Top 6 Social Media Sites for Business

So you’ve decided to make the leap and invest in social media sites for business – good choice! Social media is one of the cheapest forms of marketing available, and the ROI it’s providing to the business world is growing more and more every day.

So it’s about time that you tap into it!

But now the big question is which social media site do you invest in? Or do you invest in all of them? Which social media sites for business will provide the most ROI at the lowest cost?

Before we dive into the best social media sites for business, let’s talk a little bit more about social media as a whole.

81% of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile, and over half have two or more. So, no matter which social media sites you decide to invest in, you have a high chance of reaching customers that you may not have reached otherwise!

Furthermore, people aren’t just using social media, but they’re using social media specifically to make purchasing decisions!

For example, 70% of business-to-consumer marketers have acquired customers through Facebook. 93% of Pinterest users use the platform to plan or make purchases, and over ⅓ of Instagram users have used Instagram to purchase a product online.

Not only are people purchasing from businesses on social media, but they’re spending 20%-40% more money on companies that are using social media!

And if that wasn’t enough, 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family- growing your customer base even further!

These numbers among others show that there is money to be made within the social media realm- but which one is best for your business?

Today we’re going to touch on the top 10 social media sites for business to help business owners like yourself decide which is going to be the most profitable for you!

1. Facebook

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Facebook is number one on our list of the top 10 social media sites for business. With 1.32 billion daily active users, Facebook is the most widely used social platform.

Whether your business goal is brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, or online conversions, Facebook should (and more than likely will) make a notable difference in reaching your goals when used properly.

Facebook’s wide user base and demographic of users is the main reason it’s at the top of our list; almost anyone can find their target audience on this platform and get in front of them.

You may be thinking, “Okay, so my target audience is on Facebook, but how do I make sure they see my business page?” The answer is Facebook advertising (and a lot of great content!).

Facebook’s advertising platform is by the far the most developed of all of the social media platforms (yes, even out performing Twitter and other channels that have been around a lot longer!).

On Facebook, you can target by age, gender, employment, interests, purchasing behaviors, relationship status and so much more! This gives you the power to target your exact audience and put your ads and content in their newsfeed where they are already scrolling.

If you’re wondering if Facebook is for you; our answer 9 times out 10 is yes. There are only 2 instances when we may suggest another platform over Facebook: the first being if you do not have a social media advertising budget, and the second being if your type of business is prohibited to advertise on Facebook based on Facebook’s ad policies (i.e. a vaping or tobacco company etc.).

On Facebook, you have to pay to play, so while your target audience is more than likely using the channel daily, you’ll need an advertising budget to reach them. But even so, many of our clients have seen significant ROI after investing in Facebook ads.

Combining great content and A/B split testing, with Facebook’s extensive, data, user base, and ad platform can be one powerful combination for your business!

2. Facebook Messenger

While Facebook Messenger is a part of Facebook, you have to download the Facebook Messenger app separately from Facebook to use it. It contains a few additional features outside of the ones mentioned above for Facebook! Thus, Facebook Messenger is number 2 on our list of social media sites for business.

Facebook Messenger is an app that allows Facebook users to send direct messages to one another, and lucky for you this functionality also extends to business pages!

Because Facebook Messenger is a part of Facebook, it has the same access to Facebook’s large user base and advertising platform. You can definitely use this to your advantage!

Facebook has advertising campaigns that are specifically developed for Facebook Messenger. When someone clicks on an ad, they will be prompted to start a Facebook Message with your business page, and if they do, your business page can follow up with them in messages from that point on.

If your business model is more focused on lead generation as opposed to ecommerce or more immediate online conversions, then this may be a good option for your business!

Outside of using Facebook Messenger advertising, you can also set up automated messages for your business page. This way, if someone messages your Facebook business page organically, Facebook Messenger will send an automated message back to them (one that you have crafted).

Oftentimes, these automated messages say something as simple as, “Thank you for reaching out to us! Someone will respond back to you within 24 business hours. Thank you and have a great day!”

Even a message as simple as that one helps build trust between your business and potential or existing customers. Therefore bettering the chances of you making a buyer or repeat buyer out of them.

