laura figueroa-scott

“I want to make sure EVERYONE knows about my business!! I am going to post about it everywhere!!”

I totally get that. You have begun your business and now, you want to be IN business. All the time.

The easiest way to get a whole lot of attention for your business is on social media. It’s popular and for the new entrepreneur, being able to get your message out to people for free is one of the best benefits it has to give you.

What happens if you are already posting somewhere and you have little or no engagement?

One of the first things you may be asking yourself is: am I doing enough? Do I need to post more?

Or… do I need to be posting on all the platforms?

While this may seem like a good thing to do, it’s important to know that while social media platforms can look similar, the way content gets consumed and engaged with can vary a lot from one platform to another.

Take a moment and think about what you are offering, who your target audience is, and how you want your marketing to look and sound like.

This is the information you need to choose which platforms may be best to post on.

This is a breakdown of the top 10 social media platforms as they relate to online businesses:

1. Facebook

Facebook is best for the number of daily users (3 billion worldwide!), it’s ability to be used as a customer service portal, and to build a community around your business through groups and pages available to you.

The types of business Facebook does well for:

• e-commerce for product-based businesses
• local businesses (you can use location tags in your posts)
• service providers which can leverage both the community aspect and accessibility for customer service

Facebook’s large user base makes it suitable for a wide range of businesses, leveraging its community aspect to build your business.

2. Instagram

Instagram is all about the visuals, which is why businesses that feature primarily visual content and branding do well here. That includes influencer marketing, with roughly 500 thousand influencers posting there daily.

The types of businesses Instagram does well for:

• fashion
• beauty
• travel
• food
• lifestyle brands

This can be a go-to option for you if your business is about any of the listed types, utilizing high-quality images and videos. You also have Reels and Stories to use for different ways to tell your stories and a Shopping feature to sell your products easily.

3. X (formerly Twitter)

X is great when your business is one that needs to provide real-time updates on the subjects you may cover and when you need to start a conversation or engage with a businesses’ customer service on their professional account. 121 million people use X daily.

The types of businesses X does well for:

• news outlets
• tech companies
• entertainment
• business-to-business (B2B)

X’s fast-paced environment is perfect for sharing news, updates, engaging in real-time conversations, handling customer service inquiries, and businesses sharing their expertise with other businesses.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the platform for professional networking, B2B marketing, and job recruitment. The number of users averages to be 134 million daily with many of the users favoring longer-form informational content.

The types of businesses LinkedIn does well for:

• B2B companies
• recruitment agencies
• professional service providers

LinkedIn is the go-to networking platform for networking in the United States and internationally. The business focus of the platforms makes it effective for sharing industry insights and updates, with a convenient way to connect with potential business partners or employees.

5. Pinterest

Pinterest is where people go for visual inspiration, do-it-yourself (DIY) ideas, and planning for both your personal and professional life. Pinterest has over 518 million active users monthly.

The types of businesses Pinterest does well for:

• home decor
• food
• fashion
• weddings
• DIY projects

While Pinterest can provide its users a large variety of discovery and inspiration, especially for businesses that provide DIY content, it is particularly effective for driving traffic to websites and blogs.

6. TikTok

TikTok is best used for short-form content, viral marketing and trends, and for reaching younger audiences. The average number of daily users on TikTok is over 50 million.

The types of businesses TikTok does well for:

• entertainment
• fashion
• beauty
• lifestyle
• technology

TikTok is best used when your content features engaging short-form videos that can be shared and commented on. This is a powerful way to connect with younger audiences as it favors influencer marketing.

7. YouTube

YouTube is still the best platform for long-form content such as tutorials and product reviews. It is the second-most used search engine after Google, averaging 122 million daily users, with 90% of its users using their phones and tablets to connect.

The types of businesses YouTube does well for:

• education
• tech
• beauty
• fitness
• entertainment

YouTube’s function as a search engine makes it a go-to for businesses that feature in-depth content which can be linked to other long-form content, making it a great choice for education-focused businesses. It also functions as a great tool for community building and discussion.

8. Snapchat

Snapchat is used to target younger audiences with the attraction of now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t content and behind the scenes content for their favorite brands, influencers, and celebrities. Snapchat averages 422 million daily users.

The types of businesses that Snapchat does well for:

• fashion
• entertainment
• events
• lifestyle brands

Snapchat features many augmented reality (AR) tools like filters to make the visuals more entertaining, leveraging the fast pace of the life of content on the platform. This can help you to build creative campaigns for your business consistently.

9. Reddit

Reddit is where businesses can engage large communities of people as its sub-Reddit format can favor niche marketing for your products, helping to target a very specific audience. Reddit averages 73 million active daily users.

The types of businesses Reddit does well for:

• tech
• gaming
• niche hobbies
• content creators

The community structure of Reddit allows businesses to engage with their audiences in a format that favors discussion, rather than just question and answer. This can be leveraged to get feedback on customer experience and product quality. Reddit can help you build authority for your brand and better understand your customer’s needs.

10. WhatsApp

WhatsApp with 2.78 billion active users daily has proven itself to be a platform that performs well for direct communication with customers and partners, customer service, and for small group interactions when needed.

The types of businesses WhatsApp does well for:

• local businesses
• service providers
• customer support

WhatsApp is a powerful tool for customer service and direct messaging with customers. You can provide personalized support easily and it gives you another platform to interact with small groups alongside of the other platforms you may be choosing to use.

As you can see, you have many social media platforms to choose from to market your business on and to manage customer engagement and inquiries.

Think carefully on which would be best for you to begin with and get really good at using. It can be a lot of work to post on multiple platforms as you are starting out so a good rule of thumb is to focus on one or two.

That way, you can collect data on which posts and which types of posts get the most engagement and where your target audience can be found most frequently, which will help you build your business and authority better.

I am always ready to talk about what can best promote your business. To talk about that more, get in touch with me at: laura@laurafigueroascott.me

I would love to hear from you!