To maximize brand reach, you have to be on social media—but you have to be strategic about it. You can’t just be on any platform; you have to choose the ones that best represent your business, what your brand is, who you want to reach, and what message you’re trying to deliver.  

For example, Facebook might still be a leading social media platform, but its popularity has waned through the years, especially with the arrival of newer sites like TikTok. Instagram, despite being around for a few years, looks like it’s here to stay. We consistently see impressive growth and new features added to the platform. 

What do these examples illustrate? That your options for social media platforms are constantly changing and evolving. There’s a benefit in paying extra attention to what platforms your target audience is using or might be moving to. 

To make things easier for you, we researched and gathered information on all the relevant social media sites so you can make more informed and strategic decisions for your social media marketing plans.

1. Facebook

Let’s start with the biggest platform. Despite the constantly changing demographic, Facebook still dominates the social media space with roughly two billion people using the site every month. That means a whopping 36.9% of the world’s population is on Facebook. 

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Additionally, there are over 200 million businesses on Facebook. While mostly small businesses, these companies rely on Facebook’s promotion and advertising tools to help boost their business on the platform.  

It’s also fairly easy to create the perfect business page to promote your business. Various media platforms and content forms all work great on Facebook, which means you can produce blogs, images, video, and short-form video reels to help promote your brand, depending on what you’re most comfortable with. Take note, however, the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that earns a lot of engagement between users. So, be mindful about choosing topics and content that’s relevant to your core audience so you can spur conversations on Facebook.

2. YouTube

YouTube is another massive social media platform, which holds second place with two billion monthly active users. A recent study says YouTube has a significant 73% of US adults using the platform, which means its potential reach is massive.  

YouTube also has a strong user base across different demographics, even with the 65+ years age group, which is a notoriously hard group to attract on social media. It also covers a wide reach of industries and genres—from beauty to education, DIY to gaming, entertainment to food and leisure. 

Producing videos can be a little more expensive than making other forms of content. However, this is definitely a platform that businesses should invest in, especially since video is a growing medium for content marketing.

3. Instagram

Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms worldwide. It’s the 7th most visited website in the world, with 2.9 billion visits per month. 

When Instagram was first launched in 2010, many assumed it was going to be a niche platform. It focused on images—visual content that you could instantly improve through preset filters that made your entire feed look more aesthetically appealing.

18- to 34-year-olds make up the biggest share of Instagram’s audience. (Image Source)

It has since grown to be a formidable, all-around platform that, while still mostly visual, became a strong, product-based platform for businesses, influencers, and coaches to grow their businesses. Right now, Instagram lets you post images, live videos, and stories and reels for shorter form videos. The platform introduced shoppable posts in 2018, which allowed brands to link their websites directly to the images that featured their products. This makes it much easier to promote brands on the platform.

4. TikTok

TikTok is most popular among the younger generation, so if you want to establish your business and introduce it to Gen Z, TikTok is your go-to platform. In the US, 25% of the audience on TikTok are in their teens or younger. 

The platform itself is fairly new but it has established itself as the prime destination for short-form mobile video. Traditional video takes a lot of effort, skill, and resources to produce. On the other hand, TikTok’s format whittles down smartphone videos to anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes long, making it more accessible to users and smaller businesses. 

Not surprisingly, the platform itself has grown significantly since it was first introduced. You can find videos across different interests, from dancing to lip-syncs, DIY cooking to make-up tutorials, and financial tips to yoga and wellness. The bottom line is that if your target demographic is young, you will definitely want to figure out a way to create a brand presence on this platform. 

5. Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging platform that is best suited for businesses in entertainment, marketing, politics, or tech. This is where you can get massive engagement and an opportunity to share insights and interact well with your audience. 

There’s also an opportunity here for businesses to use it as an alternative customer service channel. So, in addition to being a way for you to engage and inform your followers, it can also be a fast and efficient way to flex how well you take care of your customers and attend to all customer service inquiries or complaints on the platform.   

Regardless of the size of the social media site, you have to be selective about which platforms you will be using. To be effective, each platform requires a commitment of time, effort, and focus—half measures are a waste of time and potentially damaging. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin and not be able to create quality content that will engage your audience. It’s best to pick two or three sites and master these platforms so you can maximize your marketing opportunities and exposure on these platforms. 

If you want to learn more, reach out to us. Book a consultation or get started with LeadsPanda to find out how we can help you. 

For any questions, leave a comment below or check out our LinkedIn or Twitter.