In our recent blog post, “Which Social Media Platforms Does My Business Need?”, we touched upon the importance of including social media in your marketing toolbox and provided suggestions for deciding which platforms to use. In this post, we’ll take a deeper dive into some of the most popular social media sites to help you determine which may be the most appropriate for your business.
Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in!
Facebook
As one of the world’s oldest (it turned 17 this year) and most widely used social networks, Facebook has nearly 2.8 billion monthly active users. That’s a lot! It’s also a great platform to reach people who already know your business.
When developing an effective Facebook marketing strategy, businesses must understand two main things: 1) Who is on the platform and 2) How they are using it.
So, who makes up Facebook’s billions of users? They come from all over the world and represent all age groups. Here are some interesting statistics:
In Canada, over 72% of the population has access to Facebook. The number of Facebook users in Canada reached 27.35 million in 2021 and is expected to reach 36.2 million by 2026. (Source: Statista)
83% of Canadians have a Facebook account, making it the top social platform in our country. (Source: Hootsuite)
Many of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 25 and 34. (Source: Statista)
Two-thirds of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once a week. (Source: Sprout Social)
Facebook ads are among the most cost-effective advertising options for small businesses, and its marketing features extend into Instagram (which Facebook owns) and Messenger. (Source: WordStream)
Instagram
Instagram has expanded tremendously over the years and continues to do so. The photo-sharing app has evolved from being a favourite place for people to share their holiday, food, and family photos into a platform that appeals to a wide range of influencers, advertisers, and brands. Instagram is an excellent platform for humanizing your company, showcasing your values, and elevating your brand through eye-catching images and videos.
It’s probably safe to say that your target audience is on Instagram. In fact, your ideal customers are probably scrolling through their Instagram feeds right now! Check out these numbers:
Instagram is estimated to have 1.074 billion users worldwide in 2021 (Source: eMarketer), and it’s the fastest growing social media platform in Canada.
The average Instagram user spends at least 7 hours per week on the platform. (Source: Sprout Social)
71% of the billion monthly active users on the Instagram app are under the age of 35; The single most popular age range is users between the ages of 25-34, followed by users between the ages of 18-24. (Source: Statista)
Even though Instagram is most popular among those aged 18 to 30 (Gen Z and Millennials), 71% of B2B companies now have an Instagram account. (Source: Social Media Examiner)
50% of Instagram users follow at least one business, meaning that businesses have a great opportunity to increase their reach through Instagram. (Source: mention). One appealing option for brands is they can add contact information to their Instagram Business pages, which isn’t an option for personal profiles. This includes a business phone number and physical address.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a powerful business-oriented network and the most popular social media platform for professionals. The content shared on this platform is primarily designed to improve a company’s profile, connect with other businesses, and encourage job recruitment.
Although it’s not the biggest social network, or the one with the largest reach, LinkedIn is still a great site to be on, whether your business offers B2B or B2C products and/or services. Here are some statistics to consider:
LinkedIn has 722 million members; 57% of the platform’s users are men, and 43% are women. (Source: Hootsuite)
1% of all Internet users in Canada use LinkedIn each month, and 44% of all Internet users in Canada have an account on this social platform. (Source: eMarketer). LinkedIn reports a total of 17 million users in Canada.
9% of LinkedIn’s users are between 25 and 34 years old. (Source: Hootsuite)
55 million companies are on LinkedIn. (Source: Hootsuite)
LinkedIn is only second to Facebook as the most popular social media network for B2B marketers. (Source: HubSpot)
Twitter
Whether you love the platform or not, Twitter can be an extremely effective tool for expanding your company’s online presence. If you’ve spent any time at all on the platform, you already know how fast-paced and chaotic it can be, so It’s vital to be able to stand out as a business on Twitter these days if you want to succeed. Here are a few numbers to help you decide whether tweeting may be worth your while:
There are 554,750,000 active users on Twitter. (Source: Rival IQ)
24% of people check their Twitter feed more than twice a day. (Source: Rival IQ)
70% of small businesses are on Twitter. (Source: Rival IQ)
33% of Twitter users follow a brand. (Source: Rival IQ)
79% of Twitter users are more likely to recommend brands they follow and 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from brands they follow. (Source: Rival IQ)
YouTube
Does your business create a lot of video content? When it comes to traffic, revenue, and a vast user base that can’t get enough of video content for any brand’s target audience or budget, YouTube’s effectiveness for a business is beyond compare. Even better? It’s not too late to start a YouTube account for your business if you haven’t already, and the process isn’t complicated.
Having a business YouTube channel can help you reach a larger audience, expand your business, and further establish your brand. Check out these statistics:
YouTube has 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it a very close second to Facebook. (Source: Foundation)
There are YouTube users in over 100 countries. (Source: Foundation)
YouTube is not just for the teens and millennials. Surprisingly, the fastest growing demographic currently on YouTube are Baby Boomers and Generation X. (Source: Foundation)
Google recently revealed that Generation Xers (ages 39-53) now account for over 1.5 billion views per day on YouTube, with 75% of that group viewing YouTube at least once a month. (Source: Foundation)
90% of users say they discover new companies or products on YouTube, which could mean that video is becoming a more common way to get your brand’s name out there. (Source: Foundation)
Are you ready to make your business stand out on social media?
