Social media has proven to be one of the best tools out there for digital marketing.

With 3.4 billion active social media users, it’s essential for businesses—big and small—to include in their marketing strategy. From free business accounts to paid social advertising, it’s the perfect way to let the world see your brand and gain a loyal fan base of followers.

In an ideal world, you would like to be active on all the social media platforms that are out there. However, not all platforms are applicable for your business. With so many platforms out there, how are you supposed to choose which one works best for you? As the experts in all things social media, we’ll help you figure out the best platform for your business.

Facebook

Best For: B2C, in some cases B2B

Target Audience: Both men and women anywhere from 25-55+

It’s plain and simple—you need a Facebook presence. Founded in 2004, Facebook is the largest social media platform with more than 2 billion monthly active users and more than 600 million daily active users. Nearly any type of industry can advertise on Facebook, which is a great way to reach your target audience. With its expansive reach, serving almost every industry, it’s no wonder that this platform is the frontrunner for social media marketing.

In addition to the fact that there’s a crazy amount of users, Facebook is also considered a local SEO signal. This means search engines look at your business’ Facebook profile as an indicator when they produce local search results.

Instagram

Best For: B2C

Target Audience: Mostly women, but that’s shifting to both genders. Ages 18-35

Founded in 2010, Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion. The 800 million users on Instagram tend to be highly engaged. Businesses across the spectrum find success engaging their target audience on Instagram. With the right photos, this is a great platform to promote a wide range of products and services. Like Facebook, paying for a boosted post on your Instagram business page allows you to reach more people who don’t currently follow your page. In turn, this increases engagement allowing your business to rank better on followers’ feeds.

Posts that include funny or glamorous photos or captions tend to perform well on this platform. Adding hashtags to your Instagram posts are an essential part of any social media marketing strategy. HEADstrong Foundation is a nonprofit whose Instagram following has grown tremendously over the past few months, and they have done an awesome job raising money to improve lives affected by cancer after their Game Hair Havoc campaign went viral!

Twitter 

Best For: B2B, in some cases B2B

Target Audience: Both men and women ages 18-29

Twitter was on its way out the door in 2016, but it has made a comeback after the 2016 election! Known for its real-time updates, with almost 330 active users, Twitter has re-emerged as an outlet for new trends, news and political rants—of course, all in 280 characters or less. If your business is targeted towards the younger generations, it might be a good addition to your marketing plan.

The downside? As we mentioned before, this platform is known for its real-time updates, which means it requires you to constantly monitor Twitter. It can be a great platform for customer service and answering customer questions. As a result, this allows your company to bridge the gap between your business and customers.

LinkedIn

Best For: B2B, B2C for employment

Target Audience: Both men and women ages 25-45

Born way back in 2002, LinkedIn has always been outshadowed by its younger siblings. LinkedIn has more than 500 million members, and 100 million of those are active monthly users. If you are a B2B, LinkedIn should be your business’ main social media channel. Wanna know why? Four out of five LinkedIn members drive business decisions, and typically have twice the buying power compared to the average web audience. According to Forbes, LinkedIn is widely regarded as the number one social network for lead generation.

Linkedin is easily overlooked for B2C businesses. This channel can be an effective way for brands to reach a general consumer audience. It makes sense because half-a-billion business professionals are on the network, and more than half have a college degree and make more than $75,000 per year.

Other Social Networks

Understanding which social media platform will not only save you time and money, it will help you reach your goals. Although it might seem overwhelming, there are so many other social media platforms out there that could benefit your business. Whether it’s posting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter or showing off photos on Instagram, we promise that your brand will be instantly recognizable. Ready to take your social media marketing to the next level? Contact the social media marketing experts at beMarketing!