What Social Media Platforms Should My Business Be On?

Pros:

• Facebook allows businesses to post a wide variety of content, from images, text, and video, to links.
• In addition to having a large audience size and reach, Facebook has a very robust advertising platform to help you leverage this audience.
  • This means that you can deliver your ads to a large number of people in almost any demographic, whether you want to target by age, location, interest, or more, and can easily track and monitor your results.

Cons:

• Negative Press And Privacy Concerns - Consumers’ faith in Facebook’s use of their data has been shaken recently, so many users might be taking advantage of setting such as the recently-released erase history function in order to feel protected.
• Declining Organic Reach - In January 2018, Facebook made newsfeed changes designed to help users connect more with others rather than “consume media in isolation”. In a January 2018 video, Facebook Head Of Newsfeed Adam Mosseri stated, “Person to person will be more valuable than person-to-page” in terms of weight and ranking in newsfeeds. This means that business owners need to be prepared to invest in advertising if they want to remain highly visible.

Pros:

• This platform allows customers a visual reference for your products and brands. It can be highly influential in purchasing decisions, especially when it comes to lifestyle products: In fact, 72% of millennials in one study reported buying fashion and beauty products based on Instagram posts.
• This platform is highly visual, allowing images showcasing your brand to be front-and-centre. Additionally, there are a variety of unique ad formats such as photo, story, carousel, and video.
• Hashtags make it easy for your posts to reach the right people, whether you’re trying to reach people in your city, or who are interested in a specific topic or issue area.

Cons:

• If you are looking for a platform to post text-heavy content, Instagram might not be the best place for you to devote your attention.
• In posts that are not advertisements, it can be difficult to link back to your website directly, as links are not live on these posts (although you can place links in your bio).
• If your business does not lend itself well to photographs, you may need to consider creating branded imagery.

Pros:

• When it comes to organic posts, snap stories’ authentic and temporary nature can create a fear of missing out, prompting users to click on them. When combined with special offers, this can be especially powerful.
• Snapchat is a great platform to combine with influencer marketing.
• In addition, to snap ads, SnapChat offers innovative options like sponsored lenses and geofilters.

Cons:

• Snapchat’s younger demographic means that this may not be ideal for all businesses.
• Some businesses may be prone to erring too far on the side of “polished”, when Snapchat is better for more authentic content.
• Some advertising options may be on the expensive side for businesses operating on a tight ad budget.

Pros:

• It’s a great spot for anyone seeking customers who are ready to buy: 61% of users say that they’ve discovered new brands, products, or pins, and 1 out of 2 have made a purchase after using a promoted pin.
• Pinterest can also be highly beneficial for certain industries: it is known for a focus on retail, fashion, decor, and lifestyle.
• 61% of Pinners say that they find data to help themselves, meaning that it has a positive association for users.

Cons:

• With around 200 million users, Pinterest is smaller than many competitors.
• Users with Pinterest accounts visit the site less frequently than other platforms.
• While Pinterest has small niches related to many subjects, industries outside of its main focus may have more difficulty gaining traction on this site if their profile and advertising are not correctly optimized.