality. Already now, barcodes and labels can be scanned with it to obtain information, but more and more scannable items are planned for next year.
