The days of gathering a marketing team and spending huge budgets on marketing are seeing some competition from social media marketing. Competition is moving from the physical into the virtual world whether it’s a product or service. The benefits include its affordability, accessibility by customers and features that make it easier to create content. Using social media, a business can stay open 24/7 to attend to customers whenever.
Businesses are spoilt for choice with social media networks including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Some are predominantly text-based such as Twitter while others such as Instagram and TikTok are predominantly video and photo based. They also cater to sometimes, different audiences which is why so many brands use many of them at a go. Smaller businesses can take advantage of this too by starting with one network then branching out into the others once they have a knack for how they work. Choosing a network may be confusing but with this information, it is easier.
Over 350 million monthly active users with the majority demographic being between 35-65 years. The 35-56 years age bracket caters to 63 percent of the users on the network. Twitter is predominantly text-based though videos can add up to 10 times more engagement to your text. The kind of content that is largely popular are stories, news and articles. Compared to Instagram, this network accesses more news-oriented people rather than the hip and trendy audience of Instagram. Ideally, 5-7 Tweets a day are great to get a feel for how often your audience wants engagement. Twitter allows businesses to directly engage with customers through comments, retweets, likes and even direct messages.
Instagram has over 1 billion active monthly active users between 18-64 years. The majority are under 25 years which is great for businesses within fashion and digital technology because these niches are hip and trendy. Instagram allows sharing of photos and videos with several additional features to make content more attractive. In addition to all of this, there are growth services too, such as Growthoid, which makes getting Instagram followers easy. Some of the video features include Reels, Stories and IGLive. Compared to TikTok, Instagram offers more video features such as IGLive which allows businesses to broadcast live events and seminars. Additionally, Instagram has over 130 million clicks on commercial posts which makes it a great bet for businesses that have great visuals.
TikTok
TikTok is popular among generation Z. It has over 689 million active monthly users that are all about the entertaining and humorous videos posted on the network. The most popular demographics on the app are 18-24 years who account for 41 percent of users. Compared to Twitter, this is a more entertaining application with hashtag challenges that users can engage in for more interaction. It is more entertainment oriented while Twitter is more news oriented. TikTok is a great platform for brands looking to capture generation Z. Some of the brands that are successful on it include Chipotle and Ryanair.
Facebook is the godfather of social media being the most popular social media network. It accounts for more than 2 billion active monthly users between 18 and 65 years. Almost anyone and everyone has an account on Facebook so it has a large customer base that can be turned into a community. Some of the best ways to stir engagement on the network is by sharing photos and videos of the business, questions and contests. Compared to Instagram, the demographics have almost nearly half of people above 46 years with a Facebook account. It also has a more widespread user base than Instagram. Using Facebook ads can help you target users more likely to purchase your products or services which means you will more likely get more bang for your buck.
Conclusion
Social media is a great marketing tool if you understand what each brings to the table. Knowing what demographics you are targeting, the kind of content they prefer and the best social media network to use will help your business reach the right customers faster. Whether it’s texts, photos, videos and direct messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok have something that you can use to your business advantage. In order to compete in the digital age, making use of these platforms is no longer a matter of choice but a priority.
