What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media has become an integral part of a person’s daily life. Almost everyone owns either Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account. This is why it is no surprise that big companies are capitalizing on this channel to market their offerings. This is what we call social media marketing.
It is the use of social media platforms to advertise or promote products and increase brand awareness. It is cheaper than other traditional forms of media and it can also reach a wider audience.
However, with the many many social media platforms available, which one should you use? To maximize the benefits of social media for business, you have to use the most ideal platform for yours. To make things easier for you, we have listed some of the most widely used social media platforms for social media marketing.
It should not come as a surprise that Facebook is on top of our list. Facebook is the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the words social media. It is the most widely used social media platform, with 2.45 billion monthly active users.
Facebook lets you create a page for your business, post pictures and videos, and get feedback from consumers through comments. Additionally, you can also converse with consumers via Messenger, making it easier for them to connect with you. It is the most basic social media platform for businesses. Most consumers rely on this platform when searching for products or services.
Apart from this, Facebook has a feature that targets consumers based on age, gender, interests, and more. Because it is user-friendly and has the widest reach, it is arguably the best social media for small business with low capital and a small, local following.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing platform with 2 billion active monthly users and 5 billion videos watched per day. There are two ways you can promote your business on YouTube: You could either make your own content or pay for advertisements. If you intend to create content, you need to have a channel where you will upload the videos for your subscribers to watch. On the other hand, you can also pay for advertisements, which will be streamed in between videos uploaded by other users. If you are looking for alternatives to expensive television advertisements, then YouTube might just be the answer.
Third on our list is Instagram, a photo and video sharing platform with 1 billion active monthly users. Instagram is a visual-heavy platform with little text involved. As such, it is best used for building your brand identity by posting visually appealing photos and videos of your products. It also contains other features such as Instagram Stories, Instagram Live, IGTV, and different photo filters that you can use to make your account more interesting and eye-catching to consumers.
Next up, we have Twitter. Twitter’s main difference compared to the other platforms is its focus on providing real-time information and entertainment to its 340 million monthly active users. It is a fast-paced platform where users mostly look for news and information. You can use this to update your followers on a regular basis about your latest products and price offerings, among others.
TikTok
One platform that has grown rapidly and enormously over the past year is TikTok, which is a video sharing platform. It is currently the hottest trend in social media, with 800 million monthly active users, mostly aged 30 and below. Businesses could market their products by creating their own content or partnering up with influencers to spread their content on a larger audience. If you are after teens and young adults, we strongly suggest that you consider advertising through TikTok.
These are just some of the many social media platforms you can use to help grow your business. Remember, you do not need to be on every platform. You just need to find one that best suits your needs.
If you need help in deciding which social media platform to use for your business, connect with one of our experts by filling out the form below. We offer social media marketing services for all business types and sizes.
