With the social media world expanding, choosing the best platforms for your business is imperative when talking about marketing your brand or company. For online or especially brick and mortar concepts, it’s not always possible to be present and posting on every single platform that’s out there. Follow along as we help you decide which social media platforms are best for your business.
If your business is interested in being reachable to your customer via social media and loves the idea of having a visual appeal that showcases your products, then Instagram is a great way to achieve this. On Instagram users can post, view, and share photo and video content. With over 2.35 billion active monthly users, there are a lot of pros to choosing this platform as one of your chosen posting revenues. One positive of Instagram is its ability to visually show your business’ products and services. Through photos, or video content like Reels, you can grab an audience’s attention and build up a following of potential customers. Engaging on Instagram is also very easy, and another great way to build up a connection with future or current customers through commenting and Direct Message. You can stay in the know with what interests your customers, as well as have quick customer service response that feels genuine.
A negative aspect of Instagram is the algorithm. There is no identifiable way to ‘crack the code’ or ensure that your content goes viral and reaches millions of people. Of course, using trending audios and captions can help, but often your content is up to chance on whether it gets pushed onto the Explore page. Many businesses, though, are incredibly successful with their Instagram, and it is one of our favorite social media platforms to use.
TikTok
A more recent social media platform, TikTok has paved the way for video content’s current power over society. From short 30 second clips, to up to 10-minute options as of right now, videos on TikTok require less video production, and utilize real, genuine video content. There is more room for funny content on this app, so if your business is wanting to show a more playful side, TikTok may be the platform to invest your time in. A positive of TikTok is that it’s algorithm pushes content unique to each individual user onto the For You Page. If a user interacts with your videos by liking, commenting or following, then the next video you post will likely be pushed onto their For You Page.
Something to consider with TikTok is your business’ target audience. The main age groups scrolling this app are within the Millennial and Gen Z generations. Studies have shown, though, that the TikTok age demographics are getting older, so this may be a new wave that your company could consider jumping onto.
YouTube
YouTube is a great platform for longer video content. For example, you could own a construction company and may want to show a timelapse process of building a house. Future clients can then view these videos to see your work, process, and finished product. Likewise, a real estate company may post videos on YouTube showing current houses on the market. Clients can easily view the videos with a link and make an offer without ever having to step out of their house. YouTube makes sharing video content with others easy and allows for a more in depth look at your company. Any type of knowledge or tutorial based content can be easily found by new audiences, as YouTube is one of the biggest social media platforms and people are constantly searching to learn new things. YouTube has also launched Shorts, which is a shorter form of video content, and could potentially become a competitor to TikTok.
One aspect that may deter you from posting on YouTube is its lack of reachability to new audiences when posting entertainment related content, or content based on your personal life. Your videos may pop up after someone’s search if they type in a keyword related to your video or could be recommended based on other videos they watch. Otherwise, it is more so a platform where people subscribe to your channel and specifically look for your videos.
Facebook is a user-friendly platform that is great for businesses of all sizes. From organic or paid options, Facebook and Meta Businesses have a plethora of opportunities for a company to properly promote itself. There’s a dizzying array of types of campaigns however, so you may want to hire experts (wink wink) to choose the best way to utilize posting on Facebook. The main posting form is photo content, accompanied by a caption. There are also Facebook groups that you can join and interact with more people within a specific audience.
Similarly to TikTok but in the opposite way, a downside to Facebook for some businesses is the audience age. If your company is targeting the younger generations then you may want to look to another social media platform.
LinkedIn’s platform is oriented towards more professional topics rather than personal updates. We wanted to include it, though, because it can still promote your company in marketable ways. Tips, articles, stories, and experiences are examples of content that will perform well on LinkedIn. If your business is interested in being a leader in their industry and expanding their professional network, this may be a good platform for you to choose.
