List of social media platforms used to market products and services. The different types of these platforms are listed in order to show just how many different options there are available. There is no way that we could have included all the options, but these are all quite popular options. They are outlined below with a short but informative explanation to each one. These options can be changed on the fly, too, so it allows for individualized marketing to essentially every person in every country!
There are many different types of social media platforms used for marketing. The most used ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. All of them have a variety of unique characteristics that you should think about when choosing which one is best for you and your business.
Monthly active users: 2.7 billion
Best use: Engaging your audience, collecting reviews, customer service, advertising
Facebook is often the first social media site to come to mind when discussing social media, and for good reason. It’s one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, and it was one of the first to provide advertising options to businesses.
A Facebook business page is a must for any company or brand, and you should update yours on a regular basis. Today’s consumers expect all businesses to have a presence on the platform, and many of them also expect those businesses to respond to their questions and concerns.
Basically, if you’re only going to choose one platform for your business to use, make it Facebook.
Average monetizable daily active users: 186 million
Best use: Building industry authority, real-Life updates
Twitter is a fast-paced platform, and many users seek news and information on it. Because of this, it can be especially beneficial for companies who publish original content on a regular basis.
Sharing links to new pages and blog posts is simple, and doing it regularly sends readers directly to your new content. Plus, if you make it part of your strategy to share useful and informative content from other sources, you can build your reputation as an authority in your industry.
Instagram.
Known for its glossy photos and videos, Instagram is an ideal platform for brands with products that are visually appealing and easily incorporated into visual media.
Plus, with an engagement rate 58% higher than Facebook’s and 2,000% higher than Twitter’s in 2016, Instagram holds a massive user base, although one that’s largely younger than other advertising platforms.
So, if your business and target audience fits both of those characteristics, Instagram advertising might be the best option for you.
Although organic posts and stories can be great ways to boost traffic to your website, Instagram ads can be directly linked to your product page or another landing page, allowing for quick and easy engagement with your products.
Tiktok.
Although a relatively newer player in the social advertising game, TikTok holds huge potential for reaching potential customers, especially younger audiences.
According to eMarketer, many of TikTok’s social commerce capabilities have primarily focused on product ads which appear as native videos on users’ “For You” feeds. The ads are full-screen and appear for nine seconds, just like an organic TikTok post. Under each advertisement, users can tap the “Shop Now” button, which brings them directly to the merchant’s ecommerce site to complete their checkout.
Besides in-feed ads, other ad options on TikTok include Brand Takeovers, which means that your ad will be displayed as soon as a user opens the app, or a Branded Hashtag Challenge, which encourages user-generated content through trending hashtags and fun video challenges, like a popular dance or creative filter.
Pinterest.
Like Instagram, Pinterest is a highly visual platform, decorated with whimsical wedding photos, cooking videos and fashion reels. But with that being said, Pinterest is largely geared toward women with a 71% female user base.
Considering Pinterest users intentionally use the platform to find and purchase products, Pinterest is one of the most ideal platforms for social media advertising. Promoted pins easily blend into the Pinterest boards without distracting users like some other platforms do. In fact, 85% of weekly Pinners have made a purchase based on Pins they see from brands.
Especially beneficial for ecommerce retailers, Pinterest has a highly targeted search engine which allows brands to advertise their products by promoting their highest-performing pins.
Registered users: Over 706 million
Best use: Reaching B2B prospects and potential employees
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals, meaning it can be a useful tool for reaching B2B prospects. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful for B2C companies as well.
If your company is hiring, maintaining an active LinkedIn account can help potential applicants learn about your job openings. And if you share updates about your company and employees, you can show them what it’s like to work at your business.
YouTube
Registered users: Over 2 billion
Best use: Highlighting company culture, tutorials, demonstrations
Although you may not think of it as social media, YouTube is one of the largest sources of user-generated content online. And if your company creates its own content, it can be a great way to connect with those users.
In addition to the views you get directly on the platform, you can also use YouTube to host videos to embed on your site. And considering how effective visual content is in engaging site visitors, this alone is reason enough to create an account.
Average monthly active users: Over 430 million
Best use: Audience or content research, interacting with niche audiences
Reddit as a social media site offers users opportunities to interact with each other based on shared interests.
On this platform, users can share content, links, or ask questions in topic groups called subreddits. The best part is you can find a subreddit for nearly any topic.
You can use Reddit as a research tool to gain an understanding of what your audience is talking about, and then create content for them.
In addition to research, Reddit also offers advertising options to help get your business in front of interested users.
Snapchat
Daily active users: 238 million
Best use: Real-time updates, promoting events
Snapchat allows users to post photos or videos that will remain published for 24 hours before disappearing. This is ideal for businesses looking to promote a timely event, such as a product launch or conference.
Snapchat also offers marketers the ability to create custom, branded geotags to promote certain events in certain locations during a certain time period.
The Snapchat audience does skew younger, making it ideal if your target audience is a college student.
Conclusion
Which social media is used for marketing depends greatly on the target audience and objectives.