If you wish to enhance your social media advertising and marketing technique, you should know in regards to the several types of social media content material and how or the place you share that content material.
Must you give attention to photographs? Movies? Blogs? What about boards? And, after you have your content material, how do you need to roll it out? You possibly can put up on group evaluate websites or live-stream it to the plenty. Understanding these several types of social media will assist you develop a greater content material technique and know the place to focus your time and vitality.
That can assist you out, we’ve put collectively a listing of 14 sorts of social media each marketer must know. From social networking to video sharing and social messaging, there’s one thing for everybody (and each enterprise).
Varieties of social media
1. Social networking
2. Photograph and picture sharing
3. Video sharing
4. Audio sharing
5. Dwell streaming
6. Social messaging
7. Disappearing content material apps
8. Social buying networks
9. Interactive social media apps
10. Dialogue boards
11. Microblogging platforms
12. Neighborhood running a blog websites
13. Social evaluate websites
14. Social curation and bookmarking websites
1. Social networking websites
Overview: Social networking websites enable folks to attach with one another by way of a shared on-line house. Customers can like, share, touch upon posts and comply with different customers and companies.
For manufacturers, social media networking websites supply a chance to construct consciousness, create a group of consumers and followers and drive visitors to web sites. By creating informative and interesting content material, manufacturers can domesticate relationships with clients and followers that result in conversions.
Examples: Fb, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat
How manufacturers can use social networking websites:
- Submit, share and reply to viewers content material
- Instantly join with others. Whether or not as associates or followers, an engaged social following indicators clout for entrepreneurs and types alike
- Type communities and focus on related information inside them
2. Photograph and picture sharing websites
Overview: Research present that visible content material on social media receives extra engagement than written content material. Visible property have additionally change into a high precedence for contemporary manufacturers, with almost 49% of entrepreneurs saying that visuals are key to their technique.
Platforms like Instagram, which has greater than 1 billion month-to-month lively customers, have made it simpler than ever earlier than to curate and share photographs and pictures. Manufacturers trying to implement any such social media advertising and marketing ought to give attention to high-quality, inventive visuals that inform a narrative.
Examples: Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and Imgur
How manufacturers can use picture and picture sharing websites:
- Submit high-quality, inventive photos that illustrate your model values
- Curate and promote user-generated content material through branded hashtags
- Interact with clients and followers in actual time
3. Video sharing websites
Overview: Half of all social media customers say they like video to another form of content material. Very similar to image-based social websites, video hubs like YouTube, TikTok and Vimeo are attracting guests in droves through visible content material.
Why is video so standard? Properly, video content material requires much less effort for viewers to soak up. There’s no studying or no scrolling, simply watching. To not point out, movies are optimum for educating your viewers. How-to’s and tutorials are the cornerstones of social video content material.
Examples: YouTube, TikTok and Vimeo
How manufacturers can use video sharing websites:
- Use video to display how your services or products works
- Share buyer testimonials and success tales
- Create useful how-to guides and tutorials associated to your trade
- Spotlight firm tradition with behind-the-scenes footage
4. Audio sharing websites
Overview: Audio sharing websites are a sort of social media that grew to become standard throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Caught at dwelling with Zoom fatigue, folks have been on the lookout for a better method to eat content material, and audio-only proved to be the answer.
Social apps like Clubhouse supply customers a singular method to join with others and share concepts. The sort of social media continues to be in its early days however reveals a variety of promise for the longer term.
Examples: Clubhouse, Twitter Areas and Fb Dwell Audio Rooms
How manufacturers can use audio sharing websites:
- Share behind-the-scenes content material, like interviews with workers and firm leaders
- Host dwell occasions and Q&A occasions with clients or consultants in your trade
- Take listeners on a journey by sharing audio tales or vignettes
5. Dwell streaming apps
Overview: Dwell streaming apps enable customers to share real-time video with their followers. This content material is commonly unedited and genuine, giving viewers a particular behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lifetime of the particular person streaming.
The dwell streaming market is booming, with greater than 482 billion hours watched in 2020 alone. Stream every little thing from live shows to eSports, product launches and past.
Examples: YouTube Dwell, Fb Dwell, Twitch and UStream
How manufacturers can use dwell streaming apps:
- Give viewers a candid have a look at your model
- Construct anticipation for upcoming merchandise or occasions with dwell teasers
- Improve gross sales by providing unique offers and reductions to viewers tuning in dwell
6. Social messaging apps
Overview: Social messaging apps are a sort of social media that enables customers to speak in actual time. Some of the standard messaging apps—WhatsApp— has greater than 200 billion month-to-month customers!
Whereas they aren’t historically considered a advertising and marketing software, messaging apps like WhatsApp is usually a highly effective method to attain and have interaction along with your audience. Manufacturers can use them to supply customer support, product suggestions and even to make gross sales.
Examples: Fb Messenger, Twitter DMs, Google Enterprise Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat
How manufacturers can use social messaging apps:
- Use chatbots to reply buyer questions
- Ship out automated coupon codes or low cost provides
- Create a non-public group for loyal clients and followers
- Use Good Inbox to watch all incoming messages and conversations in a single place
7. Disappearing content material apps
Overview: Disappearing content material, also referred to as ephemeral content material, refers to content material that solely exists for a brief time period earlier than it expires or is now not obtainable. Snapchat popularized this format, however now different platforms like Instagram, Fb and WhatsApp supply comparable options.
Disappearing content material is a good way so as to add pleasure and urgency to your advertising and marketing campaigns. It could actually additionally assist you join with youthful audiences who are inclined to flock to any such social media. Instagram Tales alone have greater than 500 million every day lively customers.
