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THE FUTURE IS TECHNOLOGY

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What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the process of creating content for social media platforms to promote your products and/or services, build community with your target audience, and drive traffic to your business. With new features and platforms emerging every day, social media marketing is constantly evolving.

Social media marketing is all about meeting your target audience and customers where they are and as they socially interact with each other and your brand.

While social media marketing as a whole is incredibly valuable and beneficial to your business growth (as you'll see in the following section), your strategy will differ based on which social networks your audience spends their time on.

Social Media Marketing Platforms

Facebook

Users: 1.9 billion daily active users worldwide

Audience: An even spread of Generation X and Millennials

Industry impact: B2C

Best for: Brand awareness; advertising

Facebook is the largest social media platform and the most established. Since its launch in 2004, it has become an invaluable tool for B2C businesses, offering advanced advertising tools as well as organic opportunities.

TikTok

Users: 1 billion active monthly global users

Audience: Primarily Gen Z followed by Millennials

Industry impact: B2B and B2C

Best for: Short-form, creative video content; user-generated content; brand awareness

When you think ofshort-form video, you probably think of TikTok. The platform rose in popularity in 2020 and shows no signs of slowing down. It's one of the best platforms for community building, with marketers ranking it in second place behind YouTube.

Instagram

Users: 1 billion monthly active users

Audience: Primarily Millennials

Industry impact: B2C

Best for: High-quality images and videos; user-generated content; advertising

Although Instagram launched only 12 years ago, the platform has taken the world by storm. When it comes to sharing visually compelling content, Instagram is where brands go. Another thing that sets the platform apart is its advanced ecommerce tools.

Today, users can discover brands, browse their products and/or service, and complete a purchase without ever leaving the app – making Instagram a hard platform to beat.

Twitter

Users: 211 million daily active users worldwide

Audience: Primarily Millennials

Industry impact: B2B and B2C

Best for: Public relations; customer service; community building

While Instagram focuses on visuals, Twitter focuses on words. Since the early days of 140-character Tweets, the platform has now expanded to include an audio tool calledTwitter Spaces, a community-building tool calledTwitter Communities, andTwitter Momentsto share interesting content with your followers.

LinkedIn

Users: 774 million active users worldwide

Audience: Baby boomers, Generation X, and Millennials

Industry impact: B2B

Best for: B2B relationships, business development, and social selling

LinkedIn is Facebook's professional cousin. It's perhaps the only platform where its audience is clearly defined: Working professionals looking to network and seek out new opportunities.

That makes it the ideal platform for B2B companies looking to identify key decision-makers and build an industry-specific community.

YouTube

Users: Over 315 million daily active users worldwide

Audience: Primarily Millennials but has a strong audience across gender and age demographics

Industry impact: B2C and B2B

Best for: Brand awareness; long-form entertainment, and how-to videos

According toHootSuite, YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. In addition, marketers name it the best platform to build community.

In addition to being an incredibly popular platform, its users also tend to stay longer on it because it features mostly long-form content – making it an ideal platform to share educational content.

Snapchat

Users: 306 million daily active users worldwide

Audience: Primarily Generation Z

Industry impact: B2C

Best for: Brand awareness; advertising

When Snapchat came out in 2011, leading the charge in ephemeral content. It introduced content that you could share with your friends and that would expire after 24 hours.

The platform peaked in 2015 and has held strong since then. Many thought the brand would disappear once Instagram introduced Stories, the same feature with a different name. However, Snapchat continues to be popular among young adults.

Pinterest

Users: 444 million monthly active users worldwide

Audience: Primarily Millennials with a solid audience in Gen Z, Gen X and Baby Boomers

Industry impact: B2C

Best for: Visual advertising; inspiration

Think ofPinterestlike a visual storyboard that allows users to get inspiration for everything from fashion to home decor.

85% of Pinnerssay Pinterest is where they go to start a new project. In addition, 80% of weekly Pinners say they've discovered a new brand or product on the platform. So, not only is it a great discovery tool but it's also a way for brands to build their narrative through visual stories.