It’s 2023, and if you’re thinking about the same strategies last year that you plan on using for this year, you need to rethink your options. The industry is changing, advertisement costs are increasing, and more and more people realize how crucial building an organic audience is. Social media is more critical now than ever.
Perhaps you don’t want to be a content creator who actively engages in social media platforms to expand your reach. However, you need to understand that building an audience is the most valuable thing any brand can do right now. Most people don’t know how or where to start with this journey. Lucky for you, this is what this post is all about.
The last 17 years have shown how social media platforms have taken off and dominated the internet. What is the top 5 social media platforms you can use right now? Guess what, because today we are discussing not 5 but 10 of the best social media platforms you can utilize to generate followers, build a community from these followers, and ultimately transform them into loyal customers who will continuously buy your product or service. We’ll start at no. 10 and work our way up. Let’s get started!
Discord
Discord is one of the most popular ways to connect online with hundreds of millions of users. First on the list is Discord, with over 150 million active users per month. In 2015, it started as a group chat platform primarily dedicated to gaming. So plenty of gamers would hop on board to create a group to discuss a specific game topic. But in 2020, it took off as a social media platform beyond gaming, but a communications app that allows you to share voice, video, and chat with friends, gaming communities, and developers.
To use Discord, participants join themed servers, and anyone can create their own server after they sign up to become a discord member. You can also invite people to join your server with a link. Server admins can create text and voice channels narrowed by topic or restricted by users, such as age channel topics.
Twitter
Using Twitter for business allows users to share information fast and start engaging in conversations with their target audience. Next is Twitter, with more than 330 million active users. Twitter is one of the oldest social media platforms, started in 2006. At that time, you could share your thoughts as long as you limit your characters to 140. Thus, you must be creative to come up with short but catchy takes. You can also follow other public figures and celebrities and contribute to the conversation. Tweeting and retweeting have become great ways to amplify a message you are passionate about.
However, today, the platform has extended it to up to 280 characters per tweet, and photos and videos can already be shared. In 2020 it went through one of its biggest updates by coming up with something that became known as a Twitter fleet, where the photos and videos you share will disappear after 24 hours. In other platforms, however, this is known as Stories.
This is a great way to share something on Twitter that does not have to stay forever on their profile. Speaking of which, now is the time to try out a cloud-based Twitter growth tool to help brands post content, schedule, and increase engagement. Read more on our Hypefury review.
Snapchat
Brands can advertise on Snapchat using traditional ads, branded filters, lenses, or geotags. Next on our list of the most trending social media platforms is Snapchat, with over 350 million active users. In 2011 it began as a messaging platform for sending messages to your friends, and then the message will disappear after looking at it once. This was the unique thing about Snapchat that made it so popular with the younger generation since it was a feature no one else had.
Snapchat also has realistic filters when recording yourself on camera or taking selfies. You can put on a mustache, a big, funny hat, and even turn yourself into a baby! There were a lot of funny and cool things to play around with that eventually turned into a full-blown social media platform. In 2020 it introduced Spotlight for sharing videos in a vertical format which lasted around 15 seconds. Other platforms on social media have their version of this as well.
Reddit
Businesses will benefit from Reddit because many people come here to ask about potential purchases, air complaints about products or services, and other things you want to watch out for as an entrepreneur. At number 7 is Reddit, with over 430 million active monthly users, which has been around since 2005. It used to be just an internet forum mainly for sharing content and could be used anonymously. Just create a personal profile, read the latest posts, share comments, and create your own posts.
When you have a Reddit account, your posts could be text, photo, or video-based. They could also be link-based, meaning you share another website using your Reddit page. The way Reddit works is through its upvote and downvote system. When a post is created on the platform, people can either upvote or downvote.
So the one with the most upvote wiggles up to the top of Reddit, which was called the front page of the internet since the most popular post will move up to the front page. It was something to be super proud of if you made it to the top. Reddit is made up of hundreds of thousands of communities known as subreddits. So it doesn’t matter what your interest is. You can go to reddit.com and search for it. What are the top 20 social media sites? The answer to this question can also be found on Reddit!
Pinterest
Pinterest for your brand is amazing for brand exposure and increasing your potential customer base. Then at number 6 in our list of the best social media platforms is Pinterest, with over 445 million active monthly users. This social network has been around since 2010, so it’s also one of the oldest members of this group. It’s like a digital scrapbook where you create a profile or a board for yourself. Think of it like a folder on your computer. Within that board are different items called pins. You can make boards for whatever interests you, for toys, gadgets, recipes, DIY, and just about anything you can imagine.
Starting is easy; create an account with multiple boards depending on your interests. Then search all of Pinterest and find unique things you could pin on your board/s. They can be in the form of photos, videos, or even animations that could be linked to other websites. You can also pin other people’s things onto your board and create your very own customized scrapbook. And to ensure you have your content planned weeks or months ahead, why not get the help of a social media scheduling and automation application? Read more on our Social Champ review.
