10 Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business in 2023

March 19, 2023

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Social media platforms are the new hangout places everyone visits now! Quite every day! Right? Well, for a decade, the world of social media has been booming, and how!

Do you know the age group with the highest social media usage is 18-24 years old, with a penetration rate of 83.6%?

Due to its rising popularity, it has become a source of entertainment and a vital factor for business growth. Most businesses strategize to maintain their online presence on multiple social media channels. Marketers focus on their branding to gain potential customers.

This helps them garner huge audiences and ultimately boost their revenue.

Additionally, it has become easy to find humongous data and information related to anything and everything online. Let me now tell you the 10 best social media platforms billions of people use worldwide.

Let’s surf!

10 Best Social Media Platforms You Should Know!

1. Facebook

Founders: Mark Zuckerberg
Launched in: 2004

Facebook is one of the world’s largest social media platforms. This platform allows individuals to share photos, videos, and content and create pages for businesses and organizations. It is an excellent medium for businesses to grow their brand and attract target customers.

Moreover, the advertising platform helps businesses to gain users based on several factors, such as demographics, behaviors, and personalized interests. Interestingly, Facebook’s ad revenue is one of the largest digital advertising platforms in the world. According to statistics, in 2021, the ad revenue was around $84.2 billion.

However, recently there have been some concerns about the security and privacy of users’ data.

Why Should You Use Facebook?

For visual content and entertainment
Facebook pages and ads are highly beneficial from a business point of view.
Good for gaming.
Great for staying updated on the latest news from across the globe.

Unknown Facts About Facebook

The Like button on Facebook was going to be named the Awesome button.
The original name of Facebook was ‘Thefacebook’.
The data centers of Facebook are using advanced technologies to reduce the harmful environmental impact.
The blue colour of the company is due to the reason that Mark is colour-blind.
The first post ever on Facebook was ‘Mark Zuckerberg is a bit of programming done’.

2. YouTube

YouTube

Founders: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim
Launched in: 2005

Another highly popular social media platform is YouTube. As soon as the platform launched, a year after, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion. Since then, it has risen immensely. At present, it has over 2 billion monthly users. Further, there is an ample amount of videos created and watched by the audience.

It’s not only for entertainment purposes but also businesses. Multiple tools and features are available that help analyse the statistics to improve your strategies easily.

Why Should You Use YouTube?

Communicate with wider audiences.
Visual content is more appealing and intriguing.
Vast variety of content from almost every sphere of life.
Free to use.
Higher visibility.

Unknown Facts About YouTube

YouTube was meant to be a dating site called Tune In Hook Up.
The first ever YouTube video was uploaded on April 23, 2005.
The first YouTube channel to successfully reach a hundred million subscribers was T-series, an Indian music and film company.
The first office was above a pizza shop in California.
The shortest video on YouTube is only one second long, known as Me at the Zoo.

3. Instagram

Instagram

Founders: Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom
Launched in: 2010

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today. It started as a photo and video-sharing platform. But now you can see stories, reels, IGTV, direct messaging, explore options, and business tools. Many marketers believe that Instagram has become essential to that business strategy as it helps them attract larger audiences.

Additionally, some of the important tools available on Instagram are:

Instagram shopping: easily set up an Instagram shop that allows users to shop from businesses’ Instagram profiles directly.
Instagram Ads: multiple advertising options such as carousel ads and photo & video ads.
Branded content: working with influencers and creating branded content is one of today’s best options.
Insights: The dashboard provides accurate insights about the reach of your content, including engagement metrics and demographics.

Why Should You Use Instagram?

Content is more engaging on Instagram.
Has highly influential hashtags that have the potential to reach a wider audience.
Ads are quite attractive instead of clumsy, which garners users’ attention.
Addition of new features now and then.

Unknown Facts About Instagram

The original name of Instagram was ‘Burbn’.
In 2014, Instagram was banned in China.
The logo of Instagram has seen several changes, wherein there was also a controversial logo design that happened in 2016.
Co-founder Kevin Systrom of a dog posted the first photo published on Instagram.

4. TikTok

TikTok

Founders: Zhang Yiming
Launched In: 2016

TikTok is a widely famous platform that first launched in 2016. Users can create and share videos on this app. It is known to quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. Moreover, it has over 1 billion monthly active users!

TikTok offers various features for its users to experiment with, such as music and sound effects, filters and effects, challenges, famous short videos, and duets (allowing users to create a split-screen video with others).

