What is the Best Social Network for Business and Why?

2020 is the year of learning for personal growth as well as professional growth. By this time, everyone has realised that social networking can bring the biggest and unprecedented changes in the business. You might have seen that many small business houses have experienced a change in their business thanks to social networking.

For instance, 2007 was the year of MySpace. But the newer generation has no idea about its existence. Now Facebook is one of the most dominating social networking platforms. Some time back, Facebook took one of the most significant leaps by introducing the Facebook marketplace, which is one of the biggest boons for small businesses. But other social networking sites did change the way we did business.

Let's have a look at some of the best social networks for business and what are the prominent features of the same -

1. YouTube

You won't believe it, but YouTube is as powerful as Google, it is the second largest search engine and the most-used video search engine. With more than 5 billion people watching YouTube videos every day, this platform has immense potential in the times to come.

Be it any sector, with YouTube videos; you can see the business expanding like never before. As per Buffer 2019, 62% of business houses prefer YouTube for video marketing. Every sector of brand utilises YouTube for improving their brand image and reaching out to potential audience.

You might have witnessed that when a blog or any text when backed by video, gets higher views and popularity too. One of the biggest pros with YouTube video is that video content always has a higher conversion rate. Think with Google has conducted a survey which indicated that YouTube videos have a 4% conversion rate.  

2. Pinterest

One of the visually appealing social media platforms which were founded way back in 2009. This might not be a very prominent social networking channel, but it has made its presence felt among the niche audience. The user base of this platform has grown by 26% to 335 million last year.

As per statistics published by the advertising world, Pinterest generates a return of $4.3 for every $1 spent on ads making it much cheaper than Facebook and Twitter. It is the biggest reason why this platform is preferred as the traffic conversion place for all the small business houses.  

Thus if you have a small budget, then you can always choose this. But one of the most important points to remember is that this platform works only for some of the limited sectors like - home decor, travel, food, photography, and others. The content has to be aesthetically pleasing and visually appealing.

3. Quora

Do you know that Quora has 300 million monthly active users? Many people believe that this is meant only for geniuses. But with the correct answering technique and some social skills, you might be able to build up your business in Quora. How? We will cover that for you.

Quora is free of cost. The trick here is to find the correct questions and then answer them to share the knowledge while self-advertising yourself.

Don't make the self-introduction point too obvious else; you might lose the audience. Try to be consistent and find some genuine audience that will take you a long way. Quora generates most views through mobile, and a user on an average generates 4:11 minutes on Quora.

4. LinkedIn

With more than 65 million active users, this is a niche site—one of the best and exclusive platforms for professionals. People usually come to this place, searching for a new job and also expanding their professional circle.

It is quite true that people usually don't visit LinkedIn to purchase a product or entertain themselves. But you can use this platform to showcase your business, especially if it is on the professional side.

If you want to recruit new talent, then this is the perfect place for the same. Do you know more than 55 job applications are submitted every second on this site? You can find business partners here rather than the customers. 24% of millennials are seen using this platform. Thus, this platform is highly recommended for networking, especially for freelancers or home businesses.

5. Twitter

One of the best social networks for celebs. This is the place which even is used by the President. Thus, if you want to promote any such high-class object, then Twitter is the place to go. On average, a person spends 3.39 minutes on Twitter.

First and foremost, monetising on Twitter is not something that is done every day. And this the primary reason why competition is extremely less here. This is a perfect platform to make influencers or followers and engage with them. This platform has 145 million monetisable active users.

This is a perfect place to drive traffic, which can boost sales in the long run. Of course, with Twitter, you might need a completely different marketing strategy, but this is the platform for creating brand awareness or even interacting with the audience on a larger scale.

6. Instagram

You might have heard a number of overnight success stories with Instagram. Well, this one was launched in 2010, and now the platform boasts over 1 million users every day.

Earlier people thought that Instagram is only about photos and videos, and thus business might not be possible at this photo-blogging site. But slowly, Instagram expanded itself and added a number of features like - stories, reel, and much more. With these features, brands can really come close to the audience and create a distinct look for themselves. In 2020, Instagram advertising potential has reached 849.3M users.

Brands can even share behind the look stories on Instagram to add that humane touch to your post. You might not even consider, but Instagram is a perfect place for lead generation. But before you decide to establish your Instagram business, make sure that your audience is available on Instagram. 200 million active users on Instagram visit at least one business per day might boost your confidence.

Do a primitive study about your audience and target your posts similarly. Instagram has also introduced the Checkout feature with which the audience can directly purchase the products from this photo-blogging site.

7. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is often ignored when compared to Facebook. But Facebook Messenger has some similar and some added features to our regular Facebook, which makes it one of the best options for a number of business houses. More than 7 billion businesses have used Facebook messenger to target customers. More than 20 billion messages are exchanged between entrepreneurs and customers on this platform.  

The biggest pro with Facebook messenger is that it allows users to send direct messages to the audience and thus the same continues with the business house too. And the messaging technique has 70% better conversion rate than email marketing. You won't even realise this, but Facebook has specific advertising campaigns that are directed towards the Facebook messenger.

For instance, once you open your business page, you can directly send messages using Facebook messenger. In case your business model is focused on creating leads rather than immediate selling, then Facebook messenger can be quite helpful in this regard. A simple festive message or even a thank you might create a lot of difference to your business.

Above given are some of the best social networking platforms for businesses of any nature. Let us know what your thoughts on the article are or if you have experienced a boost in your business with any of the above social networks then also, please share.

Also read:

1) Is YouTube a Good Platform to Earn Now in India?
2) What Is The Most Popular Social Media In 2020?
3) The Future of the Internet in India
4) What is Social Media Marketing?
5) Is Facebook Useful for Business-to-Business Marketing?

FAQs

Q. Which one of the above social networks has a bright future for businesses and why?

Ans: Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly active users And thus, it ranks the third position after Facebook and YouTube. Currently, it is considered a hot spot for business.

An Instagram business account has a number of features and is of no cost at all. For instance, it has an auto-publishing with a later feature which allows you to plan and then save your feed. This enables you to publish the feed at the time when your audience is most active.

Q. How is the Facebook marketplace?

Ans: With 800 million monthly active users, the Facebook marketplace is quite good for business houses. It has allowed a wide number of sellers who can sell their products from any corner of the globe and get them delivered at your customer's doorstep. It is just like any other E-commerce website but at a much lesser cost. Facebook does not charge any commission from these sellers.

Q. Which business is best for Quora?

Ans: Well, Quora is a site for research as people share their opinions and knowledge on various topics. People who can answer and ask questions are tailor-made for Quora. For instance, if you have a tutoring website, then you can write about the salient features of the same and enjoy a boost to your business. Similarly, if you are into an insurance domain, then also Quora is one of the best platforms for you.