Examples: Snapchat, Instagram Tales and Fb Tales
How manufacturers can use disappearing content material apps:
- Promote time-sensitive gross sales and reductions
- Encourage your viewers to share their very own disappearing content material
- Create behind-the-scenes content material to offer your viewers a peek into your model
8. Social buying networks
Overview: Social buying has change into more and more standard in recent times. Most social media platforms now enable customers to browse and buy merchandise with out ever leaving their app.
This a handy means for shoppers to buy, and it offers manufacturers with a singular alternative to promote their merchandise on to their audience. Contemplating that 60% of individuals say they discover new merchandise on Instagram, and 75% of Pinterest customers say they’re “at all times buying” within the app, social buying holds a variety of worth for companies.
Examples: Fb for Enterprise, Shopify x TikTok, Instagram Store and Pinterest Shoppable Pins
How manufacturers can use social buying networks :
- Create a Fb store and hyperlink it to your Fb and Instagram pages
- Use Pinterest Shoppable Pins to tag merchandise in your posts and permit customers to buy them with out leaving the app
- Add a TikTok Store to your profile and promote merchandise on to your followers
- Tag merchandise in Instagram posts and Tales and hyperlink to your web site or different platforms like Shopify
9. Interactive social media apps
Overview: Most of these social media apps give attention to person interplay and engagement. They encourage customers to speak, normally by way of gamification, competitions or voting.
For instance, Snapchat’s “Lenses” function lets customers add augmented-reality filters to their photographs and movies. And, TikTok has “Duets” that enable customers to file themselves singing or dancing alongside one other person’s video.
Examples: Instagram Tales, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr and Weibo
How manufacturers can use interactive social media apps:
- Create a branded Snapchat Lens or Filter that your viewers can play with
- Encourage customers to Duet your TikTok video to win a prize
- Keep lively within the remark part of Weibo Tales
10. Dialogue boards
Overview: Dialogue boards are on-line platforms the place folks can ask questions, give solutions and begin discussions on quite a lot of subjects. For instance, Reddit has communities (known as subreddits) for nearly each subject conceivable, from jokes to cryptocurrency.
Manufacturers can go to boards to have interaction in social listening—studying what persons are saying about them and getting suggestions from clients and potential clients.
Examples: Reddit, Quora and Stack Overflow
How manufacturers can use dialogue boards:
- Crowdsource product suggestions and concepts in related discussion board threads
- Present buyer help in boards the place your persons are discussing your model
- Take part in related subreddits and reply questions associated to your trade
11. Microblogging platforms
Overview: Microblogging is a sort of social media advertising and marketing that enables customers to put up brief updates or messages. Twitter is probably the most well-known instance of microblogging, permitting customers to tweet in 140 characters or much less.
Whereas microblogging was as soon as dominated by Twitter, platforms like LinkedIn and Tumblr have additionally change into standard microblogging websites.
Examples: Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and LinkedIn
How manufacturers can use microblogging platforms:
- Use hashtags to affix conversations about your trade or product
- Share information, articles and different content material related to your followers
- Provide buyer help or reply questions in microblogs or feedback
Overview: Neighborhood running a blog websites are platforms the place folks can come collectively to write down articles, share concepts and collaborate on tasks. Most group running a blog websites give attention to a particular area of interest or subject, which makes them a terrific useful resource for locating new content material concepts and connecting with different like-minded people. Additionally they are inclined to have very engaged customers, which might be useful for selling your model or product.
Examples: Medium, GrowthHackers, BlogEngage and DoSplash
How manufacturers can use group running a blog websites:
- Create or curate content material round a particular subject
- Construct relationships with different bloggers in your area of interest
- Generate visitors again to your individual weblog
13. Social evaluate websites
Overview: In response to Statista, 36% of shoppers use on-line evaluations to tell their buy selections. Lots of them additionally belief on-line evaluations as a lot as private suggestions.
Curating, accumulating and interesting along with your on-line evaluations is important to success in lots of industries at this time. Plus, do you know you possibly can put up on to your Google Enterprise Profile utilizing Sprout Social?
Examples: Google Enterprise Profile, Amazon, Yelp and Fb
How manufacturers can use social evaluate websites:
- Monitor and reply to evaluations in a well timed method
- Encourage completely satisfied clients to go away constructive evaluations
- Use unfavourable evaluations as a chance to enhance your small business
14. Social curation and bookmarking websites
Overview: Social bookmarking permits you to save internet pages so you possibly can revisit them later. These websites additionally enable customers so as to add annotations, share bookmarks with others and uncover new content material.
Use any such social media to curate content material to your workforce or clients. It’s additionally a terrific place to create a content material bucket than you possibly can repurpose throughout your social media channels.
Examples: Pocket (pictured above), Digg, Pinterest and Combine
How manufacturers can use social curation and bookmarking websites:
- Create a content material bucket that your workforce can use on social
- Accumulating buyer analysis and insights
- Discover related content material to share along with your viewers and put it aside for later
Which sort of social media is correct for your small business?
The sorts of social media websites you employ for your small business ought to be primarily based in your objectives. If you wish to enhance model consciousness, think about using a mixture of social networking and content material curation websites. Should you’re trying to construct relationships with clients, give attention to social networking websites. And if you wish to generate leads or gross sales, think about using social bookmarking or e-commerce websites.
Should you’re utilizing a number of sorts of social media advertising and marketing in your technique, think about using a social media administration platform like Sprout Social. With Sprout, you possibly can share content material throughout main social channels, have interaction along with your viewers and monitor the efficiency of your social media campaigns from one location. Begin your free trial at this time!
