When it comes to marketing your business, traditional marketing was difficult enough. Now we have social media platforms added to the mix. First, there’s Facebook, then there’s Instagram, Pinterest, SnapChat, Tik… what?!
Exactly how many social media platforms are there?
How Many Social Media Platforms Are There?
When it comes to the total number of social media accounts, well it gets complicated. Depending on how you classify a social media account, there are probably hundreds of platforms. One article from Influencer MarketingHub claims there are 75+ social media platforms you should know about.
Although there are dozens of platforms available—each being powerful tools for reaching your audience—not all are created equal.
Tweet quote from @ArtDevDesignWhat Platforms Do I Need to Be Concerned About?
If you’re looking to reach your audience, there are really only a few platforms you should focus on.
How to Reach the Most People on Social Media
According to Statista, Facebook has over 2.7 billion monthly active users. Additionally, Facebook Inc. also owns Instagram (1B mo./active users), WhatsApp (2B mo./active users), and Facebook Messenger (1.3B mo./active users).
With numbers like that, you simply can’t ignore this platform. Due to this, Facebook’s ad system is also one of the most powerful advertising platforms available. It pulls data from all of the aforementioned platforms and has incredible audience insight because of this.
How to Sell Products on Social Media
When it comes to bringing physical products to your customers, Instagram is by far the best platform. One-third of Instagram users claim to have purchased a product through the platform, according to AdEspresso by HootSuite.
With numbers like that, you’d have to be crazy not to set up an account right now!
How to Share News on Social Media
If you have a business where news and updates are a regular occurrence, Twitter is the best option. It’s simple to see follow and set up notifications for each account people follow. So, if you’re hosting live streams on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc., you can have people receive Twitter updates on your business.
Maybe you release new flavors of cookies once a week, then Twitter can be your way of sharing the great news! Twitter is also great for website integration with a variety of embeds available such as the link below.
Follow @artdevdesignHow to Build Authority using Social Media
Nothing is better for improving authority in your field than sharing your expertise. No platform is better for broadcasting your expertise than YouTube. YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world (Google is the first).
Aside from entertainment, one of the biggest search terms on YouTube is “How to…” and is Neil Patel’s first recommendation on How to Hack YouTube SEO. Knowing this, we can infer many users go to YouTube to learn more about a topic.
If your brand name is consistently appearing in a topic, your name will become top-of-mind for your industry and build authority in your field.
But Wait! There’s More?!
Now there are plenty of other social media platforms you could worry about, but these are a great start. If you’re a small business owner and are just looking to get online, these platforms are a great start.
If you would like more specific recommendations for your business, shoot me an email at dillon@artdevdesign.com or contact me here. I love helping small business owners learn and grow!