With so many social media platforms available to B2B marketers today, it can be difficult trying to determine which are the best for building your brand and reaching your target audience. Factors such as your industry, demographics, target audience, and your unique brand messaging can all come to play in choosing which social networks you use – and how you use them. It is crucial that you know the various social media networks available as well as how they function differently for various types of messaging, sectors, and audiences. Read on to learn the basics of the best popular social media platforms for businesses.
With over 2 billion unique monthly users, it’s no wonder that Facebook is one of the leading social networks. With a broad appeal to men and women from 18-65 and older, sharing new deals on services, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks of your company, contests, and more, Facebook gives you the opportunity to turn your customer base into a community. One perk is that Facebook is user-friendly and it’s easy to create a simple page, upload some pics or videos, and begin reaching out to your customer base for followers.
YouTube
While music and comedy go over well on YouTube, it’s also a business-friendly platform for reaching over 2 billion men and women, aged 18-65 and up. Businesses that host instructional videos, product reviews, and other educational content do well on YouTube. An extra plus is that videos posted will show up in both Google and YouTube searches.
Coming in behind Facebook, with over 1-billion unique monthly users, Instagram is the favorite social platform for the under 25 crowds, making it a great network if your target audience is young and hip. Content with pics and short videos without a lot of text work best and posts can be coordinated with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Because it has a bigger following in urban demographics, it’s a better choice if your business focuses on digital tech or high fashion than building materials or agriculture-related products.
Twitter provides its 330-million monthly users with a constant stream of new content and information, and almost every brand now has a Twitter account. While it doesn’t have the same audience as Facebook, it is an accessible platform that men and women, ages 18-49 enjoy interacting with. In order to use Twitter successfully, you’ll need to hone your ability to create short, informative, and interesting tweets, as you are limited to 280 characters or less per post. Announcements, sales, promotions, and contests do well on the platform.
When it comes to professionalism, LinkedIn wins, hands-down. With 303 million male and female worker and business owner users aged 15-64, the platform is great for connecting on a professional level. It tends to be a more formal social network, which draws more B2B interest than B2C content. If you’re looking to connect with decision-makers and influencers to get out your brand and message, LinkedIn can help you find partners, find suppliers and parts, or get another sale.
