Trending Social Networks: A Dive into the Digital Age
In the infancy of the digital age, the competition between emerging social networks often seemed like a zero-sum game: one network’s gain was another’s loss. Fast forward to today, and the digital landscape has radically evolved. With an array of platforms, users now enjoy the luxury of choice, and businesses have multiple avenues to market their brand.
The Rise of New Challengers
Twitter, once a singular giant in the micro-blogging arena, is now feeling the competitive heat. With Elon Musk’s recent forays causing ripples on the platform, competitors are emerging to potentially dethrone the once-unchallenged king. Platforms like Sproutable and Mastodon are coming up as potential rivals, providing alternative spaces for conversation and content.
Threads, once (not so long ago) celebrated as the future of intimate topic-centric discussions, now faces challenges in retaining its users despite its unique approach to fostering deep engagements on particular subjects. Meanwhile, Twitter itself seems to be evolving, aiming to be more comprehensive. Its efforts to emulate China’s super app, WeChat, are evident with features that go beyond just tweeting.
Moreover, the audio-chat renaissance with Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse is reshaping how we engage online. Lemon8 and Discord further emphasize this shift, blending traditional messaging with voice channels, making communication more dynamic than ever.
The Power of Strategy in the Age of Diversity
The digitized world’s beauty lies in its diversity; a vast array of platforms catering to various user needs. With a correct digital marketing strategy, businesses can tap into this diversity, promoting brand awareness, engaging their target audience, and fostering enduring relationships.
Once upon a time, Myspace’s was the giant of its time only to be overshadowed by Facebook’s meteoric rise. Such transitions teach media and technology businesses the importance of adaptability and the dangers of complacency. As Circuit City fell to Best Buy, and Polaroid was overshadowed by digital cameras, the message is clear: innovation and adaptability are keys to enduring success.
Competition breeds excellence. With multiple platforms vying for user attention, each strives to outdo the other, leading to innovative features, better user experiences, and more value for marketers.
Why Choose Just One?
Individuals and businesses often grapple with the ‘right platform’ for their communication needs. In the age of multiplicity, why choose just one? Leveraging different platforms for various communication needs can be a game-changer. An Instagram reel might be perfect for showcasing a product, while a thoughtful thread on Threads could be ideal for brand storytelling.
However, with great power comes great responsibility. It’s not about being everywhere but being where it matters. Understanding where your audience resides and how they engage is pivotal.
Dive into the Now
2023 paints a vibrant picture of the social media landscape:
Facebook remains a dominant force with its 2.7 billion users.
YouTube stands strong as the second-largest search engine with 2 billion users.
WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger cater to the instant messaging realm, boasting 2 billion and 1.3 billion users respectively.
WeChat holds its ground with 1.2 billion, especially strong in the Asian markets.
Instagram continues to be the go-to for visual content with 1.15 billion.
TikTok, the newcomer, has swiftly captured hearts, boasting nearly 700 million users.
Setting Sail in Digital Waters
Embarking on the digital journey requires not just a ship but a map. As you navigate the vast waters of social media:
Understand Your Audience: Know where they hang out, what they like, and how they engage.
Content is King: Craft content that resonates. Authenticity matters.
Engage: Social media is not a monologue. Engage with your audience, respond to comments, and foster a community.
Adapt and Evolve: The digital landscape is ever-changing. Stay updated with trends and be ready to pivot when needed.
Social media platforms were developed with distinct objectives in mind. Facebook sought to unify individuals worldwide, LinkedIn established an avenue for professional networking, Instagram provided a platform for all age groups to capture and chronicle their significant moments. Consequently, understanding the benefits unique to each platform is vital.
A primary appeal of social media is the extensive targeting options it provides. Unlike traditional marketing which often focuses on mass marketing, social media marketing allows precise targeting of the audience for marketing campaigns. Let’s talk about the demographics of users on the different social platform Statistics for a bit.
Find more statistics at Statista
Facebook is populated mostly by adults of 25-34 years age group. The second largest group is 18-24 years who make up 23.8% of Facebook’s population and only 4.8% of users fall into the senior age group. The biggest country present on the platform is India, while users from the US and Canada are only 10% of the total Facebook population. As for gender, males dominate the platform with 56% of the total population. Also, 51% active users visit the website several times a day and 75% of Facebook users are at least college graduates.
