In days gone by, many business owners viewed social media almost with derision or scorn, but, as the prevalence of social platforms has grown in our lives, engaging positively on social media has become a vital part of the online marketing mix. By reaching out to your clients through social sites, you have the potential to actively engage customers and build relationships and followers. Put simply, it can end up being one of the most important promotional vehicles in your marketing arsenal.
However, with so many platforms now available, how do you choose which is right for your company and which will bring you the greatest Return on Investment (ROI), both in terms of time and money. Read on for some tips about the biggest social sites and why you should use them (note, this list only includes Euro and US sites rather than messaging services and the burgeoning Asian market).
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Without doubt, Facebook is the titan of social media platforms with around 2.7 billion global users as of February 2021. Facebook has an unrivaled reach across all demographics – even though there is some evidence that the current crop of millennials is shunning the service and choosing Instagram as their preferred platform. Nonetheless, in short, if you want to achieve the greatest social media marketing penetration, you would be well advised to get your firm on Facebook.
It’s also worth noting there is considerable evidence that suggests the time you post on Facebook (and other social sites) can make a significant difference to the views and impact you’ll achieve. Consequently, many firms have started using social media software like SOCi to time posts and study their effectiveness.
YouTube
YouTube is best known as a video platform but also has the unique distinction of being the world’s second-most-popular search engine behind sister company, Google (both owned by parent firm Alphabet). Video also happens to be the most engaging form of media online so you should definitely prioritize getting your firm on the platform. Today, YouTube has approximately 2.3 billion monthly users.
While many people don’t realize it, Instagram is an offshoot of parent company Facebook, which bought the service in reaction to seeing the popularity of photos on its platform and moved quickly to eliminate the potential competition posed by Instagram. In February, 2021, the service counted over 1.2 billion users globally.
Pinterest currently has around 442 million users globally, making it one of the smaller social media services, but don’t let that fool you in terms of its effectiveness, particularly if you’re looking to attract the attention of female users, which make up around 77% of its demographic. Pinterest has proven to be especially useful for firms that rely heavily on photography e.g. travel companies or those specializing in women’s clothing.
At around 350 million users, Twitter is most definitely much smaller than its fellow competitors, but that doesn’t reduce its importance. Indeed, Twitter has risen considerably in prominence with the likes of Barack Obama and Donald Trump using it as their preferred broadcast medium. Again, Twitter is another service you should consider for your online marketing – especially for publishing short, informative posts.
