You can’t do them all!
With the small amount of time most business people can spend on social media, you can’t be effective on all platforms. Choose one or two that match your target audience. Once you determine what your best customers look like, you can take a look at these descriptions of the platforms to find a match. Then dig deep into that one and get involved.
If you are going to handle your own social media, you’ll want a helper tool. There are many good ones, including Sprout Social who wrote this helpful information. Good top social media tools include calendars, helpful information such as holidays and odd days like National Baked Potato day, and a calendar to work out your plan. Even Canva, one of my favorite tools, will help you with your social media placement.
Here’s the rundown from Sprout Social. Check out the article for more information (link above).
TikTok
Largest age group: 10-29 years old.
TikTok’s own report highlighted these key industries: Apparel & accessories, beauty & personal care, travel, food & beverage and financial services.
Known for improv, meme-y short videos, TikTok followers spend a whopping 89 minutes a day browsing. With 38% of consumers expecting it to be one of the platforms they use the most this year, it’s time to give TikTok marketing a try.
Huge! 179 Million US users! Largest age group: 25-34 year olds, but all ages are on including a high number of older people.
Small businesses and nonprofits are two industries that stand out on Facebook. It’s also useful for creating different interest groups, customer service and social advertising.
According to the Sprout Social Index™, 71% of consumers and 65% of marketers plan on using this platform the most in the next year. It’s a great place to grow your reach and visibility. Paid social ads are easy and can start with a small budget.
Google My Business
When looking for contact info, 64% of consumers look for a business’ Google My Business page.
It’s a must for all businesses.
While not a traditional social media app, Google My Business and Google Reviews play a big role in the buyer journey. 63.6% of consumers say they’re likely to check Google reviews to research a business.
Monthly global active users: Over two billion
Largest age group: 25-34 year olds
Definitely choose if you are in the Travel, beauty, fashion or health/fitness industries. If your brand is all-in on influencer marketing, posting user-generated content and using short-form video, Instagram is crucial.
49% of US adult consumers expect it to be the platform they use most this year. As the preference for short-form video increases, brands need to invest in platforms like Instagram where this content is king. Instagram is also a key place to tap for influencer or creator collaborations—which is especially impactful for Gen Z and Millennial audiences.
YouTube
Largest age group: 15-35 year olds
Tech, gaming, food and beverage, beauty and fashion have the biggest success there. And as the second largest search engine in the world, YouTube content can expand your reach beyond the platform.
Brands can increase reach and engage with their audience—both in-platform and in Google search. With the addition of YouTube Shorts, the platform has kept up with the times by adding a short-form video feed—a format consumers find 2.5 times more engaging than long-form.
Twitch
If you are focused on 20-29 year olds, they spend 95 minutes a day here!
If your brand is in the gaming industry, or targets gamers, Twitch is a given. The platform has 73% of the market share when it comes to streaming platforms for gamers.
Twitch is quickly becoming the go-to platform for live-streaming. At any given time there are millions of active streamers on Twitch, making it an ideal platform for brands looking to target younger audiences like Millennials and Gen Z through live video.
This group is older, 50-64 year olds and spends less at only 12 minutes a day. It’s growing for Gen Z youth
If you are in fashion, food and drinks, beauty, home decor and travel it’s a handy resource.
Largest age group: 18-29 year olds
The jewelry industry gets the most engagement on Twitter, as does fast-moving consumer goods, food, beverages and home. But higher education is an industry that can uniquely benefit from Twitter by creating different channels for the variety of sports teams, areas of study and communities they cater to.
Twitter is one of the top social media platforms for brands keeping up with the latest trends and conversations that their target audience cares about. One of Twitter’s newer features, Twitter Spaces, makes it possible to have live conversations with your audience that you can promote beforehand, and Tweet out later.
Key Stats:The largest age group in the US: 20-29, with an average of 34 minutes.
Reddit is a great place to build community or join specific conversations. Some of the most popular Reddit topics of 2021 were cryptocurrency, gaming, sports, weddings, health and fitness, food and drink and movies and TV.
Reddit is a platform known for promoting authentic connection, where Redditors specifically look for and join conversations they can trust. Reddit is home to engaged communities filled with people who share all kinds of interests. Even if you don’t join the conversation, listening to what Redditors are saying leads to valuable insights that you can use to improve your brand’s product and services.
