Social Media Sites – The Top Sites You Should Use In 2023
Not all social media networks are created equally – each of them has unique features that set them apart from others. When designing a social media marketing strategy, you need to know which ones will be best suited to your brand. Your goals and targets will influence which social media sites you should be using.
While Instagram might be perfect for one brand, it could be a waste of time for another. For the best results, you need to know more about each platform before you can create a proper social media marketing strategy.
Once you’re done here, you may realise that having a presence on all the major sites is your best bet. At least, that’s the best approach for most brands. Your situation could be different, and that’s why having as much information as possible is very important.
We will be looking at the most dominant sites of 2020 – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, YouTube and LinkedIn.
We start off with the big guy – Facebook. As one of the most dominant social media sites in the world, Facebook hardly needs any introduction.
Facebook was founded in 2004 and can boast of more than 2.4 billion active users. That offers massive potential to social media marketers and brands.
This is something that brands have taken notice of – over 60 million businesses use Facebook Pages. On top of that, more than six million advertisers promote themselves on the platform.
It really doesn’t matter what your industry is, Facebook will have to be part of your strategy. On this social media site, there is a place for everyone.
However, there are some industries that perform better than others on Facebook. This includes retail, entertainment, e-commerce, financial services, technology, automotive, telecom, consumer goods, media and gaming.
Granted, it has become harder for businesses to promote themselves on Facebook, it is still a very popular platform for brands.
By making use of Facebook Ads, you can tap into that potential and reach a much wider audience than you would without ads.
We cover this much more in-depth in our Facebook Ad Examples guide. Getting started on Facebook isn’t very complicated.
You can use videos, text and images to reach out to your target audience. Keep in mind that Facebook’s algorithm is all about meaningful interactions.
Keep things real and don’t try and shady advertising tricks and you’ll be doing just fine. If you need more information on how to get started on Facebook, our Basics guide will prove quite useful.
Facebook also has a great feature launched earlier that is aimed at businesses. ‘Facebook Shops’ is more convenient and fully supports and promotes e-commerce.
Best Time to Post On Facebook
With an ever-increase in users, Facebook really is a great place for brands to improve sales. Knowing when to share posts on social media sites is part of a great strategy and vital to your success.
On Facebook, it is a bit hard to determine when to post but engagement is much higher on weekends. That makes Saturdays the most ideal time for posting.
The best time to post on Facebook is between 1pm and 3pm. However, studies have shown that 8pm on Thursday or between 1pm to 4pm later in the week is the another good time to post too.
Essentially, the best time to post on Facebook depends on the industry that you’re in and the location of your audience. This will be different for every brand.
Messenger
Originally part of Facebook, Messenger is a messaging feature that became an app on its own.
Since 2011, Facebook has also expanded on the features on offer from Messenger. It is possible for businesses to advertise, send newsletters and create chatbots, among other neat features.
Thanks to this social media site and communication app, brands can engage with their audience on a more personal level. Connections also feel more real with Messenger.
Using Messenger in your marketing strategy is a good idea as it offers more than straightforward messaging.
You can use Messenger with Facebook Live to create a really cool and engaging experience for your audience.
Of course, this will take some good planning but will give you an awesome edge over your competition.
Founded in 2006, Twitter has grown massively in popularity as a social media platform. This top social platform is fast and ideal for many brands.
If you’re in the entertainment, marketing, political or sports industry, you’ll thrive on Twitter with its tweets and hashtags.
With more than 300 million active users (and growing!), this social media site has proven itself to be a top dog in the social media world.
Twitter allows users to express their unique voice and grow a huge following. With an emphasis on real-time interaction and information, Twitter is all about what’s happening right now.
Trending topics and discussions are the aim of the game on this platform. Much like Facebook, media content does really well on Twitter.
However, text (unless in a picture form) doesn’t do as well since users are limited to 280 characters.
Many brands use Twitter as a customer service channel and it’s a brilliant idea. Customers can reach you much faster and more effectively, and vice versa.
Statistics show that about 50% of marketers think of Twitter as the best place to engage with their customers.
The best way to be successful on Twitter is to have a loyal and supportive following, as we discuss in our guide with tips and tricks on how to grow Twitter followers.
