Which social networks for which use?
Social networks are omnipresent in our daily lives. They are essential media for disseminating information. Some people use them to satisfy their search for news, to share their interests or to keep abreast of the latest trends. Some social networks are phenomenally successful and are constantly developing new features to conquer and retain their audience. Social networks are also privileged spaces for companies that wish to promote their products.
How to choose the social network that suits your needs? How to use social networks to differentiate yourself and increase your audience?
Features of each social network
Professional social networks: Viadeo, LinkedIn
Professional social networks are business-oriented networks (companies as well as employees or candidates).
Users use this type of network to search for a job or to recruit staff, to open new horizons for negotiation, to present their new products or services, or to develop a large network of contacts.
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Viadeo
Created in 2004 in Paris, Viadeo‘s main objective is to facilitate contact between professionals. In 2018, the social network will have 65 million active users per month. They use the network to manage their professional image and for personal marketing.
Viadeo’s main features include:
- Users create and manage their resumes and update their field of expertise. They can open the debate or participate in a reflection by joining a group.
- Develop and manage his professional network. Members can also support the file of other users.
- Become visible on the main search engines.
Why use it? To facilitate your job search and develop your professional network.
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LinkedIn
LinkedIn was founded in 2003 in California. LinkedIn claims 500 million subscribers. The social network allows you to connect with other subscribers. It covers all stages of professional life: job search, job offers, partnership search, opening new business opportunities, presentation of new products and services.
LinkedIn offers as main features:
- Participate in focus groups, in order to promote exchanges around a profession.
- Develop and manage your professional network, notably thanks to the simplicity of adding multimedia content, or by sending InMail.
- Many advanced features offer options to subscribers, such as the translation of their profile into 40 languages, participation in the InApps platform for sharing files, tickets, playlists, etc.
- Looking for a job / recruiting.
Why use it? To develop your professional network thanks to different tools and for the number of users.
Visual social networks: Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest
Visual social networks have developed in order to offer the possibility of sharing audiovisual content (photos, videos) centered on users’ interests. Textual content is much less present and important on this type of network.
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Instagram
Instagram is a social network that allows you to share photos and videos with other users. It was created in 2010 in the United States.
The social network has seen the birth of many influencers, also called “instagramers”. They are followed by millions of users and can earn income through the partnerships they have created with brands. Instagram has thus given rise to a phenomenon that is now a trend: influence marketing.
Instagram’s features include:
- A wide range of filters that allow users to modify their photos and videos to improve contrast, brightness, etc. without the need to use photo editing software.
- It is not possible to share content published by other users. Virality is therefore limited. The only option for sharing is to “repost” through other applications.
- Possibility of liking and commenting the publications of the accounts you follow. If a profile is public, it can have a greater number of followers and therefore increase the likes and comments on its publications for better visibility.
- Members can not publish clickable links on publications. Except for the last advertising formats introduced on the network. However, a company can display a link to its site in its biography.
- Publish stories: photos or videos available 24 hours a day.
Why use it? Because it is the social network in vogue and easy to use. It’s a very visual and therefore very attractive network, which allows you to showcase your products.
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Snapchat
Snapchat was created in the United States in 2011. It allows you to share images and videos with your friends. The specificity of the network is the time limit during which the content can be viewed when it is sent to another user. Almost 350 million snaps are shared every day all around the world. This social network is mainly used by a younger audience (16/25 years old).
Snapchat features:
- Users have the possibility to make a Story. It is several images or videos, visible by all contacts for a duration of 24 hours.
- Chat on the chat by interposed cameras.
- Use filters, augmented reality masks or draw on photos.
- Send content to a single person, several, or a defined group of people.
- Ability to make advertisements in story format.
Why use it? To interact with the younger generation: most 15-25-year-old have the application.
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Pinterest
Pinterest is a social media created in 2010 in the United States and has been very successful in Europe since 2012. It is the social network to have surpassed 10 million users the fastest.
Offering an ergonomic interface, Pinterest allows its subscribers to pin images, graphics, videos, etc. These are grouped in thematic tables. Users can also visually search for topics of interest to them. It is up to each person to create their own painting with the visuals of their choice and to share them.
Pinterest features:
- Create image collections and view existing ones.
- Users can like the contents, select them from their favorites or share them on other social networks.
- An object identification algorithm makes visual searches easier.
Why use it? To offer highly visual content and create links to your site, but also to pinpoint current trends.
Micro-blogging: Twitter, Tumblr
On micro-blogging, publications are very short. Exchanges can contain messages, images or videos. The objective of micro-blogging is to share information regularly in a very synthetic way.
