Which Social Media is Best for Business? The Answer will Shock You

What social media platforms is best for your business

What social media platform is going to be the best to grow your online business?

As the world is moving more and more toward everything becoming digital and online, using social media platforms to effectively market and promote your business isn’t just important but smart.

Why not use what is already out there to your advantage?

Everyone in today’s modern world is using at least one of the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Social media is great for marketing, but which one is right for your business?

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Table of Contents

Marketing A Business Through Social Platforms

Social media has been a staple of marketing for quite some time now and it’s not going anywhere.

Businesses can harness the power of social media in different ways and there are 4 main reasons they love to do so:

1.Market Research – Businesses can monitor customer needs, marketplaces, and trends on social media, where they will likely be able to find very early hints of changes coming down the line. This information is geographically monitored to create new marketing strategies for a country or specific age group.

2.Engage With Customers – Social media has revolutionized the way companies engage with their customers. The platform provides feedback on products and services and shared directly with company representatives. Social media offers two key benefits for companies: it increases customer loyalty and builds brand awareness.

3.Branding – Businesses across the world are now using social media more than ever before to brand their business, build their fan base, and stay in touch with customers.

Businesses have opportunities for new customers through advertising, content marketing, or sponsored posting. These paid ads appear on social media networks like Facebook or Instagram.

4.Trends – It help businesses stay up to date with popular trends that influence their industry and provides insights into what their customers want and need.

List Of Social Media Platforms With Pros And Cons

The following list outlines what the advantages and disadvantages of each social media platform for business marketing.

It all depends on a company’s needs and the goal for its content. For most companies, the pros outweigh the cons and the benefits are worth the cost.

1. Facebook

Facebook was first created in 2004. Since its launch, there is an average of 2.89 billion active users per month. Of those users, 43.4% are female and 56.6% are male.

Pros:

Facebook is completely free and easy to use.
Reach a wide audience means that there is a large potential market to reach out to with your business.
This means that you can automatically post on your page without having to manually publish content on your timeline every day or manually update ads in the news feed.
Target ads: Facebook provides an extensive list of targeting options in their advertising toolkit.

Cons:

Over recent years, Facebook has had several privacy-related issues. As a result it has become less popular. has become less popular.
By the same token, Facebook doesn’t have a proper customer service line for when you’ve been locked out of your account, lost your password, or whatever different troubles there may be. The available solutions are backed by a forum which has guides to help you through various steps, but 90% of the time the threads and troubleshooting measures recommended don’t always work.
Due to organic reach diminishing, more click-through rates and engagement are required to generate views. This results in inconsistent metric reports.

2. YouTube

YouTube is a convenient and cost-effective platform for advertising. It allows advertisers to reach a wide audience with just one video.

As YouTube has evolved into a marketing powerhouse, marketers have found more and more ways to use it for advertising.

Check out this article all about how to use video marketing to increase traffic.

Pros:

Firstly you can reach the right audience: YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google, which means that it reaches a wide audience who are looking for your product or service online. The platform allows advertisers to target the right audience by using keywords in their videos and by including captions that include call-to-actions (CTAs).
Secondly it will save you money: YouTube is much cheaper than television ads on cable networks because there is no need to rent expensive ad spots. People are so used to having quick access to information that video has become the go-to method.
Lastly, it has a huge audience, which means that it can be used to reach a large number of people. The videos are easily accessible and can be found with a simple search on YouTube.

Cons:

Some people have reported having issues with privacy, copyright infringement, and harassment on YouTube.
You cannot target specific audiences with your ads and they can be removed at any time by YouTube themselves.
Your video might not get seen if it doesn’t have a catchy title or thumbnail.

3. Instagram

Instagram above all is a social media platform that has been making headlines for its popularity and effectiveness in advertising. Not only does it have over one billion active users, but it is also an ideal platform to advertise on.

On the other hand, if you can’t afford to advertise, setting up a business account to promote your website and brand on Instagram is another great way for small businesses.

Make sure you have your brand created and ready to go before jumping into creating a business account. Also, are you looking for an easy and affordable way to grow your Instagram and Pinterest accounts?

Learn more by reading my Tailwind review here or head straight to Tailwind’s website.

Pros:

You can get your target audience on Instagram easily. People are always engaging in what they see so your audience is already there with you spending extra time or resources.
It’s easy to set up your ad campaign on Instagram. There are just three steps: choose your target audience, choose an objective, and choose the time frame of your campaign.
It’s easy to measure the success of your ad campaign because it is all measurable in terms of likes, followers, views, post engagement.

Cons:

Users have to pay attention to see the ads posted on their feeds. This is because business posts and feeds usually appear lower in their feed than family and friends.
Less organic reach as business accounts are less personal and Instagram is all about community.
It takes a lot more work and effort to create posts and reels to build a large audience that would be interested in your brand.

4. Facebook Messenger Ads

Facebook Messenger Ads are another great way to advertise your business. This is effective and used for a variety of purposes, such as generating leads, initiating conversations with new customers, or building brand awareness.

Pros:

Facebook Messenger is easy to use.
They allow you to establish a conversation with the person who is interacting with your ad.
They are not intrusive and do not require an app download or an internet connection.

Cons:

It’s difficult to measure the success of your ads. Facebook doesn’t provide any analytics or metrics on how well your ads are performing so it’s hard to know if you’re spending your money wisely.
The audience you reach through Facebook Messenger Ads is not as specific unlike other advertising channels like Instagram or Google AdWords. In contrast, you’re reaching a much broader audience which means it’s harder to target people who will be interested in your products or services.