LinkedIn
With the right LinkedIn marketing strategy, you can build credibility, create your own meaningful network and establish your brand as an authority in the industry. Number 5 on our list of social media platforms is LinkedIn with over 760 million active monthly users. It is no longer privately owned since Microsoft purchased the company for $26 billion in 2016. LinkedIn is the oldest of all the social media platforms out there since its foundation in 2003. We are talking about 20 years of existence, long before YouTube or Facebook emerged.
This is the only social media platform specifically designed for professionals. This means you create a profile the way you do with other socials. However, you don’t share personal stuff on that profile. You share your resume and work history instead, plus a professional headshot for your photo.
This is because you can easily connect with other professionals who are there either to hire or look for work. Of course, you can still share articles, photos, and videos as long as you keep them professional and work-related.
TikTok
TikTok serves as an all-in-one tool for brands to advertise on. Then at number 4, we have TikTok, with over a billion active monthly users. The platform exploded on social media in 2020 and created TikTok superstars like Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Bella Poarch. TikTok took off in 2018 when it acquired Musical.ly, which had a similar design and where people created a lot of dance or lip-syncing videos.
It’s a social media platform for sharing short-form videos that began with 15-second videos, with 60 seconds being the maximum. TikTok came with photo and video templates as well. Mainly it was used for entertainment purposes, but entrepreneurs quickly picked up on its potential as a great marketing and advertising tool for building their brand and increasing their reach to their target audience.
Instagram
Entrepreneurs use Instagram to drive brand awareness, boosting sales, and building and tracking audience engagement. Then there’s Instagram at number 3, with over 2 billion active monthly users. When it was created in 2010, it was merely a filtering and camera, but it has evolved into a colossal social media platform. 2010 was also the rise of amazing camera phones, so it was perfect timing. People took pictures to post on Instagram while using it as a filtering app. In 2012 Facebook purchased Instagram for over $1 billion.
Ever since Facebook took over, it underwent a lot of significant updates. Gone are the days when it was just a filtering or photo-sharing app. Now people go live on the platform, sharing long or short-form videos. There’s also Instagram Stories, where the photos and videos you posted will disappear after 24 hours, much like Snapchat. Then 15-second Instagram Reels were introduced to compete with TikTok. There was also IGTV so you could share videos longer than a minute, with a maximum of 60 minutes for selected accounts.
YouTube
Brands can utilize YouTube to address customer queries, promote brand messages, and more. At number 2, we have YouTube, with over 2.6 billion active monthly users. It was one of the most popular social media platforms 2021 or any year for that matter. In 2020 entrepreneurs realized how much traffic they could get as business owners on TikTok but then realized that the audience wasn’t loyal. This all changed with YouTube Shorts since not only is it driving growth to your YouTube channels, but with the latest algorithm updates, if somebody watches your Shorts, they will also be served your long-form content. This means, then, that you can attract and nurture your target audience all at once in a single platform.
And lucky for those planning to start or already have a podcast since YouTube has a dedicated section for podcasts. Do not hesitate to post long-form videos on YouTube because they do not depreciate in value, even if it’s been weeks, months, or years. People can always search and find you and your content. This is Evergreen content, unlike Instagram or TikTok, where content will eventually depreciate in a few days or weeks. Also, because you’re making long-form videos, you can chop these up to create short-form clips that you can then distribute on TikTok or Instagram or repost on YouTube Shorts.
Facebook
The Facebook business page is designed for brands wanting to promote products and services using links, status updates, photos, and videos. So, what is the main social media platform? It’s none other than Facebook, with over 2.9 billion active monthly users. It is a powerful platform regardless of the size or type of business you are in. Here you can reach more potential customers and grow your brand online by engaging in paid or organic marketing or both. Thus, it is highly recommended that you also create a professional Facebook business page.
From a simple Facebook profile, the platform has added various features and now has a robust mobile app on iOS and Android. The Facebook app has become one of the top downloaded social media apps in the last decade or so. Today, the estimated valuation of Facebook is right over $800 billion.
Which social media platform is for you?
If you’re starting to build your brand, understand that this is relative. Just because it’s the best social media platform for XYZ doesn’t mean it’s the best one for you or your brand as well. Start with something you are already comfortable with, then build it up. Do your homework and check out, say, the top 50 social media sites today. See what makes them tick, their common denominators, and what you think makes them super enticing to their audience.
To succeed, you can’t merely know the 6 types of social media platforms and then become an instant success. You can’t expect to rise from zero to 200,000 Instagram followers overnight or make over $10 million in sales in your first year. Beyond making money, you need to know the importance of building an audience. Only when you have built your authority and brand recognition can you expect to get some traction to expand your reach and turn your leads into conversions.
As long as you are committed to learning and growing, you can be sure to hit your goal sooner than later. To learn more about how you can use social media to grow your business, check out our post What is Podcast? A Beginner’s Guide.
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