5 Reasons Why You Need to Compare Social Media Platforms

Many marketers and managers dive into social media marketing without researching the right social media platform, let alone choosing what suits their marketing needs. A study reveals that many marketers also find it challenging to get followers, measure ROI, and manage time.

The first step to social media marketing success lies in truly understanding the platform that you’re using. Being able to do a comparison between the various social media platforms can be a great step in tackling these challenges.

Here are five differences between social media platforms and why understanding these comparisons can help with your marketing campaign.

Number of Users

One of the most important things to consider when using a social media platform is the number of users. Different social media platforms have a varying number of users. The most used platform, Facebook, has more than 2 billion active users. Instagram has more than 1 billion, Twitter has over 300 million active users, and LinkedIn has 290 million. There are a few other platforms with smaller user count from more than a hundred thousand, to as few as several thousands.
Understanding these numbers is important as it gives you a clue where your target audience is likely to be.

Intended Purpose

Every social platform has a unique purpose. Some platforms are for connecting with family and friends, some are for business networking, sharing the news, or even for marketing.
Understanding the intended purpose of each platform will tell you how to approach your social media campaign. For example, LinkedIn is exclusively for professionals looking to connect with people of the same wavelength, like-minded individuals working in similar or different industries.

Demographics

A familiar definition of demographics is, characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets. The most common demographic categories cover gender, age, religion, race, education, and income. Various social platforms have widely varying demographics.

The variations in demographics should help you determine the best place to invest your time and money. For example, if your brand targets women, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest would be excellent social media platforms to use. You can always narrow that down to more specific categories. Therefore, if you’re looking to target women in their early 30s, Instagram is the platform you should prioritize.

Marketing Features

This is where social media platform comparisons weigh much more for the searching marketer: A platform’s unique marketing tools. Some platforms allow users to create a business account separate from their personal accounts. These business accounts often have tools with additional marketing features unavailable to personal accounts. Two examples of such social media platforms are Instagram and Facebook.

Make sure to learn about each social platform to see which features work the best for you and your marketing goals. Hashtags and trends which you may find on Twitter Business, for example, give users access to Twitter Analytics and conversation trackers. There are a few other platforms that even give you access to Insights, Scheduled Posts, and Call To Actions.

Based on these reasons, you can see that social media platforms vary from each other. Learning and comparing each one of them gives you the discernment you need to use the best tool for you and your marketing goals.

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