It’s not uncommon for business owners, entrepreneurs, or marketers to wonder, “what social media platforms should my business use this year?” With constantly evolving technology and tactics, it can be hard to keep up with what’s working now – and, more importantly, what will work in the future!
However, understanding which platforms are best for your business is essential to succeeding in this digital-first world. So, we’ve extensively researched social media’s current state and compiled our findings into this blog post.
Read on to discover which social platforms should become a part of your growth efforts this year!
What Social Media Platforms Should My Business Use?
We’ve based the number of monthly active users on Statista’s data as of 2023.
1. Facebook or Meta
- Monthly Active Users: 2.91 billion
Almost 3 billion people use Facebook monthly, making it among the best social media platforms for almost any business to find potential customers.
Additionally, more than 200 million companies, primarily small businesses, use Facebook tools, and about 10 million advertisers actively promote their business with Facebook Ads. That being said, a Facebook business page is usually a pretty safe bet if you want to build an online presence in today’s world.
Related: Are Facebook Ads Worth It?
2. YouTube
- Monthly Active Users: 2.562 billion
Second on our list is YouTube, a place where people share and watch videos. Every day, people watch hours and hours of videos on this visual platform.
If you typically use videos to promote your business, it would be a great idea to have a YouTube channel for your company. To grow your presence on this platform, it’s a good idea to invest in learning about video SEO or to consider running paid advertisements on this popular platform.
3. WhatsApp
- Monthly Active Users: 2 billion
Next on our list is where people in more than 180 countries use—WhatsApp. Initially, people used WhatsApp to send messages to their friends and family. However, over time, people started using their accounts on this platform to talk to businesses, too.
The WhatsApp business platform lets companies help customers better and let them know what’s going on with their purchases. The WhatsApp Business app is for small businesses, while the WhatsApp Business API is for larger enterprises.
4. Instagram
- Monthly Active Users: 1.478 billion
Fourth on our list is Instagram, the best platform to show off your products or services with photos or short videos. On this app, you can also share reels, stories, live videos, and even videos on IGTV, which lets you share longer videos.
If your brand has a highly visual target audience, Instagram is a great platform. With the social channel’s 500 million daily active users, we’re almost positive you can find and connect with your customer base here!
5. WeChat
- Monthly Active Users: 1.263 billion
Tencent, one of the largest technology corporations in China, introduced WeChat in 2011. WeChat began as a messaging program, similar to WhatsApp and Messenger, but has since transformed into a multipurpose platform.
Here, users can shop online, buy groceries, pay bills, send money, make bookings, and even make calls.
Therefore, WeChat is a wonderful alternative if you want to promote your company in China, where social media networks Twitter and Facebook are prohibited.
Additionally, you can run advertisements on WeChat Moments or the official WeChat account. Also, many influencers with a WeChat following can assist your business in reaching millions of consumers across Asia.
Related: What is Social Media Marketing?
6. TikTok
- Monthly Active Users: 1 billion
One of the top social media sites popular with the younger generations is TikTok, a short-form video sharing app known in China as Douyin. In spite of only being introduced in 2017, it’s easily one of the fastest-growing apps worldwide.
With TikTok, users can generate and share short videos (now up to 10 minutes long) that can be enhanced with a wide variety of music clips, sound effects, and filters to make them more visually appealing.
Videos relating to virtually all interests are available, from lip-syncing, dancing, and challenges, to do-it-yourself tips and makeup instructions.
Since the age demographic of 10-29 makes up about 48% of TikTok users in the United States, it’s the right social media platform for your business if your target market is young people.
Plus, TikTok Scheduling has just recently been introduced, which allows brands to plan and schedule posts in advance.
7. Facebook Messenger
- Monthly Active Users: 988 million
Previously a feature that only Facebook users would use to send chats, Messenger is now a stand-alone software with more capabilities. Here, businesses can advertise, build chatbots, distribute newsletters, and more.
These features have provided companies with a plethora of new methods to interact and relate to old and new customers alike.
8. Snapchat
- Monthly Active Users: 557 million
Snapchat focuses on sending “snaps,” or short movies and photos to your friends. This platform initially helped to popularize the vertical video format, which later spread to other social networking sites like TikTok and Instagram.
According to The Social Shepherd, the user demographic for Snapchat in the US is mostly between the ages of 15 and 25, which accounts for 48% of all users. Moreover, users aged 26 to 35 make up another 30% of the platform’s users.
While Snapchat is a good platform to use, especially if your target consumer is Gen Z, you may still need to add more social media platforms to your list in order to reach maximum audiences with your social media strategy.
9. Telegram
- Monthly Active Users: 550 million
Telegram is a free chat software that works on many different devices. It has no restrictions on media sizes that can be sent through this app, which makes it unique and super useful. On top of this, it also includes end-to-end encryption conversations, groups, and participant-shared media, which makes Telegram stand apart from the competition.
Since WhatsApp announced revisions to its privacy policy that would allow it to share information with its parent firm Meta, Telegram’s focus on security has attracted even more users.
Along with one-on-one customer service, brands may use Telegram in various ways. For instance, businesses can build chatbots or use the channel function to broadcast messages to 200,000 users or more at once.
10. Pinterest
- Monthly Active Users: 444 million
Finally, Pinterest is a central hub for finding ideas and new items. On this platform, Pinterest users can “Pin” images that point to websites, product pages, blog posts, and other online material.
Thus, Pinterest is a powerful tool for increasing website traffic. Plus, shoppers on Pinterest are seven times more likely to buy after seeing an item they’ve pinned.
Fashion, beauty, home, gardening, and DIY are the social media platform’s most popular topics and themes. Therefore, you should seriously consider using this social channel’s marketing features to promote your business if you’re in one of the industries mentioned above.
Related: How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy
Conclusion
Of course, it can be tough to decide which social media platforms are right for your business. In 2023, businesses should consider using a combination of social media platforms to reach their target audience.
Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram remain hugely popular networks that can be used to engage customers, build relationships, and increase brand awareness. Additionally, other emerging networks such as TikTok and even WhatsApp offer unique opportunities for businesses to create meaningful connections with potential customers.
With the right combination of platforms and content strategy, businesses can use social media in 2023 to drive results and grow their business.
If you need assistance creating a social media strategy or managing your accounts, Shelten, LLC is here to answer your questions and make sure your business is set up for success. As a brand awareness company, we’ll work with you to create quality content that resonates with your audience.
Contact us for your free consultation so your brand can start growing its online presence today!
References
“Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2022, ranked by number of monthly active users” from Statista
24 Essential Snapchat Statistics You Need to Know in 2023 from The Social Shepherd
