Social media platforms are everywhere and there are so many of them, but which platform should you focus on in 2023?
Social media is now an essential part of marketing and should be an important part of your strategy. Before implementing your social media strategy, it is essential first to understand each social media platform’s who, what, and why. From Facebook to Pinterest, every social media platform will offer something different and attract a different audience.
Here at Social Game, we have simplified each popular social media platform so you don’t have to. Leaving you with all the information to make an informed decision about which platform(s) best suits your business goals for 2023.
Audience: Surprisingly, males favour Facebook more than females. It was found that male users account for 56% of Facebook’s users.
What: In 2022, Facebook was still an excellent choice for networking, keeping in touch with family, and even keeping up with news and current events. However, from a business perspective, marketing still remains the strongest appeal for Facebook and good to keep active.
Why: Facebook may have seemed like the least popular social media platform in 2022; however, the social media giant is still the world’s largest platform. Due to Facebook’s sheer size and engagement rate, you should ensure you are still focusing some of your marketing efforts on the platform throughout 2023.
Audience: Instagram appeals mainly to a younger demographic. Instagram in the UK during 2022 had around 32 million monthly users, making it the 2nd most used social media platform, behind Facebook. Not to mention in March 2022 the highest number of UK Instagram users was recorded with 34.74 million users.
What: Most of you will know this but just in case you don’t, Instagram is an app that allows users to share both photos and videos. Other features include Instagram Stories (much like Snapchat) and Instagram Reels (15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools similar to TikTok). They have also added Instagram Shop where businesses can showcase their products.
Why: Instagram is a discovery engine for brands and it offers touchpoints where marketers can encourage engagement. Plus, Instagram Shopping provides a set of features across Instagram that let people shop for photos and videos no matter where they are following them or not. Instagram is definitely a platform to focus on in 2023 if engagement and increasing reach is your aim.
Audience: TikTok exploded in popularity during COVID-19, and the video-sharing platform shows no signs of slowing down with 1 billion monthly active users in 2022.
What: TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing platform where users shoot, edit, create and share videos on any topic. The platform emphasises rawness and creativity with filters, music, animation and special effects. There is always a trend taking over making creating content easier for some.
Why: To put it simply, TikTok is just unavoidable. TikTok is now the world’s fourth-largest social media platform and is possibly going to move up. Additionally, engagement rates on the platform are through the roof, making it something your brand should be adding to your marketing mix, if you can. And don’t worry – you don’t have to learn all the latest trending dance moves to get involved!
Audience: As of 2022, LinkedIn has 690+ million members, and 45% of these members are active on the platform every single month. As a professional networking platform, it’s no surprise that 43% of LinkedIn users access the platform from a desktop or laptop.
What: Designed for business professionals, LinkedIn is known as the world’s largest professional networking platform. Users can find other professionals and be found by other professionals in their respective industries. Businesses have moved towards the platform to network, connect and sell.
Why: LinkedIn is a hotspot for B2B, and it’s also an excellent choice for recruiters and job seekers alike. While LinkedIn is the clear choice for job seekers and recruiters, its growing popularity among professionals, influencers and thought leaders offers much more than just networking. If your business is more B2B this is a great platform to concentrate on to raise brand awareness among professionals in the industry.
Audience: As of 2022, 445 million people use Pinterest, with 45% of female respondents in the UK said they were Pinterest users, compared to just 27% of males. This is good to know if your target audience is more of a female demographic.
What: Pinterest is a visual discovery engine where users can ‘pin’ ideas such as food, decor, art, fashion, wedding, travel and much more. It’s all about finding inspiration on Pinterest so it’s important to post inspiring content that is worth pin-ing.
Why: 97% of queries on Pinterest are unbranded, meaning users are not searching for a particular brand. Instead, they are seeking inspiration and innovation, making the platform an excellent choice for brands looking to be discovered and raising their awareness.
Audience: 68.1% of Twitter users are male. 31.9% are female, with the largest age group being 25 to 34 (38.5%).
What: Keeping up to date with trends, news, and conversations is the primary purpose of this platform. It’s all about keeping informed and being a part of the discussion. The challenge of Twitter is being interesting and creative and being relevant in just 280 characters.
Why: With Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter, there’s uncertainty around the platform, especially from advertisers. If your business has done well previously on this platform is good to carry this on but it could be worth waiting to see what happens to this platform before adding any more focus or budget within your 2023 strategy.
Want to up your social media game? Get in touch with The Social Game today!
