Social media in 2024.
Should we bet everything on Instagram? Dividing the budget used for social networks in half between Facebook on one side and YouTube and LinkedIn on the other? What about Tiktok? These questions paralyze both small businesses and marketing teams.
We support you in your choice of social networks for your business this year with a selection of the different social networks to consider in 2024.
Among the best social networks currently available, the historical benchmark for influencers, brands, blogs, and small business managers is Instagram, which has successfully passed the milestone of one billion monthly users. Wondering if a significant portion of your audience is on Instagram? The answer is almost certainly a resounding yes.
Who uses Instagram? And why ? Teens and young adults are big fans of Instagram, especially in the United States. Use declines with age, but the audience remains equal between women and men, which guarantees you a substantial audience if you are targeting those under 40.
The perfect content on Instagram: Stunning photos, impressive visuals, unique designs, selfie-like videos that speak directly to your audience, and a consistent aesthetic across all of your content are the keys to standing out on Instagram .
Choose Instagram if: you are targeting people under 40 and you run a business dedicated to lifestyle, e-commerce or photography.
YouTube celebrates its second place as the best search engine in the world today, just behind its parent company, Google. If your business can benefit from producing video tutorials or presentations, video instructions, product reviews or interviews, YouTube is a reference with more than 2 billion monthly users.
Who uses YouTube? And why ? 73% of US adults say they use YouTube regularly, with a strong representation of 15-34 year olds. YouTube is widely used by women and men alike, and usage is positively correlated with income and education level.
The ideal content on YouTube: videos, exclusively. Depending on what you are selling and the composition of your audience, posting videos, whether long or short, can be very effective on this platform. The majority of users opt for a combination of educational and entertainment content. So whether you’re teaching your audience about new marketing strategies or streaming video game clips, be sure to keep the audience’s attention throughout your videos. Don’t be afraid to try YouTube trends like product unboxing (especially if you’re promoting a physical product) or “live my life” videos that engage audiences in your daily life. Note that if creating a YouTube channel seems too ambitious, it is quite possible to form a partnership with YouTubers who, interested in what you do, can help you test the waters before you start.
Choose YouTube if: you are targeting audiences under 50 who consume content in the form of videos for educational or entertainment purposes.
With over 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook reigns as the number one social network in the world, and you can be sure that some of your audience uses the platform regularly. However, it now has an increasingly negative reputation among younger users who are gradually turning to other alternatives.
Either way, a presence on Facebook is relevant if your business can benefit from sharing information about a particular industry, engagement through (short) videos, graphics, and other visually appealing content. Especially if you are targeting the over 30s. A presence on Facebook is also justified to influence Facebook groups and bring your customers or community together in one place online. Facebook Groups differ from Facebook Business Pages in that they aren’t dedicated to advertising, but can be a conversation starter.
Who uses Facebook? And why ? 68% of US adults say they use Facebook and 51% say they have multiple active sessions daily. Users are made up equally of women and men and users are increasingly active with age (especially for those over 40).
For a post to go viral on Facebook, it must be interesting, engaging and, if possible, divisive. To attract an audience, choose short videos, images that make people react and titles that grab and hold attention. When it comes to Facebook groups, content that is interactive or likely to trigger conversations is the most appropriate. You can also try live streams and polls.
Choose Facebook if: you target an adult demographic and have visual content (including videos) that will capture users’ attention, create an immediate emotional response, and get them excited to share it with their friends. Or, more simply, if you want to create an online community, easily, around a center of interest or a company.
Admittedly, the number of Twitter users stabilized around 300 million some time ago. However, a significant portion, 40%, of these users are active on the website several times a day, suggesting that if your audience is using this platform, they are likely highly engaged. Twitter is now popular among techies and in the B2B industry when it comes to business, marketing, and politics.
Who uses Twitter? And why ? 63% of Twitter users are between the ages of 35 and 65, with an overrepresentation of men who make up nearly two-thirds of this population.
The ideal content on Twitter: Twitter has become the reference among social networks for breaking news, content popularization and direct communication with users in real time. Certainly, images and videos particularly stand out. However, a Tweet composed only of text and published at the right time will have a good effect if it relates to a promising subject and is distinguished by its relevance.
Choose Twitter if: you are targeting a predominantly male audience with individuals between the ages of 30 and 60. Try to post a balanced mix of content ranging from educational videos to high-impact visuals to discussion threads that include recommendations and opinions.
The little youngster who rises! TikTok, available for barely two years, claimed the billion downloads of its application dedicated to videos in the first year of its existence. TikTok now has 800 million monthly users, which propels it into the very select club of the first social network platforms on the planet in terms of the number of active users.
Who uses TikTok? And why ? About 50% of TikTok users are under 35 in the United States, and a majority of them are between 16 and 24 years old.
The ideal content on TikTok: publications in video format with an entertaining, interesting, funny, even absurd aspect, most often with trendy music in the background. Aim for fun video content with catchy music.
Aim for TikTok if: you want to reach (and entertain) a young audience with funny videos most often not directly related to your products or services. A dedicated approach to self-advertising will not source an audience characterized by loyalty, so market yourself as an entertainment medium first.
Certainly, among social networks Snapchat may seem to stall compared to competing platforms like Instagram or TikTok. However, Snapchat remains unstoppable among those under 25 – with more than 300 million users in recent months. Most users share news and communicate with their friends and family through fleeting images and short messages in video format.
Who uses Snapchat? And why ? Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 represent, at 78%, the vast majority of users who make up the audience for the platform’s more than 14 billion daily video views. Users are slightly more often women than men and log in to the application daily.
The ideal content on Snapchat: favor a narration in video format. If you’re into creating short, engaging selfie videos that will entertain or educate a young audience, then Snapchat is an obvious choice. Be careful, as for TikTok, make sure that your publications are not permanently dedicated to your products. The main objective of your audience is, again, entertainment.
Make Snapchat your priority if: you want to reach a young audience and are comfortable creating short, engaging video content. Similar to TikTok, don’t expect to turn on your camera and talk about the benefits of your products for hours: most Snapchat users are there to be entertained.
Pinterest has established itself among the social networks as a reference for jotting down ideas or finding creative inspiration on everything related directly or indirectly to cooking, DIY, holiday projects, interior design or businesses, among others. With a predominantly adult and female population, it is a platform considered as a reference in the process of discovering a product.
Who uses Pinterest? And why ? Among more than 320 million monthly users, Pinterest boasts one of the most female audiences compared to other social networking sites. Nearly 80% of users are women, with a high concentration of millennials.
The ideal content on Pinterest: Images in vertical format work best, due to the scrolling experience associated with the platform. Images worked with a readable text that refers to what the user will read if he clicks from the platform is recommended. Be sure to favor numbers, enumerations and quotations as part of your strategy. Of course, don’t forget to think about keywords and search words in your positioning.
Choose Pinterest if: you primarily target a female and adult audience and if your business is dedicated to lifestyle, fashion, decoration or DIY.