What social media platforms should you be on? Here are some thought starters.
A lot of clients come to us knowing they want to be on social media, but they’re not always sure which platforms are right for them. Well, here’s a quick blog post to help you figure that out.
Before you start throwing out social channels, I recommend you answer these three questions:
- Who are you trying to reach?
- What content can you regularly post?
- Do you need to advertise?
There are a lot of variables at play, but if you can answer these three questions, you should be in a pretty good place to discern which social media platforms are right for you.
- Largest user base
- Multiple content formats
- Robust advertising tools
- Best for women, ages 30-64
Facebook is the largest social media platform out there with 2.9 billion users. Over time, it has evolved from simply posting statuses to a platform that is multi-faceted with short- and long-form videos, static imagery, stylized quotes, events, vertical stories and, for those still inclined, straight text statuses. I liken Facebook to the billboard of social channels: if you need a lot of eyeballs to see what you’re saying, Facebook is a good place to go.
- Intrinsically connected to Facebook
- Multiple content formats
- Robust advertising tools
- Best for individuals 18-29
Just behind Facebook with 2 billion users is Instagram – which makes sense since it was acquired by Zuckerberg. A benefit here is you can use the same business tools to manage Instagram as you do Facebook. Content formats are very similar, but most of the creative content abilities are housed in Reels and Stories. If you’re trying to reach a Gen Z or younger Millennial audience, whether it’s through advertising or organic content, get your photo-quality content ready!
YouTube
- Users upload 500 hours of video every minute
- Multiple video orientations
- Part of the Google advertising suite
- Best for people 18-49
Also at 2 billion users is the Google-owned platform, YouTube. There is more video content than you can possibly consume on YouTube. If you don’t have much video content, you can always use YouTube as a repository to store your files and share them digitally, but if you have ongoing and vertical video content, it’s a great channel to consider for an organic and paid strategy. It has a high-utilization rate among a wide demographic.
TikTok
- Everyone’s favorite app to ban
- Vertical oriented video content
- Advertising favors larger budgets
- Best for folks 18-29
The baby on the list, but already with 1 billion users, TikTok has taken the world by storm. It is THE social media platform to reach a younger demographic; however, the app is highly politicized around the world for its Chinese ownership. Countries and some U.S. states have banned the app, and in Virginia, the administration has banned the app on state devices. Advertising is still in its infancy on the self-service front, and your dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it does on other channels.
- 277% more effective for lead gen than Facebook and Twitter
- Multiple content formats
- Advertising tools
- Best for individuals 30-49
If you’re a B2B marketer, then this is going to be the most qualified base of 830 million users you’ll find on social media. Content-wise, it’s more apples to apples with Facebook, but there are some nuances like hosting your newsletter on the platform and the ability to really build out and refine your profile – which in a lot of ways, is the star of LinkedIn. This is the only platform I’d trust for industry, seniority or title targeting, because hello, it pulls from a person’s profile (aka their resume).
- Users are 7X more likely to purchase what they Pin
- Very basic photo/video + text + link format
- Advertising tools
- Best for women, 50-64
Pinterest has 450 million users, with about 80% living outside of the U.S. But if you’re a B2C organization that has product to sell (and bonus points if you ship internationally), then this is the place to be. There are advertising options for businesses, and the audience tends to skew a little higher, but hey, there is buying power there to take advantage of. All you need is beautiful photography and some copywriting skills and you’re all set!
- 32 million people left since Musk took over
- Mostly text-based posts, with photos and video content attached
- Advertising tools
- Best for individuals 18-29
Currently sitting at 368 million users, Twitter is the platform social media managers both love and hate. It’s a highly engaging platform if you have enough posts and content to feed the appetites of Twitter users, but since Elon Musk acquired the platform, it’s hard to keep up with the rules, limitations and concerns around brand safety. Our agency has more or less ceased advertising on the channel because of the buggy interface and doubts about results.
Threads
- Just weeks old
- Same as Twitter
- Advertising tools are TBD
- Too soon to know!
I’ll give Zuckerberg some credit. He made it incredibly easy to get on Threads, as evident by the 100 million users that flocked to the platform and instantaneous had dozens, hundreds or thousands of followers because of an import feature from Instagram. While there have been reports that engagement has plummeted, (it was so hot at launch!) we’re keeping an eye on how the platform evolves and grows in today’s landscape. It’s a great option for brands looking to move its content away from Twitter into a new space.
* All of the demographic data referenced here was pulled from Pew Research Center’s social media fact sheet, last updated in 2021.
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