It’s important that you know the best social media platforms for business. This way, you can create business pages for these specific platforms and experience the marketing benefits that come with it, from increased brand recognition to higher sales. Discover more in this complete guide for businesses.
Now is an exciting time to own a business. One of the main reasons for this is because of social media marketing. Through social media marketing, a small startup can transform itself into a big industry player. Similarly, an already established business can use social media marketing to take itself to an even higher level than it’s already at.
Essentially, the size or scale, location, or industry of a business doesn’t matter - social media marketing can improve it.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is when an individual or business uses social media to post marketing content, build their brand, and interact with customers. It’s just like normal marketing, except it’s done through social media platforms instead.
When it comes to social media marketing, you have two options:
These days, lots of companies don’t want to go through the hassle of hiring in-house social media marketers, as it can be quite expensive. This is why they opt to outsource their social media marketing to third-party companies. You can also outsource your social media marketing by using the services of https://rsmconnect.com/services/social-media-management/. In a nutshell, you’ll get to experience all the benefits of social media marketing at a much lower cost, which is great news for your business.
The Best Social Media Platforms for Businesses
If your business has no previous experience with social media marketing, you might be wondering:
“Hey, what are the best social media platforms for my business?”
This is a natural question. After all, no business owner wants to waste time and money advertising on a social media platform that leads to nowhere. Instead, they only want to use the best (and most effective) social media platforms for marketing.
This guide understands your caution, which is why you can find a list of the best social media marketing platforms directly below. Each platform has something special and unique to offer, so read the details carefully.
1. Instagram
Right now, Instagram is one of the most widely adopted social media platforms by businesses.
What’s interesting about Instagram is that it’s a highly visual platform. Brands don’t make text posts here. Instead, they post pictures and videos. The reason for this is that brand engagement levels on Instagram are super high. Whether a brand makes a direct post or updates its story, followers are going to engage with it.
No matter which industry you operate in, you can also use Instagram to do this. From posting pictures of your products to helpful video tutorials, you have complete creative freedom. Your general aim should be to post content that people want to see. The better your content, the higher your Instagram engagement levels will be.
2. X (Previously Known as Twitter)
Yep, you read that correctly: Twitter has now completed its transformation to X. Despite its rebranding, X is still an incredibly valuable marketing tool for businesses. It’s especially good for:
With regards to customer service, this is something that you now see a lot. Rather than call a company’s number to speak to them, customers will now contact the company via Twitter DMs. It’s fast, convenient, and a much cheaper customer service option for the business. Essentially, everybody wins!
3. Facebook
As of 2023, Facebook has around three billion active users. This is why it remains one of the most reliable social media platforms for marketing — even though it’s seen as the less modern alternative to Instagram. The Future of Social Media Marketing report specifically found that 96% of marketers rank Facebook as one of the top three drivers of ROI (Return on Investment), which tells you everything you need to know.
It’s also worth mentioning that Facebook covers almost all the major demographics. Whereas Instagram and X are more popular with younger users, Facebook is popular with everyone, including both young and old people. Whatever products you sell, there’s an audience for them on Facebook; that’s a guarantee.
4. TikTok
TikTok first exploded in popularity a few years ago and hasn’t slowed down since.
Just like Instagram, TikTok is amazing if you’re a business that’s looking to target younger people. According to Shopify, 62% of TikTok users are aged between 10 and 29 years old. Best of all, these users are more than willing to engage with the brands they discover on TikTok, with research also showing that nearly 50% of TikTokers make purchases from the brands they see when browsing the app.
If you do decide to start using TikTok for marketing purposes, remember that it’s a video-sharing app. This means that all the content you post has to be in video form. If this is something that you think you’d need help with, you should outsource your social media marketing to a third-party (as discussed earlier in the guide). Usually, what the third-party marketer will do is create the TikTok content on your behalf, making life much easier for you.
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most “serious” social media marketing platform for businesses. Here, content generally tends to be on the more formal side. For example, businesses will post important company updates, tips, statistics, and more.
Although it’s not essential that your business is on LinkedIn, it’s still highly recommended. After all, customers will still look at your LinkedIn profile and it’s also a great platform for networking with other companies.
6. WhatsApp
WhatsApp has surprised many critics by becoming a vital marketing tool for businesses.
One of the main reasons businesses now use WhatsApp is because of WhatsApp Business. This is the business extension of WhatsApp that allows businesses to connect with customers, send important marketing messages, and also provide fast customer service.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to start social media marketing campaigns for your business this year, you should absolutely use all the platforms discussed here. From Instagram to WhatsApp, create a business profile on each one so you can experience maximum coverage and start boosting your brand recognition and sales.