Why Should You Use TikTok?

Active user engagement.
An excellent medium for businesses to promote their brand’s products or services via short videos.
Learn new creative ideas.
Great for businesses that focus on targeting younger audiences.
Different kinds of content, including comedy, fun, inspirational, motivational, etc. entertains you completely.

Unknown Facts About TikTok

The original name of TikTok was ‘Douyin’.
Its parent company is ByteDance, which is known to be one of the most successful start-ups.
In 2020, the social media platform was the most downloaded app worldwide, with approximately 850 million downloads.
This platform focuses on music and sound; hence, the logo showcases a soundwave.
The Creator Fund feature helps pay popular creators on TikTok.

5. WhatsApp

Founders: Brian Acton and Jan Koum
Launched In: 2009

WhatsApp messaging app came by storm and became extremely popular after its launch. In 2014, Facebook acquired it. Further, it is the most popular messaging app worldwide, with approximately 2 billion monthly active users. With the help of this app, you can share photos and videos, send text messages, voice messages, and make video calls and voice calls. All in one!

Interestingly, WhatsApp runs on end-to-end encryption, allowing users to send secure messages only readable by the sender and recipient. Users can also create groups with 256 members in it. Further, The feature of status updates lets you share photos, videos, and text with your contacts.

Why Should You Use WhatsApp?

Stay connected with friends and family through messaging.
Free of cost.
For calling or texting, all you need is a stable internet connection.
Highly safe and secure.
Simple user interface.

Unknown Facts About WhatsApp

One of the founders, Jan Koum, came up with the idea of this app to be in touch with his family living in Ukraine.
In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion.
During Covid 19 pandemic, WhatsApp was criticised for spreading misinformation on a vast scale.
This platform is banned in a few countries like China, North Korea, and Iran.
One of the co-founders, Brian Acton, left the company in 2017.

6. Reddit

Founders: Steve Huffman, Aaron Swartz, Alexis Ohanian
Launched In: 2005

Reddit is a popular discussion website where abundant information and data are shared. Users can post content, vote on it, and participate in multiple discussion forums. Additionally, users can purchase Reddit Premium, which offers free browsing and access to the communities called ‘subreddits’.

On Reddit, users have the option to upward or downward posts and comments, which helps in increasing the reach of that content. Interestingly, this platform is also known for its Ask Me Anything feature. This feature particularly allows experts to answer questions on the Reddit community.

Why Should You Use Reddit?

Stay updated on the latest trends, news, and other current affairs.
It prioritizes user feedback.
Excellent option for researching and decision-making as there are plenty of ideas.
Ensures zero fake news due to the feature of downvote that entails the dislikes of the users.
Easy to test your creative marketing capabilities and reap advantages from the large traffic volumes.

Unknown Facts About Reddit

In 2012, Reddit held a Secret Santa gift exchange where users could send gifts to each other worldwide.
In 2015, this platform successfully banned various controversial posts highlighting racism, harassment, and other related issues.
The mascot of Reddit is called Snoo; it’s a small alien with a round head and a smiley face. You must have seen it if you’re a Reddit user.
AskReddit features allow users to ask any kind of question and get answers from anyone worldwide.
The Museum of Reddit page allows users to see some vital moments related to the website.

7. WeChat

WeChat

Founders: Allen Zhang
Launched In: 2011

WeChat is known to be the largest social video platform in China. It started as a messaging app, but now it has become much more. It provides payment services, gaming, e-commerce, and much more. In 2020, the parent company of WeChat, Tencent, reported that the platform handled over 1 billion daily transactions.

WeChat offers multiple features, such as voice and video calls, group messaging, location sharing, etc. According to a survey conducted in 2020, 80% of Chinese internet users were aged between 16 to 35. However, due to data privacy concerns, this platform faced heavy criticism and became the reason for getting banned in India due to national security concerns.

Why Should You Use WeChat?

Easy and safe online payments.
Great advertising options.
Benefits companies as they can create accounts and connect with a large audience base.
Messaging and video calls with a good internet connection.
Option to make both personal and official accounts.

Unknown Facts About WeChat

It has an interesting feature called Shake, when the users shake their phone and connect with other WeChat users also shaking the phone at that time.
The built-in translation feature helps to translate messages into different languages automatically. This is the reason that international travelers use this app quite often.
The WeRun feature of this app helps count the daily step count of users.
In 2020, a report by Citizen Lab found that WeChat censors keywords related to sensitive topics like the Hong Kong protests and the coronavirus pandemic.

