At the beginning of the implementation of a social media strategy, each marketer will probably be wondering which are the most effective platforms to be on. There are plenty of options for social media promotion nowadays, but the most popular tend to be Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
However, we should all evaluate the pros and cons of each platform and choose the best for our needs.
Comparison of platforms
Facebook is used to share updates regarding your life, your beliefs and to connect with your friends and family.
Twitter has a restriction of 140 characters or less for each post. Also, many people use it to spread news or opinions to a wider audience.
Instagram is mostly used for image and video sharing (IGTV enabled users to share longer length videos) and for following influencers.
However, the question remains as to which one is the most efficient for your business?
The age range of Facebook users is larger, whereas Twitter is mainly focused on the ages of 18-29. It’s also very important for you to examine which of the two platforms your audience favours in order to create your content accordingly.
Now, if we compare Twitter to Instagram we can see that their purpose is very different even if the age ranges there are very similar. However, Instagram is mostly for sharing photos or videos of yourself or your friends, whereas Twitter is mostly for sharing ideas.
Engagement on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Another crucial bit of information about these platforms is how long the audience stays on each of them.
Regarding Facebook, users tend to check the feed 8 times per day on average, whereas Twitter users check the feed only 5 times per day. Instagram reports show that users check it 6 times a day.
Ads on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Instagram is owned by Facebook, therefore the platforms are connected to each other meaning that through Facebook you can also create Instagram ads. They also have some similarities because of that. Facebook offers many tools to create specific audiences and target them through ads.
The UI of Facebook ads can be considered user-friendly and also the ads can be cheap if you learn to use it effectively.
What’s the best course of action?
The best thing you can do is to try out all of the platforms initially, to test which one brings the best results to you. If you are monitoring the analytics for each of them, you will be able to gather insights and decide on your next move.
When you understand that a certain platform brings more engagement, you will then probably consider to implement an advertising strategy in order to convert your visitors into leads and then buyers. Another alternative is to make a competitor analysis and see which platforms they are using when it comes to social media.
