Social media is essential for business owners to connect with customers, promote their brand, and achieve business goals. It is important to keep up with the latest network demographics to choose your strategy. With the most relevant information about what channels your audience is most drawn to, you can maximize your impact and ROI.

Here are 6 of the best social media channels for business and how you can use them to produce results.

The Best Social Media Channels for Your Business

1. Facebook

Facebook dominates the world of social media. This is not news, even to novices in social media, but it is important to understand the current demographics of users to determine your strategy. Now topping over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, the channel’s growth rate continues at 20 million per month. But who is on there?

1. - Women make up 83%
  - Generation X spends more than seven hours per week on FB
  - 88% of 18- to 29-year-olds & 84% of 30- to 49-year-olds
  - 75% who make more than $75,000
  - 84% of adults earning less than $30,000

Generation X checks emails and uses apps, but still likes to utilize laptops and personal computers for research on products and services. Give them blog posts and images/infographics to dive into. Millennials are more into quizzes and calls-to-action with selfie/product placement. Encourage them to promote your products for you. Consider targeted FB ads too depending on your budget.

Have you tried anything on Facebook Live yet? If you have a special event, sale, or new product you want to promote, Facebook Live is a wonderful way to connect and create excitement. Keep good track of your overall analytics as you move forward and try new types of posts.

1. YouTube

YouTube gets approximately 2 million video views per minute and has 1 billion unique monthly users. In fact, YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 35-49 year-olds than any cable network in the United States. Video is king and queen combined and is an extremely valuable tool as social media for business. Content is easily shared across multiple SM platforms too.

If you don’t have a channel now, make it a priority. Don’t be afraid to use humor and animation, highlight employees that are millennials or Gen X, and utilize YouTube Live for special events, product launches, branding promotions, or other company news.

1. Twitter

Twitter is on the rise as a go-to choice in social media for business. With 317 million unique monthly users, this channel is becoming more relevant as a marketing tool. Some information to consider about demographics:

1. - Most users are 18-29 years old
  - Primarily male with 22% of online men and 15% of online women
  - 30% of adults who make more than $75,000

Consider the pain points of your customers and use hashtags liberally in your tweets to promote your product or service. Consider hosting regular lives Twitter parties where you can interact and answer questions directly with your customers and create excitement about a new product or service. This one-on-one live interaction with your audience/fans is great at creating loyalty and serves your customers well.

1. Instagram

Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media channels out there with 600 million unique monthly users worldwide. Fabulous news for business owners — 53% of Instagram users follow brands. This presents a tremendous opportunity for many types of companies from small businesses to global corporations.

If your audience skews young, pay close attention. 90% of Instagram users are under 35. They are predominately female too, with 38% of online women and 26% of online men. It is best used as a branding tool with beautiful images and videos but can be used with direct marketing if you have a strategic plan. For example, utilize your marketing calendar in coordination with your Instagram posts and provide links (and instruct your followers to go to them in the text of the post) in your bio at the top of your page. The details of your bio, including promotional links, can be changed at any time.

1. Pinterest

Pinterest owns the label of ‘most evergreen’ of all the popular social media channels. The pins (images/posts) have the best longevity, with the half-life sitting at 151, 200 minutes. This is compared to 24 minutes for a tweet and 90 minutes for a Facebook post. Other important data to consider:

1. - 317 unique monthly users
  - The age range of users is pretty evenly distributed among 18-64 year-olds
  - Predominantly female – 45% of online women vs. 17% of online men

When an individual is referred to Pinterest, they are also 10% more likely to make a purchase than on other networks/platforms. This SM is prime internet real estate for businesses with products in the areas of art, fashion, food, home décor, or other types of goods you can create dynamic images of — driving traffic to your site and converting interest into sales. The site also has a Pinterest buy button that makes it really easy to purchase with a click of a button.

1. LinkedIn

This is an excellent professional and B2B platform. It is not as popular as some of the others but does have 106 million unique monthly users around the globe. Plus, 45% of people making $75,000 or more use LinkedIn. The gender balance is pretty even with 31% male online users and 27 females.

Here, businesses can connect with professionals, share industry news, create conversations with original posts, and utilize it as a strategic platform for lead generation. When thinking about long-term business development, LinkedIn also serves as a really good way to find top talent and is quickly becoming the go-to place for employers to find information on potential employees quickly.

If you are strategic and develop a comprehensive social media calendar that specifically targets your customers where they are online, you can be efficient and effective. After carefully considering the different platforms, shape your plan accordingly.

Whether you decide to do a Twitter Party or delve into the depths of LinkedIn to create valuable leads, make sure to tailor your strategy to where your particular customers live online. Social media for business is an extremely valuable tool to elevate your brand and reach your business goals — use your time wisely.