8. Twitter

Founders: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams
Launched In: 2006

Twitter is another social media platform that has garnered billions of users worldwide. It is famous for posting short messages known as ‘tweets’ with followers. The limit of a tweet is 280 characters, wherein you can also add photos, links, and videos. Further, users can follow other users to see their tweets.

Users can also use the retweet option to share others’ tweets. Twitter has gradually transformed from sharing just personal communication or thoughts to sharing political views or even political activism. All the great leaders and politicians actively take part in sharing their views on Twitter.

Why Should You Use Twitter?

Easy interface and user-friendly.
Interact with different communities and share your views and ideas.
One of the fastest mediums to get any breaking news.
Excellent platform for businesses to connect with their audiences immediately.
Great for users interested to stay atop the political know-how.

Unknown Facts About Twitter

The original name of Twitter was ‘twttr’.
The very first tweet was tweeted by co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2006, ‘just setting up my twttr’.
The famous bird logo Twitter is named Larry after former NBA player Larry Bird.
The first hashtag was used in 2007.
The most retweeted tweet is that of a Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who offered to give away one billion yen (around $9 million) to 100 random followers.

9. LinkedIn

Founders: Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant
Launched In: 2003

Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is primarily based on connecting professionals, job seekers, and businesses together. Users create profiles highlighting their professional careers and connecting with the groups or individuals relatable to their jobs. It is an excellent medium to find job opportunities and boost careers for people worldwide.

Additionally, LinkedIn also offers courses on tutorials to learn something new in their respective fields. For businesses, it offers advertising options to promote products and services. Currently, it has over 700 million users worldwide, making it the largest professional networking platform globally.

Why Should You Use LinkedIn?

Best option to create a professional network and find jobs.
Join groups that relate the most to you and get the latest information on several topics.
It provides excellent opportunities to scale your career.
Option to use the Premium version for more features.
Informative and helpful posts to polish your skills every day.

Unknown Facts About LinkedIn

Reid Hoffman, one of the founders of LinkedIn, was initially working with PayPal.
The colour blue and white in the logo represent professionalism.
The ‘InMaps’ features offer users to understand their professional networks.
In 2016, LinkedIn was partially banned in Russia.
The largest acquisition of LinkedIn was Lynda.com for $1.5 billion in 2015.

10. Pinterest

Founders: Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra
Launched In: 2010

Pinterest is a popular social media platform solely showcasing images and videos. Users can save and share images and videos. There is an option to create multiple boards on Pinterest related to varied topics such as food, travel, home decor, etc. It is easy to share these boards to pass on the content.

Moreover, Pinterest offers a visual search functionality to search for images using keywords. Similarly, you can search for similar images by clicking the one you like. Hence, it becomes an excellent platform for fetching new ideas.

Why Should You Use Pinterest?

Get tons of ideas and inspiration through this platform.
Provides additional traffic to your blogs.
Helps to fetch more inbound links for your business.
High user engagement.
Free of cost.

Unknown Facts About Pinterest

Over 70% of Pinterest users are women.
Pinterest’s headquarters in San Francisco was once a warehouse for the Ghirardelli chocolate factory.
The concept of ‘secret boards’, helps share the content with only your collaborators.
As of today, it has over 450 million users worldwide.
Initially, Pinterest was called Tote, which aimed to become a mobile shopping app.

In a Nutshell

Various social media platforms connect billions worldwide. Gone are the days when these were just for entertainment; now, they focus on business strategies too. However, the platform that suits you best depends on your requirements! Whether you wish to use it for fun or business, define which platform is your best match!

These were some of the best social media platforms for you! I hope the information helped you learn something new.

Adios!

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the best social media platforms for business?

From a business point of view, there are some excellent options for social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

2. How to choose the best social media platforms for marketing?

The first step is to understand your target audience. After that, define your goals, and provide relevant and meaningful information to the customers. Moreover, the best social media platforms for marketing our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Also, every platform caters to different needs of the users; hence you must jot down your requirements before deciding.

3. Which social media platforms are best for non-profit organisations?

Four social media platforms are considered the best for NGOs; LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

4. What are the best social media platforms to use for a restaurant?

Ans. Create profiles on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Further, gain your audience on Facebook, talk to people on Twitter, show your products on Instagram, and be professional on LinkedIn.

5. What social media platforms work best for startups?

Startups must focus on creating their profiles on these five social media platforms; Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.