Welcome to part 2 of our article on the top social media platforms for your business in 2021! If you haven’t read part 1, we suggest you do so you can have a better understanding on why your business should be on social media this year and beyond.
In this article, we will discuss four more social media platforms that you should consider for your business. Yes, there are other networks circulating on the Internet that we didn’t include.
It’s not because those networks are not effective. They probably are, otherwise those platforms would have followed MySpace, Friendster, and GooglePlus to the social media graveyard.
However, the social media platforms discussed here and in part 1 have continued to grow over the last few years because marketers have been able to generate the desired results.
Let’s start out with the preferred social media network of Human Resource managers, headhunters, senior-level influencers, and fresh college graduates.
1. LinkedIn
The best way to describe LinkedIn is that it’s the social media platform for professionals. People sign up at LinkedIn to network for business contacts, create strategic partnerships, find clients, promote their brand, and share their knowledge with those in their industries.
Fresh graduates use LinkedIn to look for job opportunities, connect with HR people, and build their professional online presence.
The following numbers further validate the reputation of LinkedIn as the social network for professionals:
- The number of job applications per second: 55.
- The increase in the number of remote jobs posted on LinkedIn during the pandemic: 2.5x
- The number of people who use LinkedIn every month to look for jobs: 40 million.
- The percentage increase in conversions among LinkedIn connections: 55%.
- The number of senior-level influencers on LinkedIn: 61 million or 25% of the community.
Despite the professional nature of its platform, LinkedIn maintains its “social” aspect by allowing community members to engage with one another in their respective news feed, focus/interest groups, and through InMail.
How to use LinkedIn for business:
- Create a professional business profile – Use a high-resolution image of your business logo and a picture that best represents your brand. When writing a description about your business, make sure the content is positioned to address the needs of your potential customer or client. Yes, it’s about you but more importantly, how can you help your client or customer address their issues or concerns?
- Share your LinkedIn Business Page – Invite your employees, associates, customers, and clients to like your page. Promote the Business Page in other social networks and ask your community to follow you.
- Add videos or images to your posts – Similar to other social media networks, posts in LinkedIn get higher engagement when they’re embedded with images or videos.
2. Pinterest
Pinterest started in 2010 with only 10,000 members. Today, the social media platform has 442 million monthly active users.
The number of active users might not be as impressive as Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram but Pinterest with a return of US$4.3 for every US$1 spent on ads is one of the most profitable platforms for online advertising.
However, based on the numbers below, Pinterest might cater to specific market demographics:
- The largest percentage of community members are women: 70%
- The largest percentage of new users are men: 40%
- The percentage of community members who follow businesses on Pinterest: 33%.
- The percentage of users who find new products on Pinterest: 77%.
- The percentage of unbranded searches on Pinterest: 95%.
How to use Pinterest for business:
- Develop a Pinterest marketing strategy – You’ve seen the numbers and have an idea of the community’s demographics. Evaluate your business and see how you can best use the platform to promote your products and services. A good way to start is to see what your competitors are doing on Pinterest. What types of content are they sharing? How is the level of engagement? How often are they posting?
- Create high-resolution images that are of excellent quality – Similar to Instagram, video-based content works best on Pinterest. It’s important to note that 82% of users view Pinterest from a mobile device. Make sure your images stack up well on a mobile screen.
- Maintain Consistency – The key to getting the most out of your Pinterest marketing efforts is activity. Be consistent when pinning your content. We recommend pinning no less than 11 times per day but no more than 30 times per day.
3. Snapchat
Snapchat is one of the newer platforms on the social media scene. The network only started in 2011 but has amassed 315 million monthly active users. 238 million Snapchat users are active every day.
Is Snapchat for you? Look at the numbers below and see if you can benefit from using this platform for your business.
- Percentage demographic breakdown in Snapchat: Women – 60%; Men – 40%.
- Percentage of users aged 34 and younger: 82%.
- Percentage of users who make purchases after seeing an ad or a post in Snapchat: 60%.
- The number of snaps taken per day: 4 billion.
- Number of times users open the app every day: 30.
How to use Snapchat for business:
- Cross-promote with your other social media platforms – If you’ve built an audience with your other social media platforms, use them to inform your followers that your business is now on Snapchat.
- Reach inside and find the quirky you – Again, Snapchat appeals to a young demographic. People aged 34 or younger prefer fun content that might border on being “over-the-top”. To get an idea, check out the Snapchat accounts of your competitors.
- Include a Snapcode – A Snapcode works like a QR Code. People can scan it with their smartphone so they can find your content right away. You can also use Snapcode to connect with other Snapchat businesses.
Lastly, add the Snapcode to your website, emails, newsletters, and social media materials.
4. TikTok
TikTok is in the bottom position in our list not because we think it’s the least useful platform for your business. Actually, it’s not. TikTok is at the bottom of our list simply because it’s the newest, having been founded in 2016. There’s a good chance not many of you are familiar with Tiktok.
In reality, TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform. A 2020 survey by Nikkei Asia revealed that TikTok beat Facebook as the most downloaded social media app in the world.
If you’re still on the fence about TikTok, here are some numbers that might get you moving:
- The number of times TikTok has been downloaded: 2 Billion.
- The number of monthly active users: 689 million.
- Position of Tiktok in the list of best social media apps to trigger consumer spending: 2.
- The average time spent per day by a user: 52 minutes.
- The percentage of users between the age of 18 – 24: 41%.
How to use Tiktok for business:
- Challenge your creativity – This is a social media network that caters to a young audience. When creating content, you must find ways to appeal to their senses. A good example would be to include pets in your videos. Cat videos have been a smash on YouTube and you can expect the same level of success by adding your feline family member in some of your Tiktok ads.
- Collaborate with Tiktok influencers – Collaborating with influencers is the fastest way to have your brand noticed in the community – and Tiktok has a lot of influencers. Reach out to relevant influencers and negotiate an arrangement that will entice them to do a “collab” with you. Of course, this will entail an expense, but if you choose the right influencer, the cost will be worth it.
- Make Your Content Fun – Boring content won’t sell in Tiktok. Check out the content posted by your competitors. Even the worse ones are at the very least trying to be fun and entertaining.
Loosen up your tie, kick up your feet, get in a good mood, take in some inspiration – then, come up with content that would elicit laughs and interest.
Conclusion
The social media platforms we discuss here and in part 1 have been proven effective and consistent in delivering the desired results for the past several years.
Bear in mind that success is not guaranteed by the social media platform.
Success will invariably depend on how you plan, strategize, monitor, revise, and implement your social media campaign.
Also, just because the engagement level in your personal social media page is impressive, doesn’t mean you can generate the same result in your business social media page.
Your business page will reach out to a wide, diverse audience the majority of whom don’t know you. They will react to your content in a manner that’s unique to them.
To find out if your strategies are working, you have to constantly keep track of the analytics and come up with the necessary adjustments to stay on course.
For the most part, you might have some difficulty steering the ship across the social media ocean. But with consistency and by keeping an open mind, you will eventually experience smooth sailing.
A better option would be to hire Mountaintop Web Design to develop, implement, and manage your social media campaigns. We’re confident that our experience, resources, and talent will be more than enough to help your business grow its social media presence.
Give us a call or drop us an email if you’re interested. Let’s get you started in the exciting world of social media marketing.
And if you enjoyed this article, feel free to share it with your social media community.
