Social media platforms - the pros and cons.

If you read our last blog, you would know that it covered some important reasons for being on social media. Whilst it can be a great way to get more traffic to your website, it can also be an overwhelming element of digital marketing to understand and implement.

If you're unsure about how to get to grips with social media, not sure about what you're doing, or simply feel confused about which platform is right for your business - then keep reading. This weeks blog outlines some of the pros and cons of the most popular social media platforms around.

​Optinmonster has written an excellent blog about which social media platforms are best for business. To make it more digestible, listed below are the pros and cons of eight of the most popular social media platforms around.
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​Facebook pros
Massive audience reach
Targeted advertising
Great for customer interaction

​Facebook cons
Ads require large budget
Takes consistent engagement
Little-to no control if page is suspended

​Instagram pros
Highly appealing visual aspect
Created for mobile
More popular than Facebook with younger generation

​​Instagram cons
Misleading metrics (followers doesn't=engaged)
Needs aggressive posting schedule

​Twitter pros
Ad's see 1-3% more success than Facebook
Easy to engage followers and influencers
Free targeting with '#' and '@'

​Twitter cons
Lots of "noise" to compete with
Requires multiple tweets per day
Drives traffic, but not necessarily sales

LinkedIn pros
65+ million active users
Great for promoting business-related content
Perfect for networking
Makes it easier to recruit talent

LinkedIn cons
Not designed for e-commerce
Better for home businesses or freelancers
Has a fraction of the users compared to other platforms

YouTube pros
Videos drive more conversions
Great way to show off your brands personality
Videos nicely complement other marketing strategies

YouTube cons
Videos can take longer to produce
Users have high expectations for visual/audio quality
Ranking your video can be difficult

Reddit pros
Wide audience reach
Targeted subgroups
Anonymous posting can be good for market research
Popular posts can drive tons of traffic

​Reddit cons
Strict posting rules (mostly against self-advertising)
Building credibility can be time-consuming
Anonymity can lead to negative comments

Pinterest pros
Lots of potential for driving traffic
Less expensive advertising
Low cost tools to boost traffic, pins and views
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​Pinterest cons
Not suited for all businesses
Consistent posting/image creation is time consuming
Number of users makes it difficult to stand out

​Quora pros
300+ million active users
Free to use
Opportunities to answer questions in every professional field

Quora cons
Finding the right questions to answer can take time
Responding without self-advertising can be tricky

If you've read this blog, but still feel confused - get in touch so that we can help get your social media campaign going today!

01708 578 015