Which social media platform is right for your business?

 A version of this article was first published here in May 2022.

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With social media now being a key tool for how businesses are run, social media marketing has continued to grow meaning the only thing separating business owners from consumers is a screen.

Expanding your online presence as part of your marketing plan is therefore a great way to boost your brand awareness, reply directly to questions about your products or services, and reach new customers.

From the more ads-based approach of Facebook to the spontaneity of TikTok, it can be daunting to pick the right social media platform for your brand and audience, as there are so many to choose from, which is why knowing who you are talking to is crucial. 

What is demographic data and why does it matter?

Demographic data is statistical data that is collected to measure and research how well a product or service is doing. It’s usually measured against characteristics like age, gender and professional or social status. Understanding these demographics and how they apply to social media helps you to target those you want to reach. They also show where you need to focus your marketing efforts and content energy the most.

For example, if you want to market to a Gen Z and Millennial audience between the ages of 18-29-years-old, Snapchat (41%), TikTok (35%), and Instagram (32%) are your best bet.

Another example would be that LinkedIn is a business-to-business (B2B) platform aimed at business owners and professionals to help them network and connect. In contrast, Instagram is more commonly used by direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

Which social media platforms should you choose for your business?

Some brands are visual and lifestyle-based (think furniture stores), whereas others have in-depth case studies ready and waiting to meet their new readership online. What you choose will depend on your type of business, as well as the demographic you are aiming for. There are multiple routes to take. Luckily, we’re here to help you choose which social media platform is best for your business.

Facebook for business

• Number of monthly active users: 3.065 billion
• Largest age group: 25-34 (29.9%)
• Gender distribution: 43.7% female, 56.3% male (no data on other genders)

Think of Facebook as your go-to social media platform for business. It is the most versatile of all, in that it suits all types of content. You can post anything to your feed,,anging from information and statistical data to light-hearted special offers for your customer base.

With over three billion monthly active users, your audience will probably have some form of presence on the most popular social media platform, with the majority age demographic being 25-34 at 29.9%, as of June 2024.

 

Facebook is the best platform for sharing content through external links, or guest posts with images and short text. Facebook groups can also be created to stay in touch with customers and to communicate with them as business owners. Groups are online communities within the Facebook platform where users with common interests or goals can interact, share content, and engage in discussions. For businesses, Facebook groups offer significant benefits by fostering a sense of community and enabling direct interaction with customers. They provide a space for businesses to share exclusive content, gather feedback, and build deeper relationships with their audience.

It is the perfect platform to promote content from your active blog or to share various resources and guides with your readers. The Facebook algorithm also loves video content, so try sharing some behind-the-scenes videos using your phone.

Facebook active blogs are regularly updated content pages on Facebook where businesses share articles, updates, insights, and other relevant information. These blogs help businesses engage with their audience by providing valuable and informative content, enhancing brand visibility and credibility.

Facebook summary:

• The audience: Mainly millennials (25-34)
• Main business users: E-commerce, retail and tradespersons
• The style: Mainly images with accompanying text

X (formerly known as Twitter) for business

• Number of monthly active users: 368 million
• Largest age group: 25-34 (38.5%)
• Gender distribution: 37% female, 63% male (no data on other genders)

X has a lot of similarities to Facebook, with a similar demographic (38.5% are in the 25-34 age bracket) and behaviours, but this platform is best used for snappy, quick and to-the-point content as posts have a much shorter lifespan, and the 280-character limit means shorter and more precise tweets are what works best.

Posts on X trend and shift extremely quickly, so it’s the place for industry news, comments and the latest updates. The retweet function means you can share other pages’ content, as well as your own, and promote their content too.

Promoting content from other accounts is a brilliant way to increase engagement rates with multiple audiences, grow your network of potential clients, and help build a sense of community by fostering a relationship with other users on the platform.

Uploading images and designed content, such as posters or infographics, is also popular and an extremely useful way to promote specific products and offers.

Short videos can also capture the attention of someone scrolling through their feed. Twitter popularised the use of hashtags to allow users to follow a particular topic. Using hashtags means your brand’s tweets can reach a wider audience.

This could be done in a few ways, which have been proven to work in the past as your business could join trending conversations, therefore increasing the visibility of your tweets, or they could be used as an organisational tool so you can categorise your content.

