Social media tools are an essential part of the modern marketing landscape. They make it easy to engage with customers, build relationships, and promote your brand. But there’s a lot to consider when choosing which tools to use—from cost and features to user experience and accessibility.
In this article, we’ll review the pros and cons of five popular social media tools: Facebook Ads Manager, Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Twitter Ads Manager and Instagram Analytics.
Table of Contents
Social Media Tools Pros And Cons
The list of social media platforms is growing, and well-known platforms like Facebook are always evolving and adding new features. With a greater and greater need for a social presence and an overwhelming amount of platform choices, it can be hard to pick which social channels to use.
You might not want to spread yourself too thin by managing a channel on every imaginable platform, but you also don’t want to miss great brand-awareness opportunities.
To help you make informed decisions about which platforms to use, this post will guide you through some of the core types of social media, examples of platforms within each category, and the pros and cons that each type might present. By the end, you should have a much clearer idea of what kind of social media strategy will work for your business.
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Types of Social Media
- Social Networking
- Photo Sharing
- Video Sharing
- Interactive Media
- Blogging/Community Building
Social Networking
Examples of Major Platforms
- Facebook: 2.6 billion monthly active users
- Twitter: 166 million daily active users
- LinkedIn: 160 million users in the U.S. alone
Social networking is possibly the most traditional form of social media.
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are often called “networking” platforms because they allow user accounts to interact with each other in a variety of different ways.
Professional Uses
If you’re a small business, like a restaurant, a platform like Facebook could be a great place to start your social strategy. With Facebook, you can build a business profile that includes links to your website and details about your menu.
Once your profile is all set up, you can post regular updates about your business, “like” other pages, and answer customer post comments or messages. Business profiles also allow other Facebook users to give you reviews.
For companies looking to offer a professional service, B2B or publishing companies, LinkedIn is another great way to grow your following. LinkedIn emphasizes career-related networking.
Brands looking to build an audience of professionals from a certain industry can create a business profile there, categorize it with an industry type, and then use posts and messaging to publish updates. They can also use messaging and comment features to interact with their audiences, or users who comment on their posts.
A Twitter account could be helpful to companies in a wide spectrum of industries, from entertainment to e-commerce. This platform similarly allows you to create a profile where you can list and link company information.
You can then use Twitter to post about company updates, tag companies or customers in posts, retweet positive customer tweets, and respond to customer questions via tweet or direct messages. Like Facebook, you can also post content like photos or videos.
On all three networks, users can easily communicate with others through simple actions like tagging, hashtagging, commenting, private messaging, reacting to posts, and re-sharing content.
Aside from social interaction, newsfeeds on common social networking platforms are designed to show off a mix of text and visuals, rather than one primary content type.
This flexibility makes social networking platforms easy to begin a social strategy on because you can experiment with different forms of content before branching out to platforms that require more specific content types.
Here’s an example of Facebook’s newsfeed:
For those who want to dabble in video or graphics, these platforms could be a great place to test this new content. With the growth of video marketing, many have begun to launch more advanced features like Facebook Stories and Twitter’s live streams.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have also started to encourage native video and photo uploads more heavily. Recently, Facebook even adjusted its algorithms to favor live video and image uploads. This has caused these types of native content to gain greater user engagement.
If you’re still not sure where to get started, check out our beginner’s guides for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are some of the most prominently used forms of social media
- Social networking sites often integrate with scheduling tools like HubSpot, Hootsuite, and TweetDeck software
- All platforms have capabilities for photo and video.
Cons
- Those interested in just posting links may have a harder time getting engagement than those uploading photo and video.
- Some platforms, like Facebook, put individual user posts higher than business posts in newsfeeds.
Photo Sharing
Examples of Major Platforms
- Instagram: 1 billion monthly active users
- Pinterest: 367 million monthly active users
Two of the biggest platforms that specialize in photo sharing are Instagram and Pinterest.
Instagram offers a visual feed with posts showing photos and short videos followed by a caption. Users can also post live video or create Instagram Stories that disappear after one day. Like the social networking platforms above, users can interact with others through tags, likes, comments, or direct message.
Professional Uses
This platform would be helpful to companies like restaurants or stores that want to photograph and display and update followers about their food, goods, or products in a crisp, clean way.
Instagram has become a home to influencer marketing, as 93% of influencer campaigns took place on the platform in 2018. It also offers opportunities for advertising and ecommerce because of its highly-visual layout.
Unlike some social platforms, Instagram emphasize visuals and doesn’t allow link sharing directly in posts. Basic users on Instagram can only share links in their bio. Verified users, or accounts with over 10,000 followers, can post links in their Stories.
