Social media is used every day by millions of people, but it isn’t just for personal use anymore. Almost every major company is active on social media and these days even smaller businesses are joining in as well.

It’s important for any business to stay engaged with their audience, and social media is one of the best ways to do that. Not every social platform is a good fit for every business as each social media platform has its own purpose and audience, so finding the best platforms that are right for your business and provide the most value can be tough.

To help in your social media adventure, we’ll share with you a few of the top social media platforms that could be the best fit for you and your business. But before we do that, let’s look at a few of the reasons why you’d want to use social media for your business.

 

Advantages of Using Social Media

• Reaching and connecting with audiences. Social media helps in opening up direct lines of communication between you and your customers, as well as reaching a larger pool of new and valuable connections with the millions of people who are active on social media daily.
• Generating leads. Social media offers a low-commitment way for prospective customers to show interest in your business, opening up chances for your business to connect with valuable leads.
• Building brand awareness. Being active on social media will help you stand out with target audiences and will expose your brand to them. With that the more they know about your brand, the more they will become familiar with it along with your content, which is the foundation to creating brand loyalty.
• Boosts in SEO and website engagement. Most social media platforms allow for you to post content of your own, and by sharing links to your website, you’ll be able to drive more traffic there which will aid in boosting your overall online presence.
• Free to join. Most social media platforms are entirely free to join. None of the large platforms require any sort of signup fees or hidden costs to join. There are paid advertising options on most of those larger social media platforms though, but are in no way needed.

 

Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business

Facebook
Facebook is one of the names that pops up into everyone’s head when you think of social media. With over 2 billion users on Facebook, of all age ranges and backgrounds, the social space can provide a lot for small businesses looking to connect with their audiences. This platform sees the largest group of users between the ages of 25-34, so if that’s where your target lies, Facebook might be the place for you.

Facebook also offers targeted advertising with Facebook ads, where you can target your audience by location, demographics, and interests, but these ads do come at a cost and will require a larger budget. Posting content such as posts, photos, videos, and polls are great ways to engage with your audiences and work extremely well on the platform, as well as sharing links to your website.

Facebook can be a powerful tool with its powerful analytics, great direct lines of communication, and massive reach, this platform could be the right fit for any business looking to create a strong community.

 

Instagram
With about over 1 billion users Instagram has become one of the top social media platforms for businesses. Starting out as a platform for sharing photos, the highly visual site has become popular for small businesses and freelancers everywhere.

Most engagement will be from captivating photos, videos, or stories and less on ads or comment interaction. By focusing more on the visual content you post, you’ll be able to capture and reach larger audiences with less fluff. Having an aggressive posting schedule is something to note as well when focusing on gaining loyal followers. It’s important to know that Instagram is almost entirely mobile, you can’t post pictures with a desktop (you are able to through some social media management tools) but you are able to view Instagram through your desktop web browser.

Partnerships and influencer marketing is also a fun and engaging way to stay connected with this platform. Influencers have risen and collaborations with influencers offer a tremendous opportunity to advertise your products and services, as well as enhance your brand awareness.

Instagram being highly visual and aesthetic-based, with a majority of users being under 35, is a great place for creative, trendy businesses looking to make a splash.

 

Twitter
Twitter is a steady, fast-paced stream of voices, information, and content. It is a platform that is known for breaking news, strong opinions and fast-paced action, and with over 190 million daily active users you can always find what is currently trending in every area of the web.

Many businesses tend to shy away from Twitter because of how much noise the platform can bring, but depending on your businesses’ social media prowess it could be a great way to engage with your audience directly and with them to you with the tagging and mention features. Twitter can be a powerful tool if you are looking for a platform to share updates, quick and easy interactions with followers, links, visuals, and ads. Having a strong brand voice will also help in excelling on the platform as being quick-witted and memorable is a pro on this platform.

 

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a networking site for professionals and businesses. It is a great tool to post and share business-related content and has over 65 million active users. LinkedIn can be used to help find potential customers, vendors, business partners, and even talent, expanding both your social and professional network.

Most businesses aim to have a presence on LinkedIn as this tool can help you build credibility as a business and it is a perfect place to showcase your business products and services, and to gain the trust of your audience and customers.

 

YouTube
YouTube is a video-based platform and has become the platform for sharing information via video. It is the second largest search engine in the world after Google and with over 2 billion monthly users, YouTube isn’t just a place for people to look for entertainment, it is one of the go-to places to learn new things.

You can find a plethora of music and comedy videos that trend, but you can also find product reviews, instructional videos, and educational videos that do well and especially if you’re looking to hit target audiences this platform might be a perfect match. Leaning onto YouTube as a social platform can also help you in SEO as creating content and posting it on YouTube can help promote you on search results on both Google and YouTube.

The platform itself is very creative-heavy and your business might not need it’s own channel, but using YouTube as a tool to market yourself on the platform can be powerful. Partnering up with YouTube influencers who publish videos frequently is a way businesses can create brand awareness for themselves on the platform without actually having their own channel. Whether you are looking to create content or find partnerships, having some sort of presence on this social media platform can always be a plus.

 

TikTok
TikTok is one of the newer social media platforms but has become one of the most-downloaded apps with over 2 billion downloads. TikTok is mostly populated by those considered Generation Z, and can be difficult to navigate as a business, but if used properly it can be a successful option for any business.

TikTok can be looked at as a bite-sized version of YouTube with videos ranging from 5 seconds to 3 minutes. Creating short, fun bite-sized videos can be a great way to engage with your audience as well as reach new ones too. Like any other social media platforms, hashtags encourage branding and take into account more precise targeting, making sure your ads reach the audience you want them to. TikTok is also a great space for influencer marketing as celebrities and influencers trend daily and leveraging them to promote your businesses’ products and services will assist in reaching a larger audience.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to bring brand awareness to a younger demographic, TikTok might be the space for you.