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Twitter
Twitter is a micro-blogging social network. It was created in 2006 in San Francisco.
In 2017, it had 313 million monthly users and 500 million messages sent every day. It gives its users the possibility to send short messages, free of charge, called “tweets”. A tweet is a way to tell what you are doing at the moment, give your opinion on a specific event, etc. It is also a way to share your opinion with others. It allows information to circulate at breakneck speed.
Twitter features:
- A tweet cannot exceed 280 characters.
- Users can “retweet” a message. That is to say, copy/paste a message published by other users, or by themselves.
- This network has 330 million active users per month.
Why use it? For instant messaging, to follow the news and accounts of stars and public persons.
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Tumblr
Founded in 2007 in the United States, Tumblr allows its subscribers to post messages, photos, videos, links and sounds on a dashboard.
The social network is essentially based on reblogging.
Tumblr is very easy to use and builds on a solid foundation that builds user loyalty.
- The user can shape the design of his or her personal space.
- Possibility to subscribe to another user’s page.
- Publish content and reblog. That is to say, share another user’s publication.
- Search by tags, by theme or by popularity of publications.
Why use it? To put forward your passions and for the personalization of your space.
Social networks focused on video: YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat
Social networks no longer only allow you to exchange text, but also music and videos. Some are specialized in video. In this segment, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat are doing very well.
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YouTube
YouTube is a streaming video hosting website. It was established in 2005 in California. Users can post, rate, view or share videos.
By 2017, the social network reports that it has surpassed one billion hours of video views in one day. It is the second most visited site after Google.
YouTube features:
- Users go through a search engine that allows them to find videos that match their interests.
- It is possible to subscribe to a channel or create your own.
- Users can create playlists.
- Subscribers can monetize the videos they make. By becoming a “YouTube partner”, ads are shown before and after the video is broadcast.
Why use it? For the number of active users and for the possibility of subscribing to channels. YouTube is the leading platform for viewing videos (clips, advertisements, trailers etc.).
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Facebook
Facebook is a social network created in 2004 in the United States. It is the third most visited site after Google and YouTube. In 2017, it exceeded 2 billion active users. It allows its subscribers to share links, messages, create and participate in groups and pages, publish images and videos. Interaction between users is at the heart of the network.
As for video, Facebook is growing rapidly:
- The social network has announced the upcoming launch of an application for TV screens. This action is part of a social media strategy set up a few years ago.
- Launched in 2018, the Premieres application is a new social network publishing format that mixes live and standard video. The principle is to allow pages to publish pre-recorded videos in a format similar to Live.
Why use it? To target the over 35s, who represent more than half of Facebook users, and for its many features, including live video.
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Snapchat
Snapchat is a social network that is also trying to make a name for itself through the development of video.Â
- The network announced in 2018 that audio and video calls will be able to be made using filters. Up to 16 people can exchange videos. Participants can use the filters provided by the social network. A digital marketing tool that aims to remain competitive with Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
Why use it? To create your own filters and reach a very young audience, especially through ads between stories.
The rules of good use of social networks
Each social network has its specificities and it is essential to take them into account. For this, the discourse and the content must be adapted. It is therefore important to master the basic principles of web writing for social networks. This is the key to successful content marketing. It can profoundly influence the way a company interacts with its customers.
Adapt your discourse and content to each social media
For a social media like YouTube, engaging your audience is crucial. Social network users want to watch interesting and good quality videos. If YouTube remains the leader, it’s because it offers videos of superior quality to its competitors. The importance of relevant keywords and quality descriptions should also be stressed.
At Facebook, it is the potential virality that is crucial. Thanks to its autoplay function and view calculation, the social network is very well suited for message delivery, digital marketing and customer relations.
For Twitter, simplicity and efficiency are paramount. The advantage of the social network is that you can edit a video even before you post it. The social media strategy on Twitter is to respond to tweets with a video. This allows to engage the audience and create a stronger link with it.
Propose innovative content
A social network that adapts its discourse and content to its clientele has barely, but it is necessary not to neglect the importance of content innovation.
Focusing on content marketing is the key to success.
To this end, it is possible to convert long content into slides. This type of presentation can be adapted to users who take more time to digest information when it is long. This option also makes it possible to present a company in a more visually appealing way.
Another idea is to present your business in images. Video is an ideal way to share and present content online.
If you want to increase the interactivity of your network, use quizzes. Users have fun answering questions and marketers can then gather valuable information through this social media strategy.
In short, adapt your content to different social networks. You don’t have to be present on every platform, on the contrary, it’s best to focus on one or two networks – the ones that are best suited to your business – in order to offer quality and innovative content.
