Social media has grown exponentially in the last few years. With that growth has come more platforms. It is no secret that Facebook is the top social media platform for driving website traffic, or that Instagram is the fasted growing social media platform with 300 million active monthly users. But do you know which platforms are right for your brand, and which are okay to kick to the curb?
When initially joining the world of social media, it is enticing to jump in headfirst. Before doing so, be sure to evaluate each platform for their strengths in order to determine which will work best for you. Is your business trying to market a product? Maybe you’re a news outlet. Or perhaps your business is heavy on customer service and relations. Depending on your intentions, there is a specific platform that might work best for you.
Which businesses should be on Facebook?
All of them! Facebook is the only universal social media platform that all businesses, no matter what type, should be on. Facebook drives sales and allows you to microtarget your customers with the click of just a few buttons. With the ability to customize your audience and target users, any brand in any industry, from national companies to small business owners, can benefit from utilizing Facebook.
Facebook Fun Fact:
Facebook serves as one of the best platforms for engaging and maintaining relationships with fans and customers. Consumers actually prefer to connect with brands on Facebook over other social networking sites.
Which businesses should be on Twitter?
SaaS, marketing, and news organizations tend to benefit the most from using Twitter. The reasoning is simple. Twitter is the platform that most relevant for in-the-moment developments. If your company reports on events happening in real time, you need to be on Twitter. Media brands have the highest engagement rate over any other industry using the platform.
Twitter Fun Fact:
Something as simple as using a photo in your tweet increases engagement. Tweets with images receive 89% more favorites than text-only tweets, and a 150% increase in retweets (via Buffer).
Which businesses should be on Instagram?
As long as your target audience actively uses the app, there is no reason your brand shouldn’t be on Instagram. While the amount of Instagram users is still smaller than the number on other platforms like Facebook, active users are far more likely to engage and share your brand’s content.
Instagram Fun Fact:
The best way to generate content and user engagement is through user generated content (UGC). UGC receives higher engagement than content generated by businesses. Try an Instagram photo contest to get your fans talking and create a huge catalog of images to use later on.
Which businesses should be on Pinterest?
Image friendly businesses in fashion, photography, jewelry, and home products will see the greatest benefit from joining the female-dominated, image-dominated platform. 70% of Pinterest users use the platform to get inspiration on what to buy and DIY. Pinterest reports the best ROI for businesses that fit the platform demographic base.
Pinterest Fun Fact:
Did you know that a pin is actually worth more than any other social endorsement, such as a share, retweet, or like? Because of the endless scroll feature of the Pinterest search, a pin will remain influential for a longer period of time, as it continues to come up every time users scroll down the page.