Of course, you need to get verified as well – brands with that desirable blue tick are seen as honest and trustworthy.
Best Time to Post on Twitter
When you’re sharing content on Twitter, the best times to do so would naturally depend on your brand and industry. This is true for all social media sites, but we’ll share basic ‘best times’ for all of them with you. That way, you can test out the suggested times and learn when works best for you.
The best days to post new content is between Tuesday and Friday, according to the American Marketing Association. Any time between 9 am and 9 pm is ideal as well. So basically, post throughout the week except on Mondays.
This popular social media site has more than 1 billion active users across the globe and is perfect for visual digital marketing.
Attention-grabbing visuals and great creativity is encouraged and makes Instagram popular among its millions of users. It’s a fantastic media platform for marketers as well, as more than 70% of businesses in the U.S uses it for marketing.
With so many users, it’s easy to understand why any brand would want to have a strong following on Instagram. For a more in-depth discussion on Instagram followers, you should check out our guide on how to successfully grow your following on the popular social media platform.
Social media influencers and product-based companies tend to do especially well on Instagram. This is especially true since Instagram introduced shoppable posts, which allows users to click on links to buy products right from Instagram posts.
Instagram is most popular with people aged between 18 and 34, with about 63% of users being of that age. It has certainly come a long way since it was launched in 2010!
It is possible for brands to have Business profiles, which allows access to really good analytics. You also get to schedule posts using third-party apps such as SocialPlanner. That way, you can make sure you have content to entertain your following even when you can’t be online.
For a better shot at succeeding in using Instagram in your marketing strategy, take a look at our guide on the Instagram algorithm.
Contests and giveaways are also really great ways to attract your audience and widen your reach. We discuss this more in our Instagram giveaways guide.
If you need more convincing that Instagram might be just the social network that your marketing strategy needs, consider its average engagement rate. This is higher than any other social media site’s engagement, including Twitter and Facebook.
Best Time to Post on Instagram
It has been found that in general, it is best to share new posts on Instagram during lunch (11 am and 1 pm) and in evenings (between 7 pm and 9 pm). We recommend that you schedule posts so you don’t have to use your free time dedicated to sharing content.
The most popular content you’ll find on Pinterest is related to food, decor, fashion, Do-It-Yourself projects and weddings. It is a visually rich social network with a mostly female audience – about 81% of users are women.
Despite the female dominance, approximately 40% of new signups to Pinterest are male, which means the social media site is growing in popularity.
Roughly 250 million active users spend time on Pinterest very regularly and they love the visual aspect of the platform.
Pinterest’s primary focus is on inspiring others and finding new ideas. This makes it quite different than other social networks. Whereas social media sites such as Twitter is about engagement, Pinterest is about useful and relevant media content.
If you want to show your audience what your product or service can do for them, Pinterest is a good choice. By having a presence on the site, you can make sure everyone knows about you when they plan their projects or special events.
More than 500 000 businesses have Business accounts on Pinterest, showing that it really is the place to be for digital marketing.
With five different types of Rich Pins, Pinterest Analytics and tools that are exclusive to Business accounts, it’s clear that Pinterest is ideal for brand marketing.
Best Time to Post on Pinterest
For Pinterest users who want to reach their audience, the best times to share pins would be between 8 pm and 11 pm. It seems that Pinterest is most popular when people are not working and can relax with their mobile phones or tablets.
Saturdays and Sundays are generally the best days to pin and work hours are the worst. You might get a lot less engagement if your pins are shared when everyone is at work.
The best time to post on Pinterest tends to be between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Mothers tend to use Pinterest actively which may be why they tend to post later in the evening.
Saturdays tend to be by far the best day to post on Pinterest. Sundays work well too.
Work hours tend to be less popular for Pinterest users. Posting during those times may result in less engagement.
The ‘front page of the Internet’, Reddit, was founded in 2005 and has about 430 active users every month. It is one of the most-visited sites on the net, giving it a valid reason to claim to be the front page.
Reddit is more than a social media site, it is a blend of community and content and has more than 150 000 communities that come together to discuss related matters.
