Social media has become an important component of every marketing strategy in the past two decades. In a world of connectivity, marketers have found an expansive avenue for promoting products or services through digital marketing.

 

The Pros & Cons of Popular Social Media Platforms

As a business owner or marketer, diving into social media marketing without understanding how to leverage its power and knowing which tools among a wide variety of choices to use may be a disadvantage. This article will compare the most popular social media platforms, providing their pros and cons.

 

Facebook

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. With over 190 Million users in the US alone, it’s one of the most frequently used apps out there, with regular users visiting Facebook several times a day.

75% of Facebook users are women, while 63% are men. 76% of people between 18-24 and 84% of people between 25-30 use Facebook. 79% of people 30-49 also use it, another 68% between 50-64 use it.

Pros

Facebook has the best targeting capabilities and provides a better Ads platform to exist so far. Facebook also provides detailed analytics about your audience which can help you refine your target audience much better.

Cons

As the number of businesses using the ads platform has grown, it’s become more difficult to get the same reach. Facebook Ads has become a marketing tool that you need to pay to get the most out of, so for businesses, this means you need to pay more in order to see the most activity and reach.

Conversion rates on Facebook tend to be very low, and this can be discouraging for businesses investing in advertising.

 

Instagram

With nearly 1 billion users, Instagram is a microblog for photos and videos and is one of the most popular social networks in the market. Although users can also share videos and pictures on Facebook, Instagram is unique because the platform centers on pictures.

Pros

Instagram is really good at reaching target groups through good content and well-thought-out strategies. Besides this, Instagram Stories which was first launched in 2016 allows users to share pictures and short videos which allows your businesses to gain more attention out of the usual micro-blog and photos.

Businesses have also been reaching out to influencers to market their products and services with product placements and product reviews shot by these influencers.

Cons

The biggest pro of Instagram can also be considered one of its cons. Since it relies on photos and short videos, you can’t explain your post much further.

One of the most concerning things about Instagram is that captions don’t support links. Users would have to copy and paste a link to their browser which not a lot of people are willing to do.

 

Youtube

In the US alone, US ranks higher than Facebook in usage by adults. 73% of US adults use Youtube and 38% of those users report logging in several times a day.

The largest age demographic for Youtube is 18-29, with 91% using it. People of ages 30-49 and 13-17 also use Youtube frequently, at 87% and 85% respectively.

Pros

Because Google owns Youtube, posting your ads there can help your SEO rankings.

Videos are more likely to be watched than a text post is to be read, and have a higher conversion rate than text-based content.

Cons

Content for Youtube takes time to create.  A social media platform comparison shows that besides recording the video, editing, uploading, and optimizing everything from the title description, thumbnail, and hashtags are all important to curate and extremely time-consuming to make right.

 

Twitter

Twitter has proven itself to be a reliable marketing channel. With over 680 million users, half of which are active, major companies and small businesses alike create accounts that they use to reach their audience and potential consumers. With its high post rate and real-time posting, Twitter can be a helpful medium for interacting with potential clients and customers. Even with the limitation of 140 characters, one of the advantages includes the ability to share links pictures, and videos.

Pros

With the help of the ‘@‘ symbol, users are directly addressed, and this makes engagement with potential consumers a bit more personal. Including a hashtag (#), individual posts can be assigned to specific topics. Tweets with photos, videos, and links are highly effective in grabbing your followers’ interest.

Twitter Advertising also boosts your business profile through sponsored profiles and tweets. Operating in real-time, Twitter demands quick reactions to current events and a high posting frequency from its users.

Cons

Although Twitter has proven itself to be a powerful social media platform, the easy feedback between customers and the business can be a downside. People like to use Twitter as a place to vent their frustrations with a company and its products or services. These tweets can make or break your business’ reputation.

It is also a very time-sensitive platform. Tweeting at the right time, following the right trends will make your posts more effective. Otherwise, your posts will easily be missed.

Pinterest

There are more than 400 million Pinterest users, around 70% of which are female, although this year, the gender divide has been narrowing. Many use the platform as some sort of inspiration board, with users getting on the platform to look for inspiration for topics concerning fashion, lifestyle, and travel.

Pros

Pinterest has a very high conversion rate for a social media platform. 50% of users say they have purchased a product after they saw it on Pinterest. Unlike other platforms, the Pinterest algorithm allows pins to circulate for a long time.

Cons

Like Instagram, Pinterest is focused on visual content. Although they’ve recently included videos, Pinterest has a very specific audience. Curating content for Pinterest may be too time-consuming, and if your niche doesn’t fit their users, it may not be worth the time investment.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the go-to networking site for professionals around the world. It currently hosts more than 700 million users all over the world. Professionals are able to build up their network and reach and share business know-how and information to their network and among users. Users are also able to move forward in their careers through upskilling and the many opportunities LinkedIn offers.

Pros

Since LinkedIn is favored by professionals, having a profile can quickly establish credibility. Customers and clients can give recommendations about the culture and the services your business may offer.

Cons

LinkedIn may be free to join, but its more important features can get expensive. Acquiring more detailed information on users such as their email or contact details.

TikTok

This app is a more recent contender in the social media world. Having risen in popularity in the past three years, it’s monthly active users are estimated to be 800 million.

Young adults and teenagers are the most frequent users who spend an average of just under an hour per day. 90% of users access the app multiple times a day.

Pros

The biggest advantage of Tiktok is it allows its user to be very creative, which can make your videos more eye-catching to the audience. TikTok’s algorithm also gives new users an edge, giving new content some priority in the feed.

TikTok is a fantastic platform for companies looking to reach the global market as it is available in 155 countries and 75 languages.

Cons

Due to the kind of content that gets published on TikTok, using this app to market your business may be tricky. You may accidentally stick an unprofessional label to your business by not matching your audience’s interest.

This brings us to a question: Is Tiktok meant for professional content?

 

These are some of the major social media platforms that you can use to market your business. With these tools, it’s up to you to use any of them according to your needs, your business goals, and the market you’re looking to tap.

 

If you’re looking to move forward in your social media campaign, Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company that provides virtual assistant services of varying industries and fields. We’re eager to talk you through anything you need to know about hiring a virtual assistant. Click here for your free 30-minute consultation.