Different Social Media Platforms & Which to Use
There are many different social media platforms out there, each with their own purpose. For those who are new to social media, it can be overwhelming to understand the differences between the different platforms and choose which is best for you or your business. Even if you are not new to social media, it is worthwhile understanding the different platforms and being selective with which ones you use.
8 Popular Social Media Platforms
Overview:
Facebook boasts the highest amount of active users from all social media platforms. It is mostly used to build relationships and keep contact with friends and family. It is useful for small businesses with a physical location as you can start a Facebook page, with details about your location, business hours and post updates. The integrated Messenger app allows clients to contact you directly and quickly. People can also leave reviews on your page. You can post images, videos, go live as well as post temporary stories. Since Facebook is now under Meta, you can also use Meta Business Suite to schedule posts and stories. Overall, a Facebook page works similar to a website and is useful for keeping in touch with existing connections. However, because there are so many users worldwide, it can be hard to reach new customers digitally.
Pros: Building relationships, building brand loyalty
Cons: Limited reach
Audience: Mostly adults, especially 40+
YouTube
Overview:
Youtube is hands down the most popular video platform existing. Considering videos are ranked as the most engaging form of content, it really is no suprise. The fact users don’t need an account to stream videos is one of its best marketing features, as it has led for it to become the second most popular search engine after its parent company Google. Think of how many times you’ve searched ‘how to…’ on Youtube. Since the launch of its rival Tiktok, Youtube created ‘Shorts,’ which allow users to post short, portrait videos too.
The downside of Youtube is that it requires more resources than other platforms, such as the need of a video camera and editing software. However, if you have the ability to make videos or the budget to pay for them to be made for you, it is worthwhile creating a Youtube Channel.
Pros: Brand awareness, lead generation, good for showcasing
Cons: Video-specific, resource intensive, production time
Audience: 15-35 years old
Overview:
Instagram used to be a picture-based social media platform, but is now a picture and video-based platform. Similar to Youtube, the surge in Tiktok users in the past couple of years led to Instagram releasing ‘reels’. Reels are a short, portrait style video form. Users can also engage with their audience through live video, and temporary stories. Since both Facebook and Instagram are now under Meta, you can connect your accounts to post onto both platforms at the same time.
Instagram is highly visual, making it great for visual businesses and creators. Examples being: artists, photographers, food bloggers and fashion influencers. However, this means companies which are non-visual eg. plumbing services, may find it difficult to be consistent on the platform.
Pros: Lead generation, can post different types of content, good for creatives
Cons: Harder for non-visual brands, production time
Audience: Under 40 years olds, visual fields
TikTok
Overview:
Tiktok launched in 2016 so it is a relatively ‘new’ platform compared to the others on this list. Yet, it has already surpassed other platforms like Pinterest and Twitter. Tiktok is a short-form video content platform in which users can post videos up to 3 minutes long. More recently, they introduced a new feature allowing users to post a series of images to play as a slideshow. Other features include: live videos and Tiktok Shop. Businesses can sell their products directly through Tiktok, and Creators can link products into their videos, making Tiktok popular for influencer marketing. The Tiktok Creator Fund also means Creators can earn money through their posts and live video gifts.
Tiktok is unique in the sense it makes virality easier than any of the other social media platforms. It is known to have changed businesses and individual’s lives overnight. It is especially useful for promoting music as every video usually contains music in the background. Like Instagram, it is a very visual platform so those in creative industries usually flourish on Tiktok. The app also has a younger audience, with the majority of users being ages 18-24.
Pros: Building brand loyalty, building a strong community, easy to go viral, good for creatives
Cons: Video-specific, production time
Audience: Under 35 year olds, especially 18-24.
Overview:
LinkedIn is a professional networking site which has become a resource for job opportunities, networking, career development, recruitment, B2B lead generation, and even learning with LinkedIn Learning. It is best for those looking to connect with other businesses, get leads or develop your career. Profiles on this platform appear like CVs in which you can showcase your experience, education and skillset. As it is more professional than other platforms, users have to be careful with what they post and keep everything they do on the app strictly work-related. It is also possible to have work-related private messages on this social media platform.
Pros: Good for B2B relationships,
Cons: Insights are not free, corporate feel
Audience: Business-owners, professionals, networkers
Overview:
With over 400 million users, Pinterest works as a visual search engine in which users can search any topic and find images and resources about it. It is great resource for finding recipes, quotes, d-i-y tutorials, art, photography and anything inspirational. Users can save posts they like or wish to refer back to. They can also create mood-boards to collate ideas or similar visuals or topics. Each post, or ‘pin’, can be linked to re-direct viewers to your website, blog or social media pages.
Pros: Way to market your blog or other social media, build an engaging audience
Cons: Completely visual
Audience: Predominantly adult women
Overview:
Twitter is often used by news outlets to find stories and trending topics. Users use hashtags, which organise tweets and trending topics. Tweets with high engagement become popular and show as the top of newsfeeds. It is a text-based platform, in which discussions, or ‘threads’, take place. Pictures and videos can also be posted though, and users can also go live or speak together in closer setting in Twitter Spaces. It is a popular platform for journalists, podcasters, politicians, celebrities and companies, and has well over 300 million users.
Pros: High engagement rate is rewarded
Cons: Text-based, negative criticism is more visible, time-sensitive
Audience: Mostly 35-65
Which platforms should you pick?
Each social media platform has different pros and cons, and being on every single platform will not necessarily help your business. Rather, it is best to look at your target audience, consider which platforms they use. Then consider the type of business you have and what types of content you could create and share. This combined should determine your choices.
An example:
You are wedding dress boutique who want more customers and brand awareness. Your audience is predominantly adult women over 20. You have many pictures of dresses and you have a smartphone but don’t currently have the resources to make professional videos. So, you can decide to use Pinterest to post images of your dresses, to target your audience of adult women, linking the images to your website to generate website traffic and more sales. You can choose not to post on Youtube because you don’t yet have the resources, but you can use your smartphone to film short videos. These short videos as well as your pictures can be posted onto Instagram. This Instagram account can be connected a Facebook page to which you also post the same pictures and have details about your boutique for existing and new customers.
As you can see though this example, you can choose the best platforms for you according to your business and situation. It is better to be consistent and active on a few select social media platforms than attempt to post on all. As your company grows, you can expand to other platforms as needed. Some platforms eg. LinkedIn or Twitter may not be needed for your business, so you can focus your time on more relevant platforms.
If you are looking to expand your business, or free more time, you can pay a social media management service to do the hard work for you. Email us: contact@mediachameleon.co.uk if you want to learn more about how we can help manage your social media for you.