There is a place for every and any brand thanks to so many niches on offer. You just have to find the right spot that will help you reach your audience.
To be successful as a brand on Reddit, you need to be part of the community. People on this social network do not tolerate brands who try to use it for personal gain only.
You cannot approach Reddit the same way you would other social media sites. Be sure that you’re in the right place before trying to promote your brand. And don’t ever promote before you’ve participated.
Generally, an 80-20 rule is the best idea – participate in your community 80% and promote yourself only 20%.
Be engaging and genuine – Reddit users are severely allergic to insincere and dishonest brands and users. On the flip side, they can be intensely loyal so get them on your side and half the battle is won.
As long as you’re honest and sincere, the Reddit community is likely to be very supportive. They do like the classic ‘underdog coming out on top’ story.
Best Time to Post on Reddit
The best time to post is very tricky to determine on Reddit – it depends on your community. You can, however, check out Delay for Reddit. It is a great tool that will help you determine the best time to share content based on the community you want to share it in.
YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular and well-known video-sharing sites on the internet. Millions of hours of videos are watched on the site every single day and more than 1.9 billion users are actively using it every month.
Launched in 2003, YouTube has undergone many changes since its infancy but remains very popular. Brands are given many options to have their ads seen on the site.
You can also create a channel for your brand and share unique videos of your own if you want to. People who see your content can comment and share your content while subscribers can stay up-to-date with all your videos.
YouTube is owned by Google and is the second biggest social media site, so we had to have it on our list. It has a wide reach and generates plenty of traffic, making it ideal for marketing a brand.
A great benefit of YouTube is that it offers results that are immediate and measurable so you can track your performance and effectiveness.
On top of that, this platform gives active users easy interactivity with other social media platforms. That allows you to cross-post your content easily to reach even more people.
Best Time to Post on Youtube
You’ll find that in general, the best time to share content on YouTube is between 5 pm and 9 pm. That’s likely because users are at home after work and have more time to spend on social media sites.
Sundays are seen as the best days to post, with the best times then being between 8 am and 11 am. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are often the worst times to share new content.
Widely considered the go-to online site for professionals, LinkedIn has a very good reputation. It is one of the most well-known networking sites on the Internet.
LinkedIn was founded in 2003 and grew in popularity, now able to boast with more than 310 million active users worldwide. About 61 million of those users are professionals in high positions.
That makes it a great social media site for the more serious brands and companies out there.
Sure, LinkedIn isn’t the flashiest or most trending of social networks, but it has a lot of potential for brands and individual users alike.
LinkedIn is the place to be if brands are looking for partners and supporters. More than half of this social network’s users have college degrees – they’re the professionals you need on your side.
It is more than a site where you search for work – it has become a social media site with a professional touch where experts in their industries network and share content.
On LinkedIn, it is easier for a brand to be taken seriously than on any of the other social networks.
In addition to this, LinkedIn also gives users great advertising opportunities that can boost reach.
Best Time to Post on LinkedIn
On LinkedIn, your audience and their behaviour determine when you will be posting. Knowing as much as possible about your target audience is really important if you want to use LinkedIn in your marketing strategy.
In general, there is a basic guideline that can be followed. You can use this and keep an eye on the performance of your posts. You can then determine which times are best for your brand.
Media companies’ audience check their social media accounts the way they would check the newspaper – in the morning. If your audience is in this industry, you’d be better off having fresh content early on Monday to Friday.
An audience in the software industry is more likely to be active after working hours, so those would be the best times to post.
If your audience is in the higher education or healthcare fields, you’re better off posting between 10 am and 12 pm. That is when this audience is more active. For B2B and B2C businesses, the most successful posting times are early in the morning and during lunch. You want to catch these people when they’re not working. After office hours is also good.
TikTok
As one of the top social networks among youngsters, Tik Tok is ‘THE’ place to be if your target audience is the younger generation. It has about 500 million active users and is known as Douyin in China.
TikTok is a social media site focused on using music to create interesting videos. In 2018, it was the most-downloaded app, kicking dust in the eyes of the likes of Facebook. Since then, Tik Tok has continued to rise in popularity.
