There are numerous social media platforms available to marketers today, and which ones you use can significantly impact your social media marketing success. Your industry, audience, and brand can all have an impact on the network you utilise.
In the previous years, there has been a lot of movement on the biggest social media platforms. Although Facebook remains the largest social media platform, TikTok has experienced the greatest growth of any social media network. Since its origin only five years ago, the video-based platform has risen to fifth place in monthly active users (MAU).
Meanwhile, Instagram has had rapid growth and now ranks fourth in monthly active users (MAU). This means that the number of social media platforms available to brands seeking to reach an audience is expanding and shifting. Also, keep an eye on where your demographic is likely to move.
Facebook used to be the go-to platform for all advertising, but an older user base now favours it. Instagram has attracted Generation Z and Millenials, and TikTok is on the rise.
How do you plan to dedicate your effort (and potentially your advertising dollars) with that in mind?
The best plan of action here is to discover and learn which media are appropriate for your target demographic. Then, test your presence on the appropriate social media sites, and based on the results, decide which ones to focus on more smartly.
So you’ve decided to take the smart leap and invest in business social media sites – excellent decision!
SMM is one of the most affordable kinds of marketing today, and the ROI it provides to the business sector is increasing by the day.
So it’s about time you took use of it!
The major question now is which social networking site to invest in.
Or do you put your money into all of them? Which company will social networking networks deliver the most ROI at the lowest cost?
Before we go into the top social media sites for business, let’s discuss social media in general.
The World Of Social Media & It’s Advantages For Your Business
Over half of the world population has two or more social media profiles, with 81% having at least one.
So, regardless of which social media platforms you choose to invest in, you stand a good possibility of contacting clients you would not have reached otherwise!
Furthermore, consumers are not just using social media, but they are explicitly using social media to make shopping decisions!
For example, Facebook has been used by 70% of business-to-consumer marketers to attract clients.
Pinterest is used by 93% of users to plan or make purchases.
In addition, more than 83% of Instagram users have used the platform to make online purchases.
People not only buy from businesses on social media, but they also spend 20-40% more money on firms that use social media!
And, as if that wasn’t enough…
71% of consumers who have had a favourable social media encounter with a brand tend to recommend it to their friends and family.
As a result, your consumer base will increase even more!
What Is Social Media’s Role in Business?
Social media platforms are excellent resources for reaching a larger audience.
You can do the following by successfully utilising these platforms:
- boost your company’s visibility,
- advertise your products or services,
- attract new leads,
- and drive revenue
Tailored/customised content and adhering to best practices enable firms to sell their services as efficiently as possible.
What Is the Most Effective Business Social Media Platform?
These figures, among others, demonstrate that there is money to be gained in the social media realm—but which one is best for your business?
This is a difficult question to answer because there is no single correct answer.
The optimal social media platform for a business will differ depending on the following factors:
- products or services offered,
- target demographics,
- and platform versatility
Each social media platform, like each business, is tailored to certain functions, content, and user groups.
That is why we will discuss the top ten corporate social networking platforms.
As a result, we can assist business owners like you determine which platform will be the most beneficial.
Top 10 Social Media Platforms to Boost Business Growth
- Facebook Messenger
- Snapchat
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Yelp
1. Facebook
There is no surprise that Facebook is ranked first on our list of the top ten business social networking platforms.
Facebook is the most renowned social platform, with 2.41 billion daily active users.
Whether your business’s objective is to increase brand exposure, website traffic, lead generation, or online conversions, we can help.
When used correctly, Facebook should (and most likely will) make a significant impact in achieving your goals.
It has such a huge user base, and the demography of people is the main reason it is at the top of our list.
Almost anyone can use this platform to discover and reach their target audience.
“Okay, so my target audience do have, but how can I make sure they see my company page?” you may be thinking.
The solution is Facebook advertising (along with a lot of amazing content!).
By far the most sophisticated of all social media networks is Facebook’s advertising platform.
Yes, it even outperforms Twitter and other channels that have been available for much longer!).
