Social media platforms are commonly used by marketers to reach potential customers. One advantage is that various industries can be targeted on social media. Nonetheless, the abundance of marketing options on different social media platforms may pose challenges in selecting the most suitable one for your business.
It is true that certain social media platforms are better for marketing purposes than others. This implies the importance of selecting the appropriate platform based on your business’s target audience.
By following this approach, your business can enhance the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns in terms of reach, conversions, and revenue generation. This article provides insights into the optimum social media platforms for marketing, their ability to connect with specific audiences, and the objectives they can assist in achieving.
Why market on social media platforms
Over the past decade, there has been a continuous increase in the number of individuals utilizing social media platforms worldwide. It is anticipated that the number of active social media users will reach 3 billion by the conclusion of 2020.
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, among others, are some of the dominant social media platforms with a large user base. These platforms have greatly influenced how people communicate and share content online.
If you fail to communicate with your customers on social media platforms, you will miss the opportunity to engage with brands from your competitors that they are already interacting with. Effective social media marketing can lead to the success of your business by generating leads and boosting sales.
Social media marketing platforms have the ability to assist you in accomplishing your marketing objectives, including:
- Increasing website traffic
- Raising brand awareness
- Building conversions
- Improving interaction and communication with key audiences
- Creating a brand identity and positive brand association
Engaging your audience more on social media platforms will make it easier for you to accomplish other marketing goals you have.
Social media marketing platforms
1. Facebook
Facebook, as the number one choice for social media marketing, has over 2.27 billion active monthly users. Through the Facebook Ads Manager, you can generate ads that specifically target users according to various factors including age, location, gender, relationship status, education level, interests, job title, purchase behavior, and device usage.
Facebook also provides the option of generating Custom Audiences by utilizing an inventory of phone numbers or email addresses that you have assembled, in order to connect with your existing customers. Additionally, you can employ Facebook Pixel to concentrate on individuals who have previously visited your website. Having a Facebook business page is crucial for every company, but it is vital to guarantee regular updates to your page.
2. Twitter
On a daily basis, there are approximately186 million active users on Twitter.
As a fast-paced platform, it attracts numerous users who visit it for the purpose of acquiring new information. This aspect renders it an effective marketing platform for companies that consistently publish their own content.
By making it easy for users to share links to new blog posts and pages, Twitter allows them to direct other users to their latest content. If this is done consistently, users will be directed straight to the new content. Sharing valuable and informative content from other sources on a regular basis helps establish one’s reputation as an industry authority.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is recognized as the main social networking platform for professionals.
LinkedIn can be utilized for various purposes such as updating your customers on your business, recruiting new team members, and connecting with industry partners. Given its professional nature, it is considered the ideal option for B2B social media marketing. According to Forbes, it is ranked as the top platform for lead generation, and it contributes to 46% of the social media traffic that drives B2B firms’ websites.
4. Instagram
Instagram, which has similar advertising options as Facebook, is owned by the latter and has over a million monthly active users.
Instagram is a platform focused on visuals, serving as a means to display the personality of your business. It does not prioritize text and lacks the ability to include links in posts. However, multiple tools are available to enhance the creative engagement of your audience.
If you wish to communicate with your customers through photos and videos, Instagram is the ideal platform for your business. It enables you to share photos featuring your products being utilized and encourage your followers to do the same.
Instagram hashtags can be used by marketers to broaden their reach to a larger audience. Additionally, this audience can be further expanded by utilizing the Instagram stories or Instagram Live Video feature. Moreover, Instagram offers advertising opportunities for businesses, accessible through Facebook.
5. YouTube
With over 2 billion registered users, YouTube stands out as the ultimate social media platform for showcasing company culture and providing tutorials and demonstrations.
YouTube can be a valuable platform for connecting with users if your company can create its content. In addition to the views received on the platform, YouTube can also be utilized to host videos that can be embedded on your website. The use of visual content is a useful method to captivate site visitors, making it worthwhile to establish a YouTube account.
6. Brandwatch social media management
Brandwatch provides three plans: Consumer Intelligence, Social Media Management, and Influencer Marketing. The pricing will be given during a meeting.
Brandwatch provides a solution for marketers who wish to gain inspiration on social media. It offers various forms of support such as weekly training sessions and real-time communication options like in-app chat, email, and telephone service. Brandwatch also aids with daily workflows and social media strategies through dedicated support.
7. Loomly
Loomly offers a monthly subscription with rates starting at $26 per month, which equals $312 per year, and can go up to $269 per month, totaling $3,228 annually. Additionally, there is an option to inquire about a separate Enterprise package.
If you are part of a larger team, Loomly is a great option because it places a strong emphasis on optimizing team management. Its comprehensive post and ad history guarantees that all team members are in sync.
With the trust of numerous marketing teams worldwide, they have assisted renowned global companies such as BMW, Porsche, and L’Oréal in developing their brands. Its extensive range of features aims to streamline brand and content management, incorporating tools like a centralized asset library, hashtag manager, and automatically generated post and ad previews.
8. Sendible
Sendible provides a range of plans to cater to different user requirements, commencing from $29 per month for freelancers, $89 per month for startup agencies, and a White Label option priced at $240 per month. Furthermore, all plans come with a 14-day free trial period.
Sendible is a versatile tool for social media management that performs various tasks. It enables you to handle several social media accounts, coordinate with your team for social media marketing, and keep track of brand mentions.
9. Birdeye
Birdeye offers three monthly plans: Starter ($299), Growth ($399), and Dominate ($449), with increasing features in each plan. If customers choose to pay annually, they can receive discounts, and extra features can be added at additional costs.
Birdeye’s platform utilizes AI technology to generate engaging social media posts that are specific to the industry and enhanced with relevant images.
The platform provides a comprehensive solution for managing social media across multiple locations, allowing businesses to effectively publish, engage, and analyze content on various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google. By offering insightful analytics, the platform enables businesses to evaluate content performance, social reach, and engagement by location, empowering them to improve their social media strategies with data.
10. Planoly
The platform offers three different plans: “Starter” costs $11.25 per month for one user and comes with limited features, “Growth” costs $20 per month for three users and includes unlimited uploads, and “Professional” costs $36.50 per month. All plans come with a 7-day free trial.
Planoly, a platform trusted and loved by over 5 million users, offers a comprehensive solution for scheduling content on popular social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. It is particularly beneficial for those who primarily focus on posting content on Pinterest and Instagram, as it is an official partner of these platforms.
