A Small Biz Blog Posts

At a glance:

-fast-growing social platform

-70% of users are women between the ages of 18 and 35

-photo-sharing app for use on iPhones, some Samsung and Android devices

-more of a brand-building than a marketing platform

Launched in 2010, Instagram was bought by Facebook and currently has 700 million active users a month (April, 2017). It is also growing fast. That 700 million is double what it was two years ago, with most of the users being female between the ages of 18 and 35. The majority of users also check their Instagram app at least once a day (59%).

At a glance:

-80% of Pinterest users are women 25-45

-very much a visual platform… think lots of photos

-businesses that do best here are in the food, travel, DIY/home décor and fashion industries

-Pinterest buy buttons help to get conversions

Pinterest is the first platform on our list that is very specifically a visual platform (more on this in a moment). It’s only been around since 2010, but it has up to 175 million monthly users (as of April, 2017). The real stats here, however, come when you start looking at women and Pinterest. The overwhelming majority of this platform’s users (80%) are women between the ages of 25 and 45. 42% of women who are online are Pinterest users. Reread that sentence. If your target audience is women, you’ll certainly want to give this social media option a look.

At a glance:

-it’s Google – good for search engine placement

-up to 110 million active users a month (unofficially)

-think a more professional Facebook

-did we mention it’s Google?

The New York Times created a bit of a meme in 2014 when they called Google+ a “ghost town”. Even now, more often than not, if you run across an article referencing Google+, “ghost town” won’t be too far behind. But is it? You won’t get any hard numbers from Google one way or the other, but some online sources peg its usage at around 110 million active users a month, while others say that up to 90% of people with profiles have never posted.

At a glance:

-great way to monitor for mentions of your brand

-140-character limit makes it an idea way to blast out info on sales, events, etc.

-keep up with your industry news, influencers

-fast-paced, may require more attention than other platforms

Launched in 2006, Twitter is less about keeping up with family and friends and more about communicating with people you wish to reach. With 313 million active monthly users (as of 6/30/16), this is a big platform for breaking news. The use of hashtags (#likethis) let you keep up with and participate in both breaking news and the latest trends.

At a glance:

-1.28 billion daily users
-good to use if your audience is older
-highly targeted advertising and robust marketing tools
-a great place to establish your business’ online social media presence

When it comes to social media platforms, Facebook is in a class by itself. Started in 2004, it is used by 1.28 billion daily users (as of March, 2017), and getting really close to 2 billion active monthly users. 44% of these users log onto the site several times a day. Unlike other major platforms that slant younger or more female, every demographic uses Facebook, especially older folks, who you won’t necessarily see in large numbers on sites like Snapchat or Instagram. In fact, only 9% of Facebook users are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Note: This 11-part article is an introduction to our up-coming ebook series called The Small Biz Social Media Mastery Series. As the title implies, the Mastery Series will help small business owners easily navigate the business opportunities available on a great many social media platforms. The guides will cover everything from starting a business account to engaging with customers, advertising, and step-by-step tips and tricks to get the most out of each platform for your business.

You can register for our newsletter here to be informed when new titles in the series become available. Links to the other parts of this article can be found below.

If you run a small business, you really need to be using social media. This may not have been the case a few years ago, but social media is just so widely used now, you’re really shooting yourself in the foot if your business isn’t making some use of this phenomenon.

The Benefits Of Social Media

There are many ways that having a social media presence can help your small business:
-Social media gives you an easy way to directly communicate with, and market to, both existing and potential customers. It’s also a great way to quickly respond to customers’ questions and other feedback.
-Social media is a great way to bring traffic to your business website, which in turn leads to conversions. It also helps in improving your website’s search engine placement.
-With social media, you can easily introduce your brand to new audiences.
-Social media will enable your business to look “cool,” by which we mean modern and relevant.