You may target people on Facebook based on their age, gender, employment, interests, purchase habits, relationship status, and so much more!
2. FB Messenger
FB Messenger is a part of Facebook. Therefore, you must download the Facebook Messenger programme independently from Facebook to utilise it.
It has a few extra capabilities in addition to the ones described above for Facebook!
As a result, Facebook Messenger ranks second on our list of business social media platforms.
FB Messenger is an app that allows Facebook users to communicate with one another via direct messages.
And, fortunately for you, this functionality is also available on business pages!
Because Facebook Messenger is a component of Facebook, it has access to the same big user base and advertising platform as Facebook.
You should take advantage of this!
Facebook has created advertising campaigns, particularly for Facebook Messenger.
When individuals click on an ad you created, it will prompt them to begin a chat/Message with your business page.
Assuming they do, if your business strategy is built on lead generation rather than eCommerce or more rapid online transactions, your business page can interact with them in the future. Then this may be a fantastic option for your business!
You can create and set up automatic messages for your business page in addition to employing Facebook Messenger advertising.
And if they are doing that, your business page can communicate with them in the future. And if your business model is based on lead generation rather than eCommerce or more instant internet conversions.
Then this may be a fantastic choice for your business growth!
Apart from using Facebook Messenger advertising, you can set up automated messages for your company page.
If someone sends an organic message to your Facebook business page, Facebook Messenger will send you an automatic message.
This is one that you created.
These automated messages frequently state something as simple as, “Thank you for contacting us!”
3. Instagram
Instagram is third on our list of social media sites for business, after only Facebook.
Instagram, which boasts 500 million daily active users, is owned by the same guy who owns Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, saw enormous potential in the platform.
And the benefits of Instagram are that he bought it out for $1 billion just 18 months after it began, and the site has continued to develop since then.
Facebook owns Instagram. Therefore it has access to the same large user base and advertising platform as the Facebook Messenger app.
So, while Instagram has the same sponsored benefits as Facebook, it also has its own set of organic benefits.
When we say “organic,” we mean functions or results that you can get without explicitly paying for them with advertising dollars.
To build your Facebook followers and increase the reach of your page and posts, you must spend for advertising campaigns.
On Instagram, you may build your followers organically, which will increase the reach of your profile and posts!
As a result, Instagram is an excellent choice for both businesses with and without an advertising budget.
Instagram is also a visual platform because you can only share photographs and videos (instead of posting copy without a visual creative).
This works great as a business because people recall 80% of what they see rather than what they read or hear!
4. Pinterest
If your business belongs to the creative industry of any kind or primarily caters to women, Pinterest is a social media platform you should be on.
Pinterest has 291 million active monthly users.
81% of those users are women, and 93% of active pinners claimed they use Pinterest to plan purchases.
And 87% have purchased anything as a result of Pinterest.
The most popular Pinterest searches are food recipes, lifestyle how-to articles, wedding inspiration, and wardrobe ideas.
So, if your company is in any of those areas, you should be using Pinterest as one of your business social networking sites.
Although Pinterest’s advertising platform isn’t as sophisticated as Facebook’s, you may still utilise sponsored ads to increase the reach of your postings.
Additionally, track online conversions with your Pinterest adverts.
Pinterest also offers several inherent possibilities that other social platforms do not.
The total number of keywords used in a post and whether they match what a user has searched for on Pinterest determine the organic reach of a Pinterest post.
This allows businesses to proactively arrange their content to include words that are frequently searched on Pinterest.
And that is without the need for additional advertising funds!
5. Snapchat
Snapchat is messaging software that allows users to send Snapchats (photos or videos) to other users or their Snapchat Story.
You can only view a Snapchat message sent to another user once.
Users can view Snapchat on a Story (such as your business’s Story) for up to 24 hours after it is uploaded.
If your target market is largely younger people, Snapchat could be one of the most effective business social media platforms for you!
Snapchat has around 350 million monthly active users and 203 million daily active users.