On Instagram, the highest population is of 25-34 year olds who make up 33.1% of all users and age group of 18-24 years is second with 29.6% share. Most of them come from the US, whereas India and Brazil hold second and third positions respectively. 43% of these users are college graduates and 42% earn over $75,000 per year.
Over 510 million users are females and males are behind with a difference of 20 million. These users spend around 28 minutes a day on Instagram. Most users follow at least a single brand on the app and 73% of teens in the US find Instagram the easiest way to reach and interact with a brand.
TikTok
TikTok is a customer favorite app and stands second among the most popular free apps of 2019. Its users are present in 141 countries while China, India, United States, and Turkey are among the countries where it is more frequently downloaded and used.
44% TikTok users are females and 56% are males. Out of these, 41% users are aged 16-24 years who spend at least 52 minutes every day on the app, watching videos related to entertainment, dance, pranks, fitness and other categories.
90% of TikTok or Douyin users access the app via Android smartphones and maintain a healthy engagement rate of 52%. In 2019, people spent $115.3 million on the app for in-app purchases, influencer marketing, etc.
This was a brief overview of some popular social platforms.
What Language Do They Speak?
Whether you’re talking to friends in a party, communicating with little kids in social gatherings, or sharing thoughts with business associates in a professional setting, you should always be aware of your audience. When you choose the language or tone they understand, you can conveniently communicate with each other without misunderstandings.
This rule is important when communicating with your audience on social media. Creating a profile on social websites is easy. What’s difficult is to spread a message and get people talking about the brand in a positive manner. However, this objective can be achieved by determining what type of content the audience prefers and creating posts accordingly.
What’s Their Favorite Dish?
Back in the day, social media marketing was all about text posts and still images. With technology advancements, a wide variety of content is now available to Internet users. Let’s first take a look at the most popular types of digital content. After that, we will discuss which content goes well with popular social websites.
- Blogs or articles
- eBooks
- Images (still images, GIFs, 360° images)
- Videos (recorded videos and live streaming)
- Infographics
- Testimonials
- Contests
- Polls
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- How-to guides
Instagram is an image-based platform. Brands can share high-quality images of products, team members, as well as stills from networking events. Adding relevant captions and hashtags is also essential. A similar strategy is suitable for Pinterest where attention can be capture attention via images.
On Facebook, videos perform far better than any other type of content. This includes live streams as well as processed images for coverage of organizational events. Videos developed with the aim of advertising on Facebook pages are also popular.
With the increasing population of TikTok, the platform is gaining importance in the marketing plan. Brands complement videos with captions and include links to their website to increase web traffic.
Twitter network is known for its credibility when it comes to news and information. Users of this platform show more interest in professionally processed content which includes informational infographics and videos.
LinkedIn is great for long form articles, user guides, and eBooks to increase engagement. We all know YouTube is one of the most popular video streaming websites. We can find videos on this platform regardless of their size or length.
Internet users tend to have short attention spans. They easily get distracted and can ignore posts if they don’t find it interesting. This is why popular content creators in digital media focus on captivating and concise content that can keep readers hooked till the last line. Determining the content length depends on the interest of the audience as well as the platform where it is posted.
A blog is a good example of long-form content. The purpose of blogging is to educate people about a relevant topic and offer comprehensive solutions to problems. For example, an expert in providing electrical installation and repair services, may write posts about safety tips for customers. Blog posts can be 500-1,000 words, but it’s not uncommon to find published blogs of 2,000-2,500 words to boost SEO score.
LinkedIn is also suitable for posting long-form content. People write about their areas of expertise and experiences to share knowledge with other professionals.
Other social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. may be suitable for short-term content. Whether it’s text posts, videos, or images, it’s a better option to keep the content short for better engagement.
Also, long form videos aren’t compatible with most social websites. Instagram supports videos of up to 15 seconds. So, for long form informative videos, it may be a good option to post it on YouTube and share a brief snippet on Twitter and other social websites. Followers who find the topic interesting will visit the linked YouTube channel to watch the entire video.