To show you how visual the platform is, here’s a look at Instagram’s search feed:
Although basic users have minimal linking options, Instagram has tried to make the platform even more friendly for ecommerce businesses with the addition of Shoppable posts.
Pinterest is well-suited for ecommerce companies, such as those who sell home goods, and businesses that would like a place to share crisp standalone product images with links.
It similarly offers a photo-based feed with posts that can include a photo and short description. Unlike Instagram, it allows all users to link directly to websites or product landing pages in posts.
One interesting aspect of the platform is that users can heart posts from others, or assign them to a themed “board.” For example, users might make boards centered around topics like “Inspirational Quotes” or “Bedroom products.”
Once a board is created, other users can also follow it. A business could potentially make a board with their own product posts, or find their products on another user’s board.
Here’s an example of what a board looks like:
Before getting started on one or both of these platforms, you’ll want to determine whether your goal is to gain brand awareness or link-based traffic.
While Instagram and Pinterest can both be helpful tools for product shots and brand awareness, Instagram’s active audience is much larger than Pinterest’s. Instagram has also hosted over 25 million business profiles.
When choosing a platform, you may want to consider your content-related bandwidth. Both require visual imagery, but you might also need to include video creation within your Instagram strategy. Here’s a great guide that demonstrates what it takes to gain followers on Instagram.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Platforms like Instagram help with brand awareness. Approximately 60% of people say they’ve learned about products or services on Instagram.
- Pinterest and Instagram provide an outlet for showing off visual content or product shots.
- Platforms like Instagram also allow you to experiment with visual or short video content
Cons
- Upkeep on these platforms might require a photo budget or dedicated production time.
- Some platforms, like Instagram, require you to post from a mobile app.
Video Sharing
Examples of Major Platforms
- Youtube: Over 2 billion monthly active users
- Vimeo: 240 million monthly viewers
Professional Uses
Roughly 88% of marketers say video gives them a strong ROI and 90% feel the level of video competition has increased. Adding a video platform to your social strategy could make your brand look relevant and keep you up to speed with your competitors.
Video can be helpful to a wide range of industries. While a restaurant could have a vlog with cooking tips, a technology company might focus its video strategy around product demos.
To help you pin down a strategy that’s right for your industry and service, check out our video marketing guide.
When it comes to long-form video, Youtube and Vimeo are the leading platforms. While Youtube has the bigger audience base and better SEO capabilities, Vimeo’s smaller platform is very community driven.
Youtube also seems to have better opportunities for advertisers and monetization, while Vimeo offers viewers the perk of no pre-roll ads.
For a longer list of similarities and differences, check out this head-to-head piece where we compare the business capabilities of Vimeo and YouTube.
Along with Youtube and Vimeo, the more traditional social networking platforms have also begun to embrace video marketing more aggressively. In the last few years, Facebook launched Facebook Stories and Facebook Live, and added a tab on their mobile app dedicated to video. Meanwhile, Twitter has allowed users to launch live video streams which are powered by its Periscope software.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Videos can be longer than on other social platforms.
- Both platforms have website linking capabilities.
- Platforms like Youtube and Vimeo often offer analytics.
- Both Youtube and Vimeo have search optimization features.
Cons
- Content might take more time and money to create.
- These platforms require more backend tasks like SEO.
Interactive Media
Examples of Major Platforms
- Snapchat: 229 daily active users
- TikTok: 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone
Apps like Snapchat and TikTok allow users to share photos and videos, they also have a variety of unique interactive and highly experimental features. These two apps include AR/VR filters, musical overlays, and interactive games. Their audience bases are also prominently Gen-Z.
Professional Uses
Because mainly large companies are just starting to experiment with these new applications, marketers who are just beginning a social strategy don’t need to prioritize these interactive apps before traditional social networking platforms.
The large companies on these platforms tend to produce high production-level content. Brands with large followings might also publish Snapchat Stories, or videos that are curated from fans. Without a high-budget or giant online following, these strategies might be difficult for a company that’s just starting out on social.
Brands and influencers on these apps tend to cater their content to the platforms’ younger audiences. For example, on Snapchat, you might see stories that present beauty tutorials, wellness tips, news, or trendy new products.
If you’re really interested in interactive media, there are still a few viable ways you could get involved with Snapchat or TikTok.
While major brands, like VICE and BuzzFeed have become Snapchat Discover partners, the average business can still create a Snapchat business account that can be searched and friended by users. This account allows you to send publish temporary stories, just like individual accounts can. However, those with a business account can also purchase ad space.
Here’s a comprehensive video that explains how to use Snapchat:
If you’ve set up an account, check out this guide to getting started on Snapchat.
TikTok, an app based around short, repetitive clips — similar to Vine — offers five types of advertising options for businesses. While large businesses may find value in all five, smaller businesses may lean more towards “In-Feed Ads.” These ads are 9-15 second clips that can be skipped by the user.
