There are so many different social networks to be on today, it is no wonder small business owners feel their heads spinning when they think about it.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Snapchat
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Parler
• Mixx
• Flipboard
• Me-We
• YouTube
• Rumble

These are just the most recently popular social networking websites where people gather today.

So, what is a small business owner to do? Let us look at some options here:

Ask Where Your Clients Are on Social Media

Yes, you can ask your clients which social network sites they participate the most on. When they visit your business online or in-person be ready to ask them. Online, you can send out a quiz via email or even on a landing page of your website.  If you are an eCommerce merchant, you can easily check your Google analytics to see where people are coming from to your website.

Do Some Research

Many of the networks have a completely different audience.   Many young people on TikTok may not even use Facebook or LinkedIn for example. Stay tuned with the latest trends of where people are going online. Recently many conservative-minded people fled over to Parler. Some even quit being on Facebook and Twitter.

It is not always about which social channel has the most users, but about which channel has more of YOUR user base.

The Big Three Social Networks

The big 3 are Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter in the United States. These are the social media sites with the most users. They do not necessarily spend the most time on these but that is where they have an account and login at least once per month. Interestingly, the site with the most time spent is over on Instagram.  So, if you have a younger female clientele, Instagram would be your #1 choice for where to market your business.

But remember if you need a large broad audience, these big 3 networks are where you will need to be.

Best Social Sites for B2B

Now on the other hand, if you are doing business just with other businesses you may want to consider LinkedIn. LinkedIn is known as the professional social media network. Most people talk business only on this professional network. Keep that in mind!

Younger Audience Networks

If the teenagers and young people in their 20’s and 30ths are your target audience then maybe TokTok or SnapChat would be where you want to market to. But do remember, it’s not where the highest earners go to be social.

Reaching Higher Income Demographic

As I researched this one recently it took me by surprise! YouTube far outranks all the others in a higher income user. Yes, YouTube!  83% of users on YouTube earn over $75+K per year. The next one that even comes close is Facebook with 74% of its user base earning $75+K.

The least was SnapChat audience at 22% of its audience earning the $75+ per year. Twitter came in at 32%, Pinterest at 41%, TikTok at 40%, and LinkedIn at 49%.

Best Social Media Networks for Customer Service

So, another thing to consider when choosing your social media sites to be on or advertise on is customer service. I love the speed of customer service over on Twitter. So, if your business handles a lot of customer service questions or complaints, Twitter is the place to be on.

Customer service works when someone tweets a business and then the business takes it as a private direct message. That way the whole thing does not air out in public.  Many companies will either call or email you to help you resolve a problem or issue.

Up and Coming Parler and Rumble

Recently 2 other social media sites have exploded in the United States due to censorship claims. Millions have signed up on both and many left Facebook and Twitter as they signed up for Parler. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out in the coming months. Will they continue to stay on Parler? Will they stay off of Facebook and Twitter?

I believe Twitter may be in more danger as Parler has a familiar Twitter feel to it. I will say Parler seems to be handling their growing pains better than Twitter did a decade ago with their fail whale.  Twitter used to be out for hours upon hours. I have not seen that with Parler though some users had trouble signing up on the busy weekend.

Parler is a more conservative network in many ways and they do not allow terrorists, spam, unsolicited ads, pornography, threats to harm, porn, blackmail, and content that glorifies violence against animals.  If you see anything that looks suspicious you can report them just like on Twitter and Facebook

Rumble came about as YouTube videos were being taken down as fast as they were being put up. Rumble was formed to provide video creators a way to host, manage, distribute, create OTT [over the top] feeds, and monetize their content. Political commentator Dan Bongino co-owns the platform. “We need somewhere to go where conservative views won’t be discriminated against,” Rumble is similar to use as YouTube.

Your Turn

So where will you spend your time and effort marketing in the coming year? Which social media platform (s) will you spend marketing dollars on? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Guest Author
Lisa Sicard

Lisa loves helping others to thrive online through Social Media, Blogging, and SEO. What good is knowledge if you cannot share it with others? She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 9 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO. Check out her latest eBook “How to Tweet and Thrive on Twitter” now on Amazon.

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