And 71% of the users are under the age of 34. Specifically, about half of its users are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Snapchat shares Instagram’s benefit of visual content, as Snapchat posts must include either a photo or a video to be published.
Snapchat has over 10 million daily video views. Are your company’s videos taking advantage of these everyday viewings?
Snapchat also provides advertising possibilities, such as paying for a linkable Snapchat in the Snapchat Discovery section.
Sharing content on your Snapchat Story organically and paying to have Snapchat appear in your target audience’s Top Story and Discovery feed.
You’ll be sure to reach your target audience on one of the newest and fastest-growing social media sites!
6. YouTube
YouTube is a video platform where users may watch and upload videos.
YouTube has a monthly active user base of 2 billion people.
As a potential outcome, your business will have the opportunity to share its content freely. In addition, you may share it with more than 30 million daily active users who are likely to view it.
YouTube, like Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat, has the advantage of visual material.
But, unlike the other company social media sites we’ve discussed thus far, it has the distinct distinction of being owned by Google!
As a result, YouTube has access to Google’s advertising ecosystem, which you can use while running YouTube ads.
It also works the same as its parent company in that you may use keywords to optimise the search of your company’s YouTube videos.
You can improve the search ranks of your YouTube videos without spending more money on advertising.
7. Twitter
Twitter is a great platform to share thoughts, and it’s also one of the more established social media networks. It also has around 336 million monthly active users.
You can submit photographs and videos in addition to the character-limited copy, but Twitter is most recognised for its real-time update feed.
Is the term “live-tweeting” familiar to you?
Twitter’s use of hashtags is also excellent for engaging new potential clients.
Like Instagram, you can search a hashtag to see other postings with the same hashtag from both consumers and companies.
This implies you can locate customers who are looking for something your company provides and vice versa!
For instance, if you own a cleaning service, Depending on how they’ve utilised hashtags in their tweet, you can discover folks tweeting about how they need to get their car washed.
You may then tweet them a coupon for your car wash, and you’ve landed yourself a new customer.
8. LinkedIn
LinkedIn might be a valuable resource if your company operates on a B2B model or targets customers based on job titles.
LinkedIn boasts 303 million monthly active members, almost all of whom are in or near the workforce.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social media platform. As a result, members frequently include more factual information about themselves:
Employers, job openings, work email addresses, and so on.
And perhaps more than they do on other social media platforms that are mostly used for personal purposes.
In terms of campaign functions, LinkedIn’s advertising platform lags behind Facebook’s.
However, it provides you with a much larger number of job positions to target than Facebook does.
This is especially important if your company’s bottom line is dependent on targeting specific businesses or job descriptions.
9. TikTok
TikTok is a brand-new social networking platform that debuted in 2018.
It’s an app that lets users make and share their 15-second video snippets.
It now has 1.2 billion members worldwide, with 500 million active monthly users.
These stats have already surpassed Twitter, Linked In, and Snapchat — all of which are older services.
However, while having so much potential to attract the attention of Generation Z, it still has a long way to go in terms of advertising.
Marketers may only advertise through influencers on this platform.
And since it is still not as saturated as other social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, many marketers are already using it to reach Gen Z. This market appears difficult to reach.
10. Yelp
When it comes to social networking, Yelp isn’t typically the first app that comes to mind.
However, it is included on our list since it is critical to the upkeep of your company’s brand and image!
Yelp receives 178 million visitors per month.
Visitors who want word-of-mouth confirmation of whether your business gives a positive or unpleasant experience are among those who visit.
Because of the nature of Yelp, this allows your business the opportunity to maintain its reputation by encouraging positive ratings and responding to bad reviews.
This creates an organic sense of transparency and trust between your company and its customers.
And this can play a major part in increasing and retaining your consumer base.
Bottomline
So, those are the top ten business social networking platforms, according to our experts!
Do you believe you know which social media sites for business are best for you but lack the total time or expertise to manage them?
Register now and get featured on Reputedfirms for additional handy tips to help you build your business and be more reputable!