Ranking Social Media Platforms

I've been using social media for a while now, both personally and professionally, and have formed opinions on the various channels when it comes to marketing. Some have worked great for me, while others have lagged behind.

So below, I wanted to share what has worked and what hasn't when it comes to social media and content marketing.

Facebook

Despite its many controversies lately regarding privacy and data collection, Facebook has served me well over the years. It has a variety of advertising formats and goal options depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Whether you desire link clicks or impressions, Facebook has a solution for you.

They're also always innovating. Recently they added a simple way to turn your image-based ads into videos. Facebook Live, now around for several years, is a great way to connect with your fans and prospects.

Finally, despite the recent bad PR, Facebook is still the largest, most widely-used platform out there. Basically, your audience is still using it and to reach them, you should too.

Instagram

I am still fairly new to Instagram, but am beginning to see why it appeals to people. We're moving toward being a visual culture, and Instagram fulfills our desire for beautiful graphics.

There are also hashtags for EVERYTHING. It gets to be addicting after a while, which is probably why it has become the second most popular social media platform, according to Forbes.

Pinterest

Pinterest is another image-based social media platform that can be useful for building an audience online. It works similarly to Google image search in that related images show up next to each other based on users' interests.

You can also link your image post to your website. That way, when someone sees your post, they can click through and learn more about you. This platform is famous for recipes and crafts, but more and more marketers are using it across all industries.

One downside is that the paid advertisement function isn't particularly user-friendly unless you have a big budget.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great platform for reaching and engaging the B2B community, but it won't be much help with consumers.

I have used LinkedIn, with mixed results, for paid advertising with B2B clients. Cost-per-clicks are pretty expensive, and the different advertising options are more complicated to grasp than Facebook. The lead generation offers are pretty neat but, again, deliver mixed results. This wouldn't be my first recommendation for content marketers unless you A. Deal mostly with B2B and B. Have a nice, fat wallet.

Twitter

Twitter is my least favorite social media platform. It's great for news agencies, journalists and celebrities who want to give up-to-the-minute updates. For marketers, however, I think it's too fast-moving. It's way too easy for people to simply scroll past your content Tweet, or not even see it.

Twitter is a very loud platform and unless you really have something amazing to say or have a viral hashtag, you'll be drowned out in the noise. It's a decent platform for individuals and brands with a strong personality, but I don't recommend it for organizations, especially those who are still figuring out their identity.