3. Instagram

Instagram comes very close behind Facebook and is number three on our list of social media sites for business. Instagram is owned by the same person who owns Facebook, and has 500 million daily active users.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, saw so much potential in the platform and the benefits of Instagram that he bought it out just 18 months after it launched for $1 billion, and the platform has continued to grow since.

Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, it has access to the same extensive user base and advertising platform just like the Facebook Messenger app does.

So Instagram has all of the same paid benefits of Facebook, but Instagram also has its own set of organic benefits.

When we use the term “organic,” we mean functions you can perform or results you can achieve without directly paying for them in advertising dollars.

On Facebook, you have to pay for advertising campaigns to grow your followers and increase the reach of your page and posts. On Instagram, you can grow your followers organically and therefore grow the reach of your profile and posts organically as well!

This makes Instagram a great option for both businesses with and without an advertising budget.

Instagram is also a visual platform, as you can only publish posts that include photos and videos (as opposed to posting copy without a visual creative). This works to your advantage as a business since people remember 80% of what they see as opposed to what they read or hear!

4. Pinterest

If your business falls within a creative industry of any kind or caters more so to females, then Pinterest is a social media platform you want to be on.

Pinterest has 175 million monthly active users. Out of those users, 81% are women, 93% of active pinners said they use Pinterest to plan for purchases and 87% said they’ve purchased something because of Pinterest.

Food recipes, lifestyle how-to articles, wedding inspiration, and outfit ideas are some of the top searches on Pinterest. So if you’re business falls within any of those industries, you need to be utilizing Pinterest as one of your social media sites for business.

Though Pinterest’s advertising platform isn’t as advanced as Facebook’s, you can still use paid ads to boost the reach of your posts and track online conversions through your Pinterest ads.

Additionally, Pinterest has some organic capabilities that other social platforms do not. Organic reach on a Pinterest post is determined by the amount of keywords in a post and if they align with what a user has searched on Pinterest.

This gives businesses a chance to strategically plan their content to contain words that are searched a lot on Pinterest, without having to use extra advertising dollars!

5. Snapchat

Snapchat is an app that allows users to send Snapchats (a photo or video) either directly to another user or to their Snapchat Story.

A Snapchat sent directly to another user can only be viewed once, but a Snapchat on a Story (such as your business’ Story) is visible for up to 24 hours after it’s published.

If your target market is largely comprised of a younger demographic, then Snapchat may be one of the more effective social media sites for business for you!

There are over 300 million monthly active users and 187 million daily active users on Snapchat and 71% of those users are under 34 years old. Specifically, almost half of its users are aged between18 and 24.

Snapchat shares Instagram’s advantage of visual content since Snapchat posts have to include either a photo or video to publish.

In fact, Snapchat has more than 10 million daily video views. Are your company’s videos tapping into these daily viewings?

Snapchat also offers advertising options where you can pay to have a linkable Snapchat in the Discovery section of Snapchat.

Between organically posting content on your company’s Snapchat Story and paying to post Snapchat in your target audience’s Top Story and Discovery feed, you’re sure to reach your market on one of the youngest and fastest-growing social media platforms!

6. YouTube

YouTube is a video platform that allows users to watch videos and/or upload them.

YouTube has 1.57 billion monthly active users, giving your business the chance to share company content wither over 30+ million daily active users who are likely to watch it.

Similar to Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat, YouTube has the benefit of visual content, but unlike the other social media sites for business that we’ve listed so far, it has the unique stance of being owned by Google!

Because of this, YouTube has access to Google AdWords (Google’s advertising platform), and you can use this to your advantage when running YouTube ads.

It also mimics its parent company in that you can optimize the search of your company’s YouTube videos with the proper keywords.

Without having to spend extra money on advertising dollars, you can make your YouTube videos have higher search rankings by including the searched keywords in your title, video description, and actual list of keywords in the keywords tool.

So those are the top 6 social media sites for business that we recommend! Think you know which social media sites for business are right for you but don’t have the time or know-how to manage them? Contact us to schedule a time to discuss how our social media marketing company can help you!