Few things change as quickly as Social Media does. Check out what’s new for the most popular Social Media sites!
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn has a unique benefit of a very specific user demographic: More than 1 of every 3 US adults aged 30-49 use LinkedIn (37%), with over half of their users possessing college degrees. Their 722 million users can utilize the platform to stay current with their respective industries, apply for jobs, follow specific businesses, and connect with professionals.
To best use the LinkedIn platform:
- Post on weekdays only. Social engagement is not typically users’ primary reason for their account and most users are on LinkedIn during working hours.
- Posts on Mondays and Fridays are less effective so be sure to post on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays.
- LinkedIn deprioritizes accounts that use too much automation, so be sure to use automation tools in sparingly.
Facebook:
As of July 2021, Facebook’s demographics are 56% Male and 44% Female. Male and Female segments aged 25 to 34 are largest, and 18 to 24 the second largest segments.
Facebook’s algorithm has changed drastically over the years.
To increase the views your posts:
- Any business that sells products online can create a Facebook Shopping page, which allows users to purchase products without leaving the site.
- High-Interest Content, or content that gets users to reply, like, or share, get the greatest visibility.
- Unlike many other platforms, Longform Posts perform well. These posts typically have a lower Cost Per Action and can be used to inform your audience.
- Hashtags, once reserved for sites like Twitter, have made their way to Facebook. Using hashtags can guide users with aligning interests to your page.
- Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9am-1pm are typically the best times to post. Be sure to check your own insights below as every demographic has different usage!
Twitter:
Compared to other social medium platforms, Twitter has made fewer radical changes. Twitter is a primarily used by Males comprising 68.1% of users. Similar to Facebook, Twitter’s largest user age group is aged 25-34 (38.5%). The second largest age group who use Twitter are aged 35-49 (20.7%). Twitter is a great social media platform for both B2B and B2C companies alike.
To get the most out of your Twitter presence be sure to:
- Limit Hashtags. Less is more with on Twitter. To make your purpose concise, limit your hashtag usage to 1-2 relevant hashtags.
- Twitter now allows you to use 280 characters (versus 140) but that doesn’t mean you should use all of them. The best performing tweets are “short and sweet.”
- Curate replies and retweets by responding to mentions. More interaction with your tweets will boost your page’s Twitter viability.
- Use images, gifs, or videos to make your tweets stand out!
- Twitter, as most know, is a fast-paced social site.
Instagram:
Instagram is the second largest social media website behind Facebook, boasting 1 billion monthly active users, with 500 million being active “daily” users. Unlike other social media sites, Instagram’s user base is primarily female at 57.9%. Instagram’s largest age demographic is ages 25-34 (32.1%) and 18-24 (29.9%), respectively. Recently, Instagram introduced Reels to compete with TikTok as the leading site for short video content. Reels have been losing that competition among the teen demographic. Thirty-six percent (36%) of Instagram users follow at least 1 brand account (the highest brand followers among all sites). It should be noted: Forty-six (46%) of B2B marketers use organic Instagram posts to boost their business.
To engage Instagram users:
- Post during the week. Instagram sees its most usage during the middle of the week and around 11am central time.
- With 500 million daily users, it’s easy to have your content get lost in a sea of media. Be sure to keep your account active by posting frequently.
- The more user engagement, the more attention your post will get. Be sure to encourage action such as saves, likes, comments and shares.
- Unlike Twitter, Instagram encourages the use of a lot of hashtags.
- Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, you may cross-post between the two platforms.
TikTok:
The newest platform on this list, TikTok, has skyrocketed in users since its introduction, becoming the 7th largest social media app and 2nd largest social media site in consumer spending. TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users worldwide with 130 million of the users residing in the US. TikTok has been the go-to app for teens and young adults. Twenty-five percent (25%) of their users are less than 20 years old and 48% of all US residents under the age of 29 report they use the TikTok app.
This new, young app can be tricky for content, so be sure to:
- Prioritize vertical video. While this seems intuitive given that TikTok is designed for mobile use, not all videos are recorded vertically. Those that are see a 25% higher watch-through rate.
- TikTok’s users report that they open the app for funny/entertaining content.
- The first 3 seconds of your video are the most critical. Sixty-three percent (63%) of ads on TikTok with the highest Click-through Rate put their message upfront.
- Appealing to emotion is a powerful way to engage audiences (in any form of communication!).
- TikTok’s creator marketplace gives brands an easy way to search for content creators your brand may align with.
Most importantly for all communications, including social media platforms, content should be valuable to the reader.