There are many ways that brands can market on TikTok and creating a channel is the first step. You can work with popular TikTok influencers to reach a wider audience.
You can directly advertise on TikTok as well, but this is still a new-ish thing on the app.
While TikTok’s popularity cannot be denied, the recent reports on TikTok spying on users may cause some of that popularity to diminish.
Best Time to Post on TikTok
Of course, the best time to post content on TikTok will depend on your brand and your audience.
But, in general, it has been found that between 6 am and 10 am tends to be a good time. Also, between 7 pm and 11 pm (EST) is also a good time to share fresh content.
If you want a more in-depth look at when to share content, check out your analytics on your other social networks such as Instagram and YouTube. They can give you an idea of when your target audience is most active. This might help you on TikTok.
We’ve also prepared a handy guide on how to post on tiktok
Snapchat
Snapchat is one of the younger social media sites (launched in 2011) on our list but is definitely worth mentioning. It has more than 350 million active users that are sharing content and connecting every month.
On average, users spend about 30 minutes a day on Snapchat, offering enough time for marketing strategies to work really well.
More than 9 000 Snaps are posted every second and these attract over 10 billion views.
As a great social media platform for user-generated content, you can’t go wrong when using this app to boost your marketing ideas and get great content.
Short videos and photos are the most common content you will find on Snapchat, making it a very visual media platform.
Sharing tutorials, product demos, tips and tricks and behind-the-scenes footage are great ideas for a Snapchat marketing strategy.
Best Time to Post on Snapchat
It has been found that the best time to post on Snapchat is normally later at night. Any time between 10 pm and 1 am is great. Snapchat’s users are mostly young and like to stay up later at night.
Engagement is much higher in the wee hours as a result. The best days to post on Snapchat are actually all days. Users are constantly on the app and use it every day so you can share your content on any day, as long as you do so later at night.
Social Media Sites Frequently Asked Questions
Knowing as much as possible about social media sites helps marketers to be fully equipped when creating marketing strategies.
We’ll be looking at some of the most commonly asked questions here and giving brief answers so you can get back to creating an awesome social media marketing strategy as soon as possible.
Please note that we can’t address all the questions here because you might get lost. Be sure to check our social media blog often to keep yourself up to date with all our latest articles. We’re bound to have answers to your questions.
Is Amazon a Social Media Site?
Amazon did have a social media site but it was shut down. Amazon Spark was launched in 2017 and available for use by Prime members. They could share posts and others could like the posts or comment on them.
However, the platform wasn’t as popular and didn’t really take off. It is no longer available.
Is Zoom a Social Media Site?
Although Zoom started as a video conferencing app, it became one of the most important social media sites for millions of users.
Zoom is actively helping users stay connected and it may not be seen in the same leagues as Twitter or Instagram, but is still a big deal.
What Are the Disadvantages of Social Media Sites?
As with most things in life, social media sites do come with drawbacks. Often times, social media sites aren’t able to convey human emotions effectively. This can result in emotional distancing that is not healthy.
Many people are easily mean on social media sites because of how anonymous it can be. Naturally, this comes with many hurtful repercussions.
Since so many people are now texting, it becomes much more difficult to have face-to-face communication skills. Awkward social situations have become more common as a result.
There are many reasons why social media sites can be a negative influence in your life, but there are also many positives to it. For the most part, it depends on how people are using their social media platforms.
What Are the Top 5 Most Used Social Media Apps?
While this can change in the future, for now, the following social media platforms are seen as the biggest social media sites:
- Snapchat
What’s the Next Top Social Media Platform 2020?
According to research, TikTok will be the next big social media platform to dominate in 2020.
It is already very popular with the younger generation and is likely to only become more popular as time goes on.
Can You Get Addicted to Social Media?
It is indeed possible to get addicted to social media networks. It is a place where you can be whoever you want to. People portray a perfect version of themselves on their chosen social media platform. Getting a lot of positive feedback and attention is also addictive and gives people a sense of social importance.
Conclusion
We have discussed the most popular social networks and why they’re so great. You can use the information shared here to build a comprehensive and successful social media marketing strategy. For even more guidance and tips, be sure to check out our blog. We regularly share new and interesting content.