X summary:

• The audience: Mainly millennials (25-34)
• Main business users: Media and entertainment, Technology and sports
• The style:Short adverts with engaging imagery

Instagram for business

• Number of monthly active users: 2 billion
• Largest age group: 18-24 (30.8%)
• Gender distribution: 48.2% female, 51.8% male (no data on other genders)

From a content point of view, Instagram is one of the three best social media platforms to reach millennials and Gen Z audiences, with over two-thirds of the users being under the age of 35.

Not only is it best for sharing visual content and eye-catching images – it’s a bit like your online gallery. Short videos can also be uploaded to Instagram Stories or Reels to reach your consumers and create a more personal and relatable feel.

But it’s not just about posting regularly, you must use the right tools and best practices to get ahead of the game. Understanding the algorithm is a key part of being successful on this platform, and it’s ever-changing due to the audience based on the app. Some key factors to remember regarding the algorithm would be to create engaging and relevant content that relates to your business, on all parts of the application, as this helps build a relationship with your following and boost your interactions over time.

With more filters and features being added to Instagram Stories every day, there’s always a new way to interact with customers, like question stickers, polls, links and more, but your best bet on reaching a new audience would be the Reels function, with the average engagement rate being almost 2% - about double the rate of other post types according to Social Insider.

Recommended best practices for Instagram include posting brand-relevant content regularly however be cautious not to over-post, as this comes across as out of touch and could irritate your users.

Know your brand with your adverts and posts by keeping up with your marketing plan, and by making your posts visually consistent. Don’t take this as you need to make your feed a scrolling advert, these graphics or images must be visually engaging.

Although Instagram works best for lifestyle and visual brands that can benefit from showing off their products or services, any business can have a successful Instagram presence.

LinkedIn for business

• Number of monthly active users: 1 billion
• Largest age group: 25-34 (60%)
• Gender distribution: 43.7% female, 56.3% male (no data on other genders)

LinkedIn is great for sharing any changes you are making in your business to adapt to a current trend or to provide unique industry insights. 

LinkedIn is mainly used as a professional platform to share newsworthy or work-related content. As such, it’s a good place to share case study stories and content aimed at business owners or working professionals.

Give your audience an insight into company culture and share any networking events or awards you attend.

YouTube for business

• Number of monthly active users: 2.491 billion
• Largest age group: 25-34 (21.2%)
• Gender distribution: 45.6% female, 54.4% male (no data on other genders)

YouTube is used to share videos globally. Videos can be long or short in length, it depends on the message you are trying to communicate and the audience you are trying to reach.

For example, some audiences may have a shorter attention span, and skip over a video that is longer than a few minutes, or you might want to make videos about a topic that needs to be much more in-depth. With just a smartphone, it’s easy to share educational content such as how-to videos as well as product demonstrations.

If you’re wanting to expand your reach even further, TikTok has emerged as a new favourite for this demographic for sharing short videos.

TikTok for business

• Number of monthly active users: 1.7 billion
• Largest age group: 18-24 (36.2%)
• Gender distribution: 49.2% female, 50.8% male (no data on other genders)

As mentioned above, TikTok is a new favourite social media platform for the younger demographics and, not only do adults and teens spend on average an hour a day, but there is a massive 78% of Gen Z in the United States are users in a 2023 study by Statista.

This is a statistic you will want to pay attention to as the growing sales market on the app is mainly populated by this demographic and audience. TikTok certainly has its own style that is tough to replicate, with the main function seemingly being a natural seamless viewing experience.

As the name suggests, time flies when on the app and many users get sort of hypnotised by the endless content to scroll through. This is a good thing as the audiences are active the sheer amount of content to compete with is mind-blowing.

Forbes offers valuable tips for businesses on TikTok, however the platform's lighthearted nature might not be a perfect fit for every company - therefore but it goes without saying that not every business will suit the form of content on the platform.

Choosing the right social media platform for your business

Here some final pointers to help you pick the best social media platform for your business:

1. Go to where your audience is. You know your target market best, so think about where they are most likely to spend their time.

2. Only pick two or three social media platforms and do them really well. There’s no use in spreading yourself thin across multiple platforms and failing to reach your audience on each one.

3. Check out which platforms your competitors are using to get an extra idea of what content goes where and how your target audience is being reached.

Form more in-depth information, check our free social media marketing course to help you with setting up and using these platforms.