5. TikTok

TikTok certainly is a social media platform that has to make the list as it allows users to create short videos and share them with their friends, family, or the public.

Besides, it is one of the most popular apps in China and has over 1 billion active monthly users.

Pros:

It’s an affordable way to reach your audience.
The app has a large number of mobile users.
You can be creative with your videos and use graphics that are not available on other platforms like Instagram or YouTube.

Cons:

It is not a platform for long-form content.
Does not allow advertisers to create campaigns or ads to target specific audiences.
It does not have any traditional marketing tools like analytics, media tracking, and campaign management tools.

6. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the most popular social media platforms for advertising.

Not only does LinkedIn help people find potential employers and colleagues, but also builds professional connections, and keeps up with industry news.

Additionally, it has a wide range of features that can help you market yourself and work on your branding.

Pros:

You can target your audience by profession, location, and interest.
You can target people who have a certain job title or company they work for.
You can use LinkedIn’s targeting tools to find people who are likely to be interested in your product or service.

Cons:

LinkedIn might not be the best platform for all industries. You should always consider what your industry’s audience is and how they prefer to consume content.
You have to invest in LinkedIn ads if you want to get a return on your investment.
It might be hard to get people who are not already connected with you on LinkedIn to engage with your content.
There are many fake profiles on LinkedIn which can make it difficult to find the right people you need to connect with.

7. Snapchat

Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to share photos and videos with their friends. Snapchat’s popularity is constantly increasing because of its simple interface and the ability to have fun.

Pros:

It is an effective way to reach the millennial demographic.
It is a great platform for brands that are trying to get their message across in a quick and fun way.
It allows you to be creative with your ads and make them stand out from the rest.
The app’s user base is growing quickly which means more people are using it and they will see your ad.
Snapchat is an excellent tool for customer retention because the app’s functionality is limited and people are more likely to stick around on the platform if they feel like they’re getting something out of it.

Cons:

It can only be used for a maximum of 10 minutes and the content cannot be saved.
There is no way to track the ROI of Snapchat posts
It’s difficult to create compelling content on Snapchat

8. Twitter

Twitter is the leading platform for businesses. It is a great platform to advertise because it’s easy to use, highly targeted, and has a low barrier to entry.

Pros:

Twitter is a great place for networking and connecting with people who share similar interests.
Twitter is easy to use and you can target the audience that you want with ease.
It’s a low barrier to entry, meaning you don’t have to spend too much money on ads.
You can find trending topics and hashtags that are related to your business or industry easily.
It’s also easy for people who might not know about your company or product yet but might be interested in learning more about it, so they can get in touch with you easily through their tweets.

Cons:

It can be difficult to navigate Twitter with how many tweets are coming out every moment. It’s hard to keep up and not be overwhelmed by the amount of content that is being shared.
Lack of control over the content and lack of personalization and targeting

9. Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media platform that is gaining popularity among consumers worldwide. It is a visual search engine that generally helps users find products and services by using pins.

Also, are you looking for an easy and affordable way to grow your Instagram and Pinterest accounts?

Learn more by reading my Tailwind review here or head straight to Tailwind’s website.

Pros:

It has Search Engine Optimization built-in. Every time users pin images on their boards, a link to that website is saved. That’s how your search results are refining each time. And you don’t need to worry about spending too much time searching because every time you search for a particular interest, the outcome of the links stored by SEO will make your search faster and more detailed.
It has a high referral rate. As a matter of fact, a recent study revealed that Pinterest has the highest number of referrals than any other social media platform. A high amount of referrals will boost your site.
Pinterest is free and easy to use.
Has a large number of users which means more opportunities for marketers to find their target audience. Pinterest provides specific targeting options for its unique user base, such as age, location, interests, and behaviors.
You can track your analytics on Pinterest.

Cons:

Copyright Infringement – You can post whatever you want on Pinterest because they don’t protect your content, but there are risks that people will see something you’ve created and use it as inspiration without giving you credit. If someone were to steal something you posted and claim it as their own, they could get away with it.
Another key point is that most of the Pinterest users are female – an impressive 85%. Women make up the majority of the site and tend to own a lot of boards and accounts.

Which Social Media Platform Is The Best For Your Business?

No one answer fits all. Each social media platform is different and which platform you use will entirely depend on the type of business you are advertising.

For example, if you own a restaurant, then Facebook or Instagram would be the best social media platform for you because it has such a large audience reach.

Let’s imagine you have a company specializing in clothing. Your business will grow faster on Instagram than on LinkedIn. This is because Instagram is more catered to e-commerce stores.

Showcasing your products in a new light, this innovative new one-of-a-kind clothing line will surely draw in potential customers and get them excited about your latest collection.

The most important thing to remember when deciding which social media platform to use is that they all have their pros and cons. The key above all is to find what works best for your business long term.

If you are unsure, then I would suggest you test each one and see the difference in engagement across the social platforms. Also, you will have a side-by-side view of how others see your business, how much each platform is costing you, etc.

Conclusion

To conclude, social media is a powerful tool and you should use it to reach new customers and grow your business. No matter which social media platform you decide on, whether it’s just one or several, take advantage of all the features it has to offer.

It is also equally important to understand the characteristics of each social media platform to use it effectively.

I hope by reading this article you have a better understanding of how to determine which social media platform is best for your business. Additional tips to think about are- the number of followers, engagement, return on investment(ROI), and diversity of content.

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