Social media consists of many types of networks for people who engage in a variety of different interests. Having a good strategy in social media helps you to connect with a wider audience.Social media isn’t the one-size-fits-all type of service. There are different types of social media services that focus on different needs and accommodate various types of content.
First, knowing what you want and the goals you hope to have through social media will help you choose the right type of social media platform. Also, engagement rates may vary across all these platforms.
Also learning about the popular types of social media can help you create more specific, meaningful marketing campaigns. In this article, we explain the different types of social media and the reasons why it is important promoting your brand’s goods or services.
Types of social media
1. Traditional social networking websites
Some traditional social networking social media sites are Facebook, LinkedIn, X or the newest Threads.
Mainly these are used for connecting directly with customers in specific areas, communities, or interest groups.
Businesses can use it as a great way to amplify your voice and connect with your audience. These flexible platforms are designed to help you share both text and visual content with everyone you like. They share features like networking, event organizing, and advertising.
Traditional social platforms also gather lots of information about their users. This is really useful to run specific targeted ads and connect with the right audience to share useful information, promote upcoming local events or appearances, or run contests.
2. Image-based social media
Some image-based social media sites are Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok (photo mode)
These are used for visual storytelling, brand-building, and social commerce.
Businesses can use them for commerce and brand imagen. They offer various ways to shop in-app and eliminate the need to drive traffic to an external site. You can sell directly to your customers via social media.
Instagram Shopping allows businesses to create a storefront. You can tag specific products in your images and videos and mention products in your profile bio. You can do similar things on Pinterest and Snapchat but this last one is currently in beta. This helps customers to get what they want from your store in a fast and easy way.
Not only shopping is important, also brand image is essential to gain new customers and build a great image.
Also you can use this format to showcase product collections, announce a sale or giveaway, or tell longer stories.
Also read: How to create an attractive profile on instagram
3. Short-form video social media
Some short form video platforms are Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
These are used for sharing short-form video content (usually between five seconds and ninety seconds long).
Businesses can use them for driving brand awareness and bringing products to life.
This type of content is quick to film and edit, making it perfect for businesses. Also the amount of trends on each platform means that with that amount of content you can find inspiration in a simple and fast way and adapt the content to your strategy.
Just note that any video content you publish should entertain, educate, or inspire your audience. Videos that feel very professional or business oriented aren’t going to engage viewers.
4. Live stream social media
Some livestream platforms are Facebook Live, Instagram Live, TikTok Live, Twitch, YouTube
These are used for broadcasting live video to many viewers at once and chatting with your viewers.
Businesses can use them for doing livestream events. These platforms gain a lot of popularity during the pandemic. By late 2022, nearly 30% of internet users aged 16-64 were watching live streams every week.
You can use livestreams to launch new products, interview well-known guests, or host live podcasts.
But the most important thing is that they also allow users to interact live with the hosts, so it’s vital to monitor and engage with comments during the stream.
Keys to choose the best types of social media for your business
Know your audience
Before joining a new social media platform, ask yourself: Where is your audience?
You doný need to be in all social media networks but in the ones that your audience are already familiar with and use them daily. Otherwise, you will be wasting money and time nurturing a platform in which your audience is not active and present!
Only join the networks that support the goals of your social media marketing strategy.
Focus on your business goals
Next, step is ask yourself: Which platforms match my business goals best?
Depending on your goals you should create content on different platforms.
Create content tailored to the platform
Once you’ve picked the best platform for your audience, figure out how they’re using that platform. Before you start creating content, ask yourself a few questions:
- What type of content is your audience engaging with?
- Which types of accounts do they follow?
- Are they passive consumers or content creators?
You can use this information to design effective content that will catch your audience’s attention and help you reach your goals.
Also read: benefits of user generates content
