Which Social Network is considered the Most Popular for Social Media Marketing? The Ultimate Guide

Every morning when I get up, I scroll through my Instagram page.

Then before going to the office, I take a quick look at my LinkedIn Profile.

And the day doesn`t end before a peek at the Facebook feed. Not to mention, occasional chats on Twitter and Snapchat.

Feeling Relatable? This is a glimpse at the daily routine of a huge chunk of audiences around the world.

Social media is not a luxury anymore, it has transformed into a necessity.

With affordable handsets, the rapidly increasing penetration of the internet and the recent pandemic have given a boost to all the major social media channels.

Below are some stats for a quick glimpse of the current status:

What is Social Media Marketing?

Let us understand what is social media marketing?

Social media marketing (SMM) is the action of designing, creating and publishing content on channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. The aim of this content is to engage the relevant audience and fulfill the objectives of the company in the long term.

In simple words, SMM is meeting/ interacting with your customer digitally.

It is no more just posting random stuff and waiting for customers to like it and order from you.

Social media now defines the identity of the company in the market.

SMM is the go-to channel for solving customer queries, acquiring new customers, generating leads or simply engaging them.

Let us take a look at the major pros and cons of Social Media Marketing

Pros of Social Media Marketing

1. Economical Outreach

If you are looking to reach a wide audience located in different parts of the world, Social media is probably the most economical among all the marketing channels.

2. Creating Brand Identity Becomes Quicker and Easier

With a long-term strategy and vision, building brand identity doesn`t take long on social media.

You can easily edit and A/B Test various elements of the brand such as colors, themes, creativity, content, etc.

Let us look at brand Beardo. They have created a masculine identity for their brand creating a subconscious brand image in the minds of the male audience.

3. Direct Communication with Audience

There are not many channels like SMM where you can get on-the-spot feedback from the audience on your content.

SMM has evolved as a channel for addressing customer grievances and might replace CRM in the near future.

4. Precise Targeting Through Ads

Ads have emerged as one of the strongest channels of promotion for direct-to-customer (D2C) Brands.

It gives marketers the power to target customized audiences based on demography, location, gender, habits, profession and much more.

Cons of Social Media Marketing

1. Resource Heavy Channel

Successful execution of SMM requires multiple physical, human and digital resources. This makes it an expensive affair in the short term.

2. Trolling and Negative Feedback

The world of the internet is open to all with little or no regulations as of now.

This makes brands vulnerable to negative feedbacks, trolling and abusive behavior which might cause irreversible damage to the brand reputation.

Let us look at a savage reply by Target to one of the “ridiculous complaints” by a customer.

3. Results Take Time

Most marketers consider SMM as a sprint race. But it’s a marathon.

Posting content for a few days will not give you sales or leads. It takes time to show the results.

Hence, most marketers give up too early leading to a huge wastage of resources, time and energy.

How to Identify the Most Popular Social Network for Your Niche?

I have interacted with a lot of brands and they all have one common concern, we are not getting Return on Investment from our efforts on social media.

And after doing deep research, we have been able to figure out a common problem with all these startups. Want to take a guess!

These brands do not know the answer to a simple question-

“Which is the best social media channel for your business?“

An answer to this question alone can solve a lot of issues and drive results for your business.

Now the next question that comes up:

How to find the best social network for your business or niche?

The answer to this question varies as per different factors.

Below is a playbook that we have developed to identify the best social network for your business:

1. Identify your buyer persona

“The more you know about your customers, the more you can provide to them information that is increasingly, useful, relevant and persuasive.”

Jay Baer

The above quote by Jay Baer summarizes it all for you.

Knowing about your customer, their needs, aspirations, desires, goals, etc. is the stepping stone to identify the best possible social network for you and create a social media marketing strategy based on it.

Below is a template that can help you prepare the buyer persona.

2. Know Where Your Customers Hang Out

After preparing the buyer persona, the next step is to find out where these people spend their time.

It varies depending upon the factors being noted while preparing persona.

This is the most crucial aspect of shortlisting the relevant social networks in the order of priority.

This step alone could have huge wastage of resources and effort leading to a better ROI on social media marketing.

Based on our research, we have created a channel-wise format to easily identify the social media network based on audience persona.

1. Netflix : 77 Million Followers

Netflix has killed its Facebook strategy through engaging content around its upcoming shows.

They have been famous for giving a sneak peek to their audience about what is in store for them.

2. Converse: 46.5 Million Followers

Converse struck right chords with its audience through its appealing campaigns.

They have been successful in getting their message of a vibrant and youth-oriented brand to the masses.

Top Brands on LinkedIn:

Best Buy: 414k Followers

Best Buy has done well on LinkedIn with its diverse audience.

They recently launched a campaign for Latinx Community and shared a wonderful message regarding the same.

The result was that the campaign received 5000+ reach, views and engagement creating a positive image for the company.

Microsoft: 15.2 Million Followers

Microsoft has always been at the forefront of content related to empowering the community.

They posted about Teacher`s day showcasing the importance of technology in learning.

This campaign gathered amazing traction and received 400k+ views, engagements and shares.

Top brands on Instagram

Lorna Jane: 1 million Followers

Lorna Jane is a women`s activewear brand that has done a commendable job of creating brand identity.

The brand grid clearly defines the persona of the brand as sporty, young woman in her prime looking for something classy to maintain her active lifestyle.

Have a look at the grid below:

Chipotle: 1.1 million followers

Being a food brand, Chipotle has done a fantastic job of creating a brand image.

It comes up as a witty and sassy brand that use a lot of memes to convey its message.

This strategy led to huge engagement from its audience and a strong brand recall.

The above playbook is widely used by brands all over the world.

With consistency and perseverance, it can give your brand some amazing results.

Check out our blog on influencer marketing that can take your social marketing game to the next level.