Looking to drive online traffic and boost sales? Social media is a great way to do this, but you’ll need to choose the best social media platforms for your business first. 

If social media was a country, it would be the biggest in the world. Over 4.6 billion people use social media, with new platforms coming out yearly. With all these new platforms launching and ideas being shared, it’s hard to keep up! That said, being intentional about choosing which platforms are best for your business is key to seeing success on social media. The first step in doing this? Understanding your target audience. 

Starting a social media account can be very fun, but you need to know who you’re speaking to, in order to succeed online. It’s important to make educated decisions based on where your target audience frequents, and what value you will give them. Here’s how to choose the best social media platforms for your business. 

How to determine the best social media platforms for your business

The best way to determine your business’s best social media platforms is by focusing on your target audience. That’s who is going to consume your content and purchase your product. Here is a breakdown of some of the major platforms and their main demographic. 

Facebook
Facebook currently has 2.79 billion active monthly users, with the largest demographic of that 2.79 billion users being between the ages of 25-35. Facebook is a classic, and easy-to-pick-up platform that is accessible for all ages. In fact, seniors are the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook in the US, as senior users have doubled over recent years. 

Facebook for Business makes it easy to promote and monetize your business directly on their platform. We also recommend Facebook as you can link / cross-share to Instagram due to Facebook’s purchase of Instagram in 2012. If your target demographic is high on both platforms, consider launching on both platforms to simultaneously reach both audiences.
Instagram
Speaking of Instagram, it currently has over 1 billion monthly users and is growing exponentially as time progresses. Like Facebook, the largest demographic on Instagram is those between the ages of 25-35 (33.1%). It looks to be staying that way as the older generations tend to drop off significantly as their age increases. 

Instagram has also recently integrated e-commerce into their platform so users can purchase products directly from a post. According to Hootsuite, 130 million Instagram users tap on shopping-based posts every month, which is a huge factor if you are selling physical products online. For a full breakdown of how to beat Instagram’s Algorithm in 2021, check out our blog post.

Twitter
Twitter currently has 187 million active users, which may seem like a steep dive from the past platforms, but that 187 million can be extremely powerful. Twitter is the #1 social network in Japan, so if your demographic is based in Japan, Twitter may be the app for you! Twitter can be highly influential as its largest demographic of users are between the ages of 25-35, and 17% of American’s get their news from Twitter. Plus, more than 80% of Twitter’s global population is under the age of 50, so if you’re marketing to Millennials (25-40-year-olds) or Gen Z (6-24-year-olds), Twitter may be for you. 

Companies like Wendy’s, Moonpie, and Gusher’s have all capitalized on meme culture on Twitter and specifically targeted their content towards a younger generation. Making your content witty, funny, and slightly sarcastic may be an effective way to go viral and promote your product in a new way.  

Speaking of Wendy’s, they had a great example of an organic viral moment in 2017 when a fan tweeted at them and asked how many retweets he would need to receive a free year of their chicken nuggets. Wendy’s promptly responded and challenged him to receive 18 million retweets. The challenge became a viral sensation as the world all turned to help the young fan achieve this goal, making him the most retweeted account in history. This campaign brought massive attention to Wendy’s and was an organic, viral moment that helped them grow a larger audience on Twitter.  

LinkedIn
LinkedIn has over 766 million active users and more than 70% of those users are outside the US. Unlike the others, LinkedIn’s largest demographic is those between the ages of 46-55, but the new generation is on their way. It’s estimated that 46 million students and recent college graduates are starting to use LinkedIn, and make up the fastest-growing demographic on the platform.

LinkedIn is a great platform to connect directly with professionals in your industry and celebrate your accomplishments with a community that wants to see you win. LinkedIn acts as a virtual, public resume/portfolio that you can use to show your audience your full potential and expertise in your field. Although LinkedIn isn’t the fast-paced, meme-filled platform that Instagram and Twitter are, it does offer the opportunity to go viral. For example, this journalist went viral for her article on what a realistic magazine cover should look like. She cited adding an emotional aspect, focusing on gender/diversity, and asking for comments/likes helped the post-boost its engagement and help its outreach. If your brand is looking to establish itself in the business world, and be an industry thought leader, LinkedIn should definitely be on your radar. 

Pinterest
Pinterest has always been an interesting, semi-underground social media platform. Although it only garners 459 million monthly users, Pinterest hosts a dedicated group of users who frequently visit the site and share their mood boards, recipes, and photos, the largest demographic of that group being women (60%). Albeit, Pinterest’s Head of Business Marketing claimed that men are the fastest-growing demographic. Pinterest is a very popular social media platform for people of all ages as 69% of their users are between the ages of 18 -49.

Pinterest is photo-based, so companies will need a strong visual presence to inspire purchases on the platform. It acts as a great home for companies to link images from their websites, blog posts, and product pages. In fact, the platform can work especially well for fashion/home decor / beauty-based companies as there has been a major increase in those types of posts (95%, 36%, and 44%). Pinterest recently integrated with Shopify to allow for in-app / website shopping, allowing users to view and purchase products directly. 40% of Pinterest users say that they are more likely to shop directly from the site, so adding this integration will also help your business. Pinterest also sees an increase in users during specific seasons/holidays, like Halloween (227m searches), Winter (321m searches), and Summer (121m searches).

YouTube
Let’s get back to one of the titans of the industry, YouTube. We call it a titan for a reason as YouTube has over 2 billion monthly users with nearly 1 billion videos watched per day! YouTube can be extremely essential to a business as 70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing it on YouTube. Nearly 62% of businesses have a YouTube channel and it’s the 2nd most visited website in the world. Everyone in the world uses YouTube in some capacity, but it’s those 35 and under are the platform’s largest demographic. 

YouTube is a bit different from the other platforms as it’s purely video-based, so companies need to make sure their content can be accurately translated to video. As well, the ability to create a YouTube video is easier than ever, so it’s important to focus on video quality to elevate your content above others. For more information on how videos can add to your marketing strategy, check out our blog post here.

YouTube has also grown into a vehicle for advanced storytelling, so be sure to focus on what your message is when making videos. Maybe it’s a breakdown of your menu or a how-to assemble your product, there are many different ways to tell a story while also promoting your business. 

TikTok
The new kid on the block finally makes an appearance, and for a good reason. If you’ve been living under a rock and somehow missed the explosion of TikTok, it’s a short video-sharing platform that blends music with dancing, comedy, and acting. Since its inception in 2016, TikTok has been downloaded over 2 billion times and is the 7th-most popular platform in the world. TikTok’s main demographic is Millennials (25-40-year-olds) and Gen Z (6-24-year-olds) which make up 62% of the app’s audience. 

TikTok is by far, the hottest social media platform on the internet right now, as it continues to grow every month and allure more audiences to spend their time on it. If your business doesn’t have the resources or time to develop YouTube videos, starting on TikTok is a great starting point. Since all videos are created in-app, TikTok provides tools and features that allow users to create videos and upload with ease. By utilizing popular audio and trends, you can spread your message to millions of users, and show your business personality all in one short video. 

The social media world is an ever-growing behemoth that can make or break your business. By doing your research, and understanding which platform speaks to your audience, you can make social media a strong revenue source. If you have any questions or need help, contact us here and we’d be happy to help!