What types of social networks are there? (And how to take advantage of them for your business)

 

What types of social networks are there? (And how to take advantage of them for your business)

 

It is likely that when you hear "social networks", you immediately associate it with Facebook or Instagram. However, there are many other networks, with different themes and that you can also integrate as part of your digital strategy. Here we will tell you how.

What exactly is a social network? These are websites and/or applications that allow people, in (almost) anywhere in the world, to share content in real-time and efficiently and quickly. We thus form communities where discussion and interaction are possible. It is precisely the function of each one that determines its type. That is, there are those that form a community, such as Facebook and Twitter, for example; But there are others designed to share audiovisual content (YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram), to strengthen work contacts or obtain a job (LinkedIn), to promote social blogging (Medium, Tumblr) and to establish debates (Reddit, Quora).

Can you imagine the potential of integrating these networks into your digital marketing strategy? Here are some figures that will convince you: According to We Are Social, the number of users of social networks is estimated at 3,196 million, an amount that increases 13% per year. Also, 9 out of 10 access their preferred platforms through their cell phones.

 

Brands must be where their audience is. 90% of brands consider that social media marketing increased their business exposure, while 66% of companies that spend at least 6 hours on social media per week got more leads.

Let's look at each of the main social networks in detail and their business potential.

 

Facebook

The network created in 2004 and with more than 2 billion active users. It is a free social network that allows you to upload photos, videos, publications or broadcast live. It also makes it easy for us to communicate with other people and brands, create groups and events, search classified ads and also create public pages around a certain topic or interest.

 

facebook

How can I take advantage of this network for my brand?

 

There are several options: Facebook offers statistics for those who decide to advertise with them and you can know how many people your the publication reached, who saw the ad or clicked.

 

Statistics for companies on Facebook.

In addition, the algorithms of this network allow us to target highly specific audiences. On the other hand, Facebook chat (Facebook Messenger) favours brands because it personalizes the experience of each customer. According to figures from this company, it is estimated that each month people and companies send more than 2,000 million messages, either automatically or personally. And this communication can be tailored based on the business goals of the company.

Twitter

It is characterized by its short and concise texts: each tweet does not exceed 240 characters. It is the ideal spot to discover what's going on and where and as indicated by Alexa, an Internet investigation organization, it is among the most visited sites on the planet: position 8 in the United States and 13 in the remainder of the world.

 

How can we harness its potential for our brand? Taking into account that at least 47% of marketers agree that Twitter is the best channel on social networks to generate engagement, you can opt for promoted tweets, accounts or trends.

 

Promoted Tweets appear in a user's feed alongside posts from people the user follows. Promoted accounts appear in various locations on Twitter and as a suggestion of whom to follow. And promoted trends appear at the top of the Twitter trends box. This type of advertisement allows the brand to be visible and interact with the users of this network.

 

47% of the Twitter users who follow a brand on this network are more likely to visit that company's website. On the other hand, three-quarters of companies with an online presence now use Twitter for commercial purposes.

 

Instagram

With almost 800 million active users per month, Instagram is one of the most visual social networks and it has been consolidating as the favourite of companies. Do you intuit the reasons? Visual content receives more interaction than written content, as proven by the fact that one in three stories seen on Instagram belongs to companies.

Instagram page

 

On Instagram, you can choose between ads with photo (for high impact images), with video (up to 60 seconds long), by sequence (allows interactivity with the user) or in Stories. And then focus your strategy towards your objectives of reach, frequency, diffusion, brand recognition, clicks, video reproductions.

 

Once the conversion is achieved (increase sales or downloads or visits to the store) you will be able to look at dynamic ads on Instagram, installations of the application or interaction with it.

YouTube

An audiovisual content network where users can view, share, comment on, and post videos. According to official YouTube figures, it is estimated that the number of users on this network is around one billion people, who consume one billion hours of videos.

 

If you integrate this network into your digital strategy, you will be able to take advantage of such interesting statistics as which are the videos that generate subscribers or click-through rates. You'll also get breakdowns of demographic data: by age, gender, and the devices from which certain content is consumed. The only platform that even comes close to providing this vast amount of actionable data, aside from Google, is Facebook.

 

YouTube and its videos bring brands to life, put a face on them and humanize them. Tutorial videos are very popular among companies, which educate and entertain, or show the advantages of their products or also a new launch.

 

Snapchat

We are facing a network that is also an application and whose charm lies in the short duration of its videos: only 10 seconds per video, the same one that disappears after being seen by its recipients.

 

You can use Snapchat for your business by betting on instant ads, geofilters, and sponsored lenses. These have been used in marketing campaigns by brands such as Vans, Coca-Cola or Netflix.

 

Netflix

Instant ads are full-screen 10-second vertical videos and offer a call-to-action to visit a specific link. Sponsored geofilters allow you to send snaps from specific locations. If the company has multiple branches, you can set the filters in specific locations. And the sponsored lenses are characterized by having a facial recognition technology that allows users to adapt their face to any type of filter. For example, if you have a brand related to the automotive industry, you can use Snapchat to make your customers pretend they are in the car. According to this social network, this type of advertising doubles the purchase intention.

 

LinkedIn

The social network associated with the world of work par excellence. With more than 500 million users, LinkedIn offers opportunities to connect with other professionals and, of course, search for employment. Its interface allows you to create connections, send private messages and make our work experience visible.

 

Why should your brand be on LinkedIn? Essentially because it provides exposure and allows you to meet potential clients, connect with trained professionals, and expand your circle of contacts. In addition, the recommendations on this social network are testimonials that validate the qualities of your company.

Linkedin page

 

LinkedIn offers robust and deep user data: educational history, career, interests, and location. Additionally, at least 75% of business executives watch work-related videos each week. 

With this information in mind, marketers can promote business activities such as company events and product launches on Linkedin. Also, consider the possibility of recording videos (up to 10 minutes long) like these - thanks to the algorithms that this network handles - are highlighted by users.

 

Medium

An open and free platform to read, publish, write and share publications online. With thirty million users per month, Medium offers companies the opportunity to present in-depth digital content, thus contributing to their positioning in Google since Medium integrates Google Analytics on its site and allows measuring the views, readings and recommendations of the published article.

 

Medium page

Consider Medium if you are in the publishing sector or if your startup has a blog. This is a network of readers (its users spend an average of 4.5 million hours a month reading) and you can take advantage of it to provide them with quality content according to their preferences.

Users also have the option to personalize their feeds with the type of content they prefer.

Quora

This is a question and answers social network that receives around 100 million visitors a month. Interesting, right?

 

Quora can help you position topics in Google as some links from this network appear in the first places of Google searches. You can take advantage of this to develop their authority and expertise on issues that you master as a business. Customers are also on Quora and maybe asking questions about your products or services.

 

Quora page

If you use Quora as part of your strategy, keep in mind that the benefits will be seen in the long term: brands that are interested in improving their positioning in Google can create a profile, find questions that have a lot of views and followers, design responses as a great article, tell interesting stories to show that they know the subject in-depth, and insert images, videos and links. Instant ads are full-screen 10-second vertical videos and offer a call-to-action to visit a specific link. Sponsored allow you to send snaps from specific locations. If the company has multiple branches, you can set the filters in specific locations. And the sponsored lenses are characterized by having a facial recognition technology that allows users to adapt their face to any type of filter. For example, if you have a brand related to the automotive industry, you can use Snapchat to make your customers pretend they are in the car. According to this social network, this type of advertising doubles the purchase intention.