Which social media platform is best for marketing
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Social media marketing plays an incredibly important role in the perception of your business. Whether you’re looking to hyper-target specific users with ads, growing general awareness of your brand, driving quality traffic to your site or all of the above – choosing the best social media platforms can skyrocket your marketing efforts.
With the ever-growing number of social media platforms, and each one of them constantly evolving, it can be hard to know which social media platform is best for marketing your business.
In this blog, we’ve gathered some of the most relevant facts and figures to help you understand the demographics, benefits and potential downfalls of each platform. And, if you decide to use them, some tips and tricks that may help you to maximise your success!
Want to know more about how we can help you? Learn more about social media management and why it’s essential for your business to stay relevant here.
Choosing The Best Social Media Platform For Your Business
Facebook is largely considered the ideal platform for reaching a wide audience, with its humongous user base spanning across a vast array of demographics. It’s granular targeting options also means you can serve ads to users with niche interests, or specific user behaviours.
- Facebook has 2.91 billion monthly active users
- 36.8% of the world’s population uses Facebook monthly
- Despite Facebook’s reputation as a platform with an older audience, users ages 25-34 represent Facebook’s largest demographic
- 26.4% of Facebook’s user base is made up of millennials. That said, 36% of Facebook’s audience are 45 or older.
- 98% of Facebook users access the app via mobile
- 70% of users visit the platform daily, with 49% checking Facebook “several times per day”
- The average Facebook user spends 33 minutes per day on the platform
- Two-thirds of adult users consume news through Facebook
Facebook’s new user growth rate is the second-lowest of all social platforms (gaining only 0.8% in 2021) This is perhaps the most worrying statistic – accompanied by the rapid growth of TikTok, it illustrates that younger users are generating a shift in the social media landscape.
However, Facebook is still the most-used social media platform among marketers. Facebook has over 10 million active advertisers, accounting for over 25% of all digital ad spending, right behind Google (28.9%) and surpassing Amazon (10.3%) – your competitors are most likely advertising on Facebook!
Instagram is a video and photo-sharing platform that has experienced a huge amount of growth and evolution in the past 12 months. It’s creator focussed tools and updates to make paid partnerships as easy as possible make it the ideal platform for influencer marketing, as well as the place to share engaging visual content to increase brand awareness.
- Instagram has more than 1 billion users using the app every month.
- 18 to 34-year-olds make up around 60% of the platform’s user base
- Instagram is used by 25% of smartphone users.
- 62% of users log into their account at least once per day
- A mere 0.1% of Instagram users only use Instagram
- 71.9% of posts on Instagram are photos.
- 14.2% of posts on Instagram are videos – 9 out of 10 users watch Instagram videos weekly
- 13.9% of posts on Instagram are carousels.
- 500 million accounts use Instagram Stories daily
- 58% of users say they’re more interested in a brand after seeing it in a Story
- 200 million users check out at least one business profile each day
- The “perfect caption” has less than 10 words and 20 emojis.
- 23 emojis in video posts increase the average engagement rate to 4.95%
- 24 emojis are recommended in carousels for the best performance.
- Posts that include a Geo-location receive nearly 80% more engagement than posts that don’t.
X/Twitter
X/Twitter is a social networking service; the ideal place to generate discussion and converse with potential consumers. Users are also in a unique mindset when browsing this platform compared to others. As they often go to the platform for informative, rather than entertaining content, it is thought that its audience is more receptive.
- Twitter has around 396.5 million users
- 206 million users access Twitter daily
- The majority of Twitter users are male (68.1% male, 31.9% are female.)
- 38% of Twitter Users are 18-29 years old
- Almost 50% of Twitter users consume news regularly on the platform, with 46% saying Twitter has helped them to understand world events
- 16% of internet users aged 16-64 say that they use Twitter to research brands
- 54% of users reported taking action after seeing a brand mention on Twitter
- Time spent viewing ads on Twitter is 26% higher than on any other social platform
Deeper insights
Pinterest is widely used by people looking to find inspiration for their projects, interests and hobbies. Whilst it may not be the first platform that comes to mind when thinking about your social media strategy, it holds a lot of potential for advertisers.
- Pinterest has 431 million active monthly users
- The platform has a predominantly female user base (71%) but its male audience continues to grow
- 82% of users access Pinterest on mobile
- 85% of Pinners say they use Pinterest to help them plan new projects
- 87% of pinners have purchased an item because of Pinterest.
- People who use the platform on a weekly basis are 2.2x more likely to say it’s the most influential platform in their purchase journey compared to other social media platforms.
- 75% of weekly Pinterest users say they’re ‘always shopping’
- 70% of users claim that Pinterest is where they go to find new products, ideas or services they can trust.
Shopping ads on Pinterest drive 3x the conversions and 2x the return on ad spend versus competing social platforms. Also, shoppers on Pinterest spend 2x as much monthly than social shoppers on other platforms.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site, perfect for reaching higher-income individuals. The ability to target based on job title, industry, location, level of education and more makes it the ideal platform for B2B and lead generation.
- LinkedIn has 810 million members across over 200 countries and 675 million monthly users.
- 40% of monthly active users use LinkedIn daily
- There are over 30 million companies on LinkedIn
- 61 million LinkedIn users are ‘senior level influencers’ and 40 million are in decision-making positions.
- LinkedIn’s users are predominantly male, although the gap is closing (57% male, 43% female)
As such, LinkedIn is the most used social media platform amongst Fortune 500 companies – with it 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook and Twitter. That’s probably why 92% of B2B marketers include LinkedIn in their digital marketing.
TikTok
Optimised for short-form video content, TikTok has seen overwhelming growth and popularity with younger generations in the past few years.
- TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2021, with 656 million downloads
- It’s been downloaded more than 3 billion times
- It has 1 billion active monthly users
- It has surpassed Instagram as the most-used social media app amongst Gen Z
- 47% of TikTok users are between ages 10-29
- Slightly more female users than male
- The most engaging platform by far, with an average session duration of 10.85 minutes
- 90% of TikTok users go on the app multiple times a day
- 60% of TikTok users go to the app for funny/entertaining content
- 43% of its users reported that they tried something new after seeing it on the platform
- 49% of users said TikTok helped them make purchase decisions
- Working with TikTok creators can increase ad recall by 27%
- 45% of marketers use TikTok for influencer marketing
Choosing the right social media platform for your marketing efforts is crucial in today’s digital landscape – especially when it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
As we’ve explored, each platform offers unique advantages and caters to different demographics:
- Facebook remains a powerhouse with its vast user base and targeting options
- Instagram goes above and beyond with visual content and influencer marketing
- X is great for generating discussions and reaching more news-conscious users
- Pinterest is perfect for inspo-seekers and driving purchase decisions
- LinkedIn stands out for B2B marketing and reaching professionals
- TikTok has emerged as a dominant force among younger generations, thanks to game-changing and engaging short-form video content
Essentially, the key to success lies in understanding your target audience, aligning your content strategy with the strengths of each platform, and keeping your strategies flexible. This can help you when platforms evolve. Remember, it’s not about being present on every platform, but rather focusing your efforts where your audience is most active and receptive.
Contact us today and see how we can help you.
Deeper insights
Want to learn more from our social media experts, take a look at these resources:
