As a small business, it is important to ensure that you are not only staying active on social media but also ensuring the social media channels you choose to spend your time on are benefiting you. However, with a wide variety of free accounts you have at your disposal, it can often seem intimidating to choose the ones that best benefit your unique goals. In this article, we will take a look at the top 5 social media channels for 2019 and give you some tips to determine if they are right for your business.

Social Media Tablet

  • Facebook

    Although still considered the king of social media channels, Facebook has taken a lot of flak in recent years because of the diminishing exposure businesses receive, particularly from people who actually follow them. Although this can be tricky to navigate, providing sharable content that encourages your followers to remain engaged will ensure your Facebook page performs the best it possibly can. While starting your own business page can seem like a slow process, it is important to remain consistent to build a sizable following.

    With the addition of Facebook Ads, the platform provides a cheap and easy way to quickly advertise your business to highly targeted audiences. Likewise, businesses that are having a hard time building their following on the platform can utilize Facebook Ads’ “Like Campaign” features to bolster their numbers and find the potential customers that will become your biggest fans. Much like 2018, Facebook is still the most beneficial social media channel for most businesses. So, it only makes sense that your business should be utilizing it.

  • Twitter

    While the available word counts on Twitter have changed, the purpose of this unique social media channel hasn’t seemed to. Twitter is most often used as a customer service tool that gives your customers the opportunity to air their grievances while still keeping up with the latest news about your industry or business. This niche use has become synonymous with Twitter and many businesses have begun to utilize the platform specifically for this purpose.

    However, it is not uncommon to find brands succeeding in this marketplace by creating viral tweets. Perhaps the most common examples of this that can be found on Twitter include Wendy’s and Whataburger. Based on the success of these accounts, if you want to flex your creative muscles and portray the lighter side of your business, you will likely fit right in on Twitter.

  • Instagram

    Although Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012, the social media channel has remained true to its roots as a visual-first platform. For businesses that have a hard time putting their products or services into words and instead rely on visuals. Instagram will likely be one of the top social media channels for you. If you invest heavily in billboards or other out of home media that needs to make an immediate impact, that success can usually be translated with a simple picture and caption.

    Businesses that express interest in Influencer Marketing will also likely be interested in Instagram because it is one of the top social media channels to not only find willing participants but also make your products shine on their profiles. Like the previous platforms mentioned, Instagram is free to start; however, it may not be the best fit for most businesses.

  • LinkedIn

    Businesses that rely on Business-to-Business marketing will likely find the most success on LinkedIn because it functions as a business-forward community. Now owned by Microsoft, LinkedIn has the largest collection of business professionals available with the support of a few mouse clicks. This feature makes it incredibly appealing to recruiters as well as businesses that are looking to hire new talent to their team.

    While building your following on LinkedIn can be a challenge, it can still provide many great benefits for businesses that want to gain more exposure. Because the social media channel functions with a professional mentality, it is important to ensure your business is portrayed in the best light possible at all times. If you aren’t a traditional business with strong values, LinkedIn will likely be a great place to sow your oats online.

  • Snapchat

    Since it’s inception, Snapchat has taken on new prominence as one of the up-and-coming social media channels that businesses are investing in. While still in its infancy for being utilized by businesses, those who can crack the code have found great success on this platform when marketing to millennials or younger target audiences. For this reason, many clothing and lifestyle brands have found their niche on this social media channel.

    With the addition of Snapchat stories, businesses have the ability to showcase their new products or provide a behind-the-scenes look into how their business functions. This transparency has provided great results for modern businesses that are looking to break into new markets or revive older markets for younger generations. However, like LinkedIn, this platform isn’t the right fit for all businesses.