Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other platforms occupy a prominent place in the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola, Disney, Addidas and other well-known brands. According to a study by MarketingSherpa, 95% of users between the ages of 18 and 34 follow at least one brand on social networks. However, not all user communities are equally receptive to advertising, as their target (age, gender, interests, etc.) changes from one platform to another. But which social networks are best for marketing?
More than 70% of consumers would consider purchasing products or services from a company with which they have had good experiences in social networks, according to Ambassador data. This and other statistics show the importance of social networks for brands, regardless of their sector or market niche.
Brands interested in initiating a social media marketing strategy should consider which one is most appropriate for their business and their needs. Which social media platform is best for marketing according to the sector?
The years do not pass for Facebook, a platform launched in 2004 that today accumulates 2,167 million active users, almost three times the population of Europe or almost twice the population of the African continent. The demographic breadth of its community (with users of any age, condition or interest) is the secret of Facebook’s success among advertisers. As if that weren’t enough, they have at their disposal numerous advertising formats, such as the carousel of images, video marketing or retargeting, among others.
What sectors should be present here? Facebook is a recommended platform for all B2C companies and most B2B companies.
YouTube
Another social network for marketing purposes with better growth prospects is YouTube, created in 2005 by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley and which obviously does not need a cover letter. However, it is worth mentioning that Apple, National Geographic, Burger King and thousands of companies from very different sectors use it, demonstrating its power to reach and connect with users. An interesting and revealing detail about YouTube is its search engine, the second most used on the Internet, after Google, whose parent company (Alphabet) owns this platform.
What sectors should be present here? As with Facebook, YouTube offers a perfect ‘ecosystem’ for companies in all sectors, especially those related to entertainment, telecommunications and fashion.
Kevin Systrom is the ‘father’ of Instagram, a social network that began its odyssey in 2010, becoming one of the most widely used platforms for sharing photos and videos. A community of 1,000 million users per month, the possibilities of using hashtag or the different advertising formats (advertisements with photos, with video, by sequence, in Stories, etc.) explain its success among companies.
What sectors should be present here? Instagram includes companies related to fashion and accessories, gastronomy, telecommunications and retail in general.
The social network of the little blue bird, created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, boasts being the most widely used microblogging channel on the Internet, with 336 million active users and various advertising options that have attracted thousands of advertising companies. The virality factor is important on Twitter, but major brands value the immediacy of this service, perfect for improving the customer service of any B2C brand.
What sectors should be present here? Twitter is especially suitable for clothing brands, car manufacturers, magazines and digital newspapers, restaurants and hotels or companies related to the world of entertainment.
Snapchat
Created in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, the latest social network introduced a unique feature (later imitated by Instagram Stories: sharing photos and videos with your friends and followers in real time… which disappears after 24 hours. Although Snapchat doesn’t end up seducing all brands, its statistics are impressive: 100 million active users, 8 billion videos sent per day, etc.
What sectors should be present here? The beauty, fashion, jewellery, automotive and tourism sectors are very present at Snapchat.
When Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra created Pinterest in 2009, none could imagine the impact this social network would have. Because of its visual interface and image-based publications (with less importance of textual content), Pinterest is ideally suited to companies with a lot of visual content to share: infographics, images, graphics, etc. Likewise, Pinterest Ads is an ideal format for product promotion, adapting well to affiliate marketing and other advertising modalities.
What sectors should be present here? Pinterest para is perfect for retailers related to childcare, fashion, decoration, gastronomy or the bridal sector.
For excellence, the social network for B2B marketing is LinkedIn, developed by Reid Hoffman and part of the PayPal development team. For networking enthusiasts, this social network is perfect because it allows you to get in touch with professionals in any industry. Its advanced search engine is an ideal tool for finding staff and employers by sector, job title, etc.
If sales gurus emphasize the need to cultivate long-term relationships, LinkedIn’s algorithms prioritize just that. For companies, one of the most interesting functions of this social network are groups, which can be tailored to a particular niche or sector. This favours an excellent exchange of ideas and competences between professionals of the same speciality.
What sectors should be present here? LinkedIn is an ideal space for companies related to the world of finance, telecommunications or the legal sector, among others.
After revealing which social networks are the best for marketing, it must be stressed that companies have much to improve on these platforms. According to a study by Brandwatch, 96% of users who talk about online brands are not followers of the official profiles of those brands. There is a long way to go for all of them.
Image credit : Ico