There are SO many social media platforms out there, and each has its own flavor and focus. It can be overwhelming to figure out which platforms are the best fit for you and your company.
Really, the answer is all of them! Your audience exists on every site. There are many tools and social schedulers available to make it easy to post to many platforms and accounts at once. However, even if you are able to consistently post to a wide variety of platforms, it is helpful to understand what each of them specializes in, and what each one requires.
Let’s break it down:
Facebook has roughly 3.05 billion monthly users, and because of that, Facebook is a necessity, especially having a Facebook business account. From a content standpoint, Facebook really excels at four things.
- Sharing company information: Facebook (and Google my Business) are often the first place people look for hours, services, locations, etc.
- Facebook groups: Facebook groups are an excellent way to build micro-communities online. They’re also great for networking with like-minded businesses and individuals. Because Facebook groups are often moderated, they can also provide a safe place.
- Live video: Facebook’s live video and event-scheduling feature are some of the most robust available. Because of Facebook’s integrations with Instagram, it’s easy to stream to two places at once. Facebook catalogs video internally, meaning that Facebook video doesn’t help general search engine SEO, which is something to keep in mind.
- Ads: Facebook has its own ad platform that only works with its family of applications.
Instagram constantly adds features, so even though it started out as a purely visual platform, it has become effective for all businesses. Here’s some things to keep in mind about Instagram:
- Instagram stories have high engagement rates. They are great for creating authentic interactions with your followers, and they can be shared directly over to Facebook stories.
- The Instagram shop feature is very comprehensive and easy to use. If you are a business that sells physical products, having an Instagram shop set up is very beneficial.
- Instagram Reels take aspects of TikTok and YouTube and combine them. Unlike TikTok, they don’t have a time limit, so you can say a lot more. Live videos can be converted directly to Reels.
- Instagram’s user base is generally younger than Facebook’s. More than 50% of Instagram users are between 18-35, while more than 60% of Facebook’s user are over 35.
LinkedIn has started to shift from a purely networking platform to an information-sharing platform as well. They recently added a live video feature, and overall seem to be working toward taking some of Facebook’s power away as THE B2B social.
LinkedIn posts that are not self-promotion work well too. It’s a great place to pull over blog information and transcriptions from live videos.
LinkedIn is all about connections and interactions that are mutually beneficial. If you can find the right audience or community, chances are you will get the engagement and connections you’re looking for.
X
X is easy to use and easy to generate content for. The snappy text-based format pushes engagement. X is great for cross promotion across platforms, and screenshots of Tweets work well on other socials.
X is also great for building personal relationships with followers. The short-form style can feel more personal.
Snapchat
You may be surprised that Snapchat is included on this list. Snapchat’s audience is very young, which causes many companies to eliminate it from their marketing plans. The platform’s interface also makes it difficult to brand yourself and find new followers. Unlike most other platforms, Snapchat’s “explore” page doesn’t usually promote accounts to follow.
However, Snapchat recently launched a creator fund. In doing so, they’ve made it extremely easy to get money as a creator on the platform.
TikTok
TikTok isn’t just for the kids. It has a massive user pool, extensive creator funding, and a simple structure. It’s relatively simple to leverage their algorithms to your advantage. And since it’s quite a few years old at this point, there are established content formats and trends you can take advantage of.
Its short-form video format is great for storytelling and making personal-feeling content. Many companies use it for “behind the scenes” looks at their day-to-day work. That type of content is great for engagement and connecting with the customer. It highlights your personality and company culture.