Guess is one notable brand that has used its account to create trending campaigns with trendy hashtags. Universal Pictures has also had influencers create posts to promote its films.
If you do test out these platforms, you might want to make sure your industry and content fits in with the young age demographic. You should also try to properly estimate the time and money that might go into keeping these accounts up to date and relevant.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- These platforms are very creative and experimental.
- They have young audiences, which can help brands better target Gen-Z.
- Stories can be used to give your following a behind-the-scenes look at your brand.
Cons
- Producing regular content could be expensive and time-consuming.
- Business accounts aren’t promoted up-front on the Snapchat interface. You may want to promote your channel on your website or other social channels because users will need to search for you with your Snapcode or username.
- Snapchat and TikTok are limited to mobile and aren’t as easy to use.
what are the 6 types of social media
- Social Networks
Examples: Facebook, LinkedIn
A social networking site is a social media site that allows you to connect with people who have similar interests and backgrounds. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are three of the most popular examples of a social network website.
These platforms allow us to connect with our friends, family, and even brands. Most social network sites let users share thoughts, upload photos and videos, and participate in groups of interest.
To learn more on how to choose the most suitable social media platform for your business, we have a comprehensive guide here: https://seopressor.com/blog/how-to-choose-social-media-for-business/
Top 6 Social Media Sites
Platform Analysis: Breaking Down The Big 6 Of Social Media
We did the research on the 6 most popular social media platforms so you don’t have to!
Read the detailed overview.
Match it to the type of business you’re running.
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- Bookmarking Sites
Examples: Pinterest, Flipboard, Diggs
Bookmarking sites allow users to save and organize links to any number of online resources and websites. A great feature of these sites is the ability for the users to “tag” links, which makes them easier to search, and invariably, share with their followers. StumbleUpon is a popular example of a bookmarking site.
StumbleOpen – Social bookmarking site.
- Social news
Examples: Digg
A social news site allows its users to post news links and other items to external articles. Users then proceed to vote on said items, and the items with the highest number of votes are most prominently displayed. A good example of a social news site is Reddit.
Reddit – Social news site
- Media Sharing
Examples: Pinterest, YouTube, Vimeo
Media sharing websites allow users to share different types of media, with the two main ones being image sharing and video hosting sites.
Most of these sites also offer social features, like the ability to create profiles and the option of commenting on the uploaded images or videos.These platforms mostly encourage user-generated content where anyone can create, curate, and share the creativity that speaks about them or spark conversations.
As you might have guessed, YouTube still remains the most well-known media sharing site in the world.
SeoPressor5 Youtube Social Marketing
- Microblogging
Examples: Twitter, Facebook
These are just what they sound like, sites that allow the users to submit their short written entries, which can include links to product and service sites, as well as links to other social media sites. These are then posted on the ‘walls’ of everyone who has subscribed to that user’s account. The most commonly used microblogging website is Twitter.
twitter microblogging social media marketing
- Blog comments and forums
An online forum is a site that lets users engage in conversations by posting and responding to community messages. A blog comment site is the same thing except being a little more focused. The comments are usually centered around the specific subject of the attached blog. Google has a popular blogging site aptly titled, Blogger. However, there are a seemingly endless number of blogging sites, particularly because so many of them are niche-based, unlike the universal appeal of general social media sites.
Forums and blogging – Social Media Marketing
- Social Review Sites
Examples: TripAdvisor, Yelp, FourSquare
What’s one of the first things you see when you are planning to buy a new product or try out a new restaurant? If you are anything like us, you will first head to the reviews.
Review sites like TripAdvisor and FourSquare show reviews from community members for all sorts of locations and experiences. This keeps people out of the dark and allows them to make better planning or decisions when it comes to choosing a restaurant for their date.
Not just beneficial to regular users like you and me, businesses can also get to understand the customer’s perspective. Both the good and bad, this can help them to identify what’s working and discover areas with room for improvement.
- Community Blogs
Examples: Medium, Tumblr
Sometimes all you want to do is share that one message, and really not everyone on the internet wants to invest in running and maintaining a blog from a self-hosted website. This is where shared blogging platforms like Medium give people a space to express their thoughts and voice. - Sharing Economy Networks
Examples: Airbnb, Pantheon, Kickstarter
While it might not occur to you directly, but websites like Airbnb isn’t just to find holiday rentals or activities. These sharing economy networks bring people who have got something they want to share together with the people who need it.
Platform Analysis: Breaking Down The Big 6 Of Social Media
We did the research on the 6 most popular social media platforms so you don’t have to!
Read the detailed overview.
Match it to the type of business you’re running.
Discover which fits best!
Conclusion
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