There are even more social media platforms available than we have covered above — and new ones pop up almost every day it seems. Either way, social media networks are exciting marketing tools to have in your toolbox and managing them and engaging your customer base is one of our areas of expertise. Your business is unique and the social media activity you choose needs to be aligned with your needs. Let’s talk about the options!
As a business owner, you already know that social media is an essential tool to have in your marketing toolbox. You may also be aware that using the most appropriate social media platform(s) for your business can assist you in attracting new business while retaining existing customers. Other business goals that can be accomplished by using social media include driving traffic to your website, capturing a higher quality of leads, driving in-person sales, and boosting brand awareness and engagement.
The only issue with choosing social media platforms? There are so many possibilities!
A few years ago, choosing your brand’s social media platforms used to be fairly “simple”: you started a Facebook Page, created a Twitter profile, and then gradually added others. It is safe to say that the social landscape has changed a lot since the early days. Instagram has become much more popular (and stayed popular) for businesses and individuals. Facebook’s dwindling organic reach is a troublesome reality for business owners; Twitter’s algorithms are always changing; and LinkedIn is seeing increased traffic. Surprisingly, platforms like Pinterest and TikTok have become quite popular for brands, and if you are going to create video content, YouTube should be at the top of your list.
Trying to be active on dozens of social media channels at the same time is simply not feasible. So, it’s important to determine which ones are right for your business and marketing efforts. Here are some suggestions to help decide which social media channels are best for you.
Begin with your own audience.
When it comes to social media platforms, your target audience is unquestionably the most important consideration. Nothing else, not even size, matters if your audience is not engaged on the channel. Facebook, for example, has the most active users of any network. However, if your target audience is hanging out on TikTok or Instagram then that is where you should be.
In other words, each platform has a unique core audience; it is critical to identify your target audience and connect with them through their preferred social media channel. At the same time, if your product and target audience do not use a specific network, it makes no sense for you to be on that network.
What are your competitors doing?
Although you shouldn’t do something just because your rival is doing it, it is often quite helpful to see what others in your industry are doing so you can make an informed decision. Consider things such as what platforms they are using, what is working (and not working) for them, and how engaged their audiences are on each channel.
Consider how your brand comes across to others.
Your products and services, as well as the personality of your brand and the nature of your business, should all play a role in the social media platforms you select. For example, creative brands and artists could focus on visual sites like Instagram or Pinterest, while B2B companies should have LinkedIn at or near the top of their lists. Keep in mind though that there are no black-and-white options when it comes to platform selection. Plenty of B2B and B2C companies may have a visually attractive brand presence that potentially allows them to shine on Instagram, too.
Learn about the different platforms and understand them.
Each social media site has its own distinct personality and communication style. Twitter, for example, is wonderful for discussions and popular subjects, whereas LinkedIn is great for highlighting professional skills and corporate information. One important reason we recommend Facebook to businesses is that this account allows happy clients to tag you and recommend you.
Taking some time to learn about the channels you are considering as well as becoming familiar with the communication protocol has several advantages. Doing this will not only assist you in determining the ideal platform(s) for your business, but it will also assist you in avoiding communication blunders.
Are you ready to get social? We can help!
As you can see, having a solid social media presence provides numerous benefits, especially when you use the best platforms for your business. If you are eager to get started with social media management, we would love to help you avoid wasting time on sites that aren’t going to bring you the results you deserve. Find out how we can help your business stand out on social media by calling or visiting us online!
Establishing social media marketing goals is an important step in growing your business. Having an active and engaging social media presence is an important tool to invite customers to contact you. Social media platforms play a role in identifying and directing interested potential customers to your website and that is invaluable to any growing business.
Here are three major reasons why social media should be a non-negotiable component of your business’ marketing, brand communications, and online presence strategy:
1. Social media provides the same opportunity for brand visibility, regardless of the size of your company.
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from social media’s leveling effect. Each is given the same amount of online space, as well as the same options for using appropriate and successful keywords, verbiage, eye-catching images and ads to reach their audiences online, regardless of its size or revenue.
By making it easy to display your brand and offerings online, social media platforms provide one of the most effective marketing and communications strategies for your business. What’s even better? Social media is an inexpensive and convenient way to highlight a company’s online presence. This is especially good news for smaller businesses with limited marketing resources. When users are asking their social media community for recommendations, your business is easy to find, to tag and to recommend!
2. Let’s Talk About Social Listening
Businesses that use social media to listen online rather than only broadcasting all the time will find the platforms are extremely beneficial. Social Listening helps a company gain firsthand knowledge of the issues that are important to their audience and future clients. This information then helps them make decisions, take effective action, and make a positive impact.
As well, businesses are more likely to gain their audience’s trust and loyalty when they remember that social media communication requires both engaging with and listening to their audience! Businesses that consistently concentrate on developing genuine relationships with their followers may end up closing more deals than they would have done by sales calls and advertising alone.
3. Social media improves your company’s visibility, both online and off.
Every day, social media assists companies in enhancing not only their online presence but their offline presence as well. In many cases, a large percentage of consumers conduct online research on potential purchases before making a final purchasing decision. If you want to attract these potential customers, you must strengthen your online presence by creating and maintaining your business social media platforms.
Are you ready to incorporate social media into your business’ marketing strategy and improve your brand’s marketing and communication strategies?
