What are the different types of Social Media?
If you think social media is only "Facebook," you're probably wrong. Yes, there is more to social media than the popular social networking websites and they really do a good job. For marketers and smart business owners, it's important to know all the types of social media, their features, services, audience, and benefits to reach a wider audience. So, before you decide which strategy or platform to use, you must study each one of them. Here are the ten types of social media, according to their category and function.
Social Networking Sites
Social networks are the most famous types of social media and if you don't have a personal account on all of them, you'll definitely have a Facebook account, right? –These major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn bring people together through sharing news, sharing text posts, sharing videos and photos, and sending messages. Aside from emphasising the human connection, these platforms are important in any marketing strategy. Through their effective features, you can establish an online presence, raise brand awareness, boost sales, study your audience, and forge a trusted relationship with your customers through both, organic and paid advertisements.
With about 2.3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the popular platforms, with the widest range of audience. Facebook gives you a great opportunity to engage your audience and communicate easily with them through:
There are two types of non-skippable ads which are:
Status posts
Photos
Videos
Polls
Links to any content
With over 300 million monthly users, Twitter offers a great opportunity to market your business, earn conversions, and expand your reach. Similar to Facebook, you can communicate with your audience through:
Status updates
Photos
Videos
Polls
GIFs
Links
With more than 610 million users, LinkedIn is one of the top-rated websites, especially for B2B businesses and hunting jobs. It's the perfect platform to build relationships, find a new job, share company updates, and recruit new candidates. On LinkedIn, it is easy to connect with professionals and follow the industry leaders.
Social Review Sites
On planning your next vacation, buying a new product, or trying a new service, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? – Yes, reviews! Yelp, Zomato, and TripAdvisor are great examples of social review sites, where you can find reviews and any information, regarding any brand, business, service, product, restaurants, or travel spots. If you're not sure about buying something or going somewhere, just check out the reviews and you'll be good to go. In fact, review sites aren't just useful for customers, but also businesses, even bad reviews. These reviews tell a lot about the customer experience and their own point of views. Also, they give your business the opportunity to solve any problem with the customers and improve their experience.
Image Sharing Sites
As we all know, a picture can be worth a thousand words. That's why the visual content, including photos, illustrations, and infographics capture our attention a hundred more than a text post. Image sharing websites such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest depend completely on visual content. So, if you're business can make use of this photogenic feature, then you must consider any of these platforms in your marketing strategy. For example, snap a picture of your product, with a creative hashtag, asking your customers for their opinion. Just make sure to post unique photos, with a consistent theme to be easily recognised through the hustle of the News Feed.
Video Hosting Sites
Of course, when we mention video hosting sites, YouTube will be the first one to come into your mind. With no doubt, videos capture our eyes and imagination like no other platform. About 97% of marketers say that videos help customers understand their products and services and around 80% of businesses currently add videos in their marketing tactics. Using the right video content and type, relevant keywords, and a brief description of the video, you can catch attention and engage your customers. YouTube and Vimeo help in sharing videos and optimising the content for streaming. As the video proved their efficiency, Instagram and Facebook started to include the Live Streaming and Instagram Stories features to keep up.
Discussion Sites
This type of social media depends completely on discussing anything from news, information, and opinions. By sharing content threads, people can easily join the conversation by commenting. Anyone can share their opinion or ask any question, attracting people of the same interests and opinions. Quora and Reddit are the most famous discussion sites that are visited with millions of people all over the world. And, if you think this kind of websites is useless for your business, you're probably wrong. These websites can be valuable for market research through studying your audience, asking them questions, and knowing their interests and opinions.
On Reddit, you can find "subreddits," each of different topics, discussing anything from politics and finance to funny topics. You can search for any piece of information and view people's opinion. If you use Reddit, you can make an eye for the subreddits that are relevant to your industry and understand how people grasp your business and what their concerns are.
Quora
Quora is the perfect discussion forum to get honest opinions and answers, where you can engage your customers by asking them questions. If you want to study your audience and figure out how your business is working, then make sure to ask questions related to your industry and engage your audience. Also, Quora is a great platform for more exposure and reach by spreading information and answering people's questions.
Community Blogs
Although the community blogs require a lot of work, time, and effort, starting a blog helps you share your vision and views. These platforms help you establish your own tone of voice and express yourself with your readers. When a simple post, image, or video can't deliver the required message, a blog can do the hard work. Use one of the community blogs such as Medium, Blogger, WordPress, and Tumblr to develop your voice, find a new audience, share content, and engage your readers through comments. Starting a blog will increase your visibility for sure and help carve out a niche for your business. If your industry can benefit from blogging and content marketing, you might need to consider using this type of sites in your marketing strategy.
Starting a blog will increase your visibility for sure and help carve out a niche for your business
Social shopping networks
As a shopaholic, social shopping networks are actually my favorites! These platforms help you spot new trends, follow popular brands, and make purchases. If your business exists online or offline, you can make use of these platforms through raising awareness, increase engagements, and boost sales. Polyvore, Etsy, and Fancy are among the finest examples of social shopping networks that provide a social experience, along with a buying experience. For example, Polyvore gathers different retailers in a single online marketplace. That's why; it is considered one of the largest and most successful shopping networks. Of course, other social networks use elements of e-commerce in their strategy such as "Buyable pins" in Pinterest and "Shop now" as a call-to-action button on Instagram.
Interest-Based Networks
Interest-based networks focus solely on one topic or content such as books, home design, music, and more. These networks depend on stirring people interests through a common hobby or interest. If you find a topic that matches your business or industry, it will be a unique way to engage your audience and increase your exposure with a new audience. Goodreads, Houzz, and Last.fm are among the interest-based networks that are worthy of mention. For example, home designers can create collections of their work, share them with their audience, connect with potential customers, and communicate with them. It is also a good place to search their competitors and keep up with the current trends and different tastes. As for Goodreads, it is great for authors and readers and as for Last.fm, it's convenient for musicians and music lovers.
Sharing Economy Networks
Sharing economy networks such as Airnub, Uber, and Taskrabbit are used for advertising, finding, selling, buying, sharing, and trading products. That's why these networks are called "Collaborative economy networks." Aside from the famous "Uber" or "Airnub," there are similar niche networks that are growing fast, including "parking spot," "home-cooked meal," and more. If you happen to provide relevant or similar products or services that are usually traded on any other social media network, you can add these platforms to generate leads and put your content in front of a new audience.
Bookmarking Content
Many people use bookmarking and content curation networks to search, discover, save, and discuss new trends or content. These networks have proven their efficiency in raising awareness, boosting sales, and driving traffic to websites. When people search for a certain product on these channels, they get new ideas. So, they are like some sort of inspiration for driving creativity. A very good example of this social media type is Pinterest, which helps people explore, save, and share visual content. Actually, many marketers started using Pinterest in their marketing strategy, especially fashion retails, handmade crafts, and food-industries. Any business that supports visual content will thrive on Pinterest.
Now, you are ready
After studying all the types of social media, their content, audience, and services, you are ready to choose what platform suits your business the best. Whatever your industry and goals, you'll certainly find what you need somewhere on social media.
At Social Receptionist, we can help you decide which channel or social media type is suitable for your business to achieve a successful social media strategy .
