Social Media: Is it right for your brand? The short answer, YES!

Social media platforms have been around for nearly 30 years in one form or another. Yet there are brands who continue to question whether a social media presence is worth the time and effort needed to support it.  

In 2024, it is estimated that 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media platforms, with the average individual using 6 different social platforms per month (Credit: Sprout Social). 

The question is not whether a brand should invest in its own social media presence (because the answer is a resounding YES!), but where they should invest, and how. No two social media platforms are the same, even if they are owned by the same company – looking at you, Meta. Audience demographics, user intention, creative nuances and best practices differ among platforms, which makes it vital for brands to consider many business factors before committing to social media. 

Audience Demographics and User Intent 

Let’s start with the differences in audience demographics and the way users interact with each other and brands across platforms. 

According to Sprout Social, the below shows the platforms most used by each age range: 

• 18-29 year olds – TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat 
• 30-39 year olds – LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat 
• 40-49 year olds – LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) 
• 50-59 year olds – Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest 

The above does not mean users in these age ranges are not on other platforms. It shows the platforms where these specific users spend most of their time. That’s why brands targeting millennials might look at social strategies that include platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. But age isn’t the only factor to consider. User intent and brand objective/goals are also key factors. 

A B2B brand’s core audience typically includes decision-makers from other businesses. The best place to find those individuals? LinkedIn. That doesn’t mean other platforms aren’t suitable for a B2B brand, but when looking at user intent on each platform, LinkedIn is the best place to reach decision-makers who may already be in a business-oriented mindset. Those decision-makers may also have a presence on Facebook and/or Instagram, but how they use those platforms likely differs from how they use LinkedIn. 

For B2C brands, there may not be a single best platform, but rather multiple ones. Companies interested in ecommerce targeting millennials and younger generations may find significant success on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook where product-focused content performs well and users are more inclined to be in a shopping mindset. Depending on the brand’s core audience and how they intend to use their channels, a multi-platform strategy may be in the brand’s best interest. 

One notable change on social platforms in recent years is the way users interact. It’s important to consider what a user may be hoping to find on a given platform, as well as how the brand can best capture that user’s engagement. A good example, given the explosion of shoppable content on TikTok, is how individuals use the platform to review products. More users are turning to social media platforms to search for product reviews, particularly video reviews, instead of using Google. They’re searching for reviews from their favorite creators and influencers, but also from “real” people who haven’t been sponsored to speak about a specific product. 

Creative Nuances Between Platforms 

There are other factors to consider when reviewing the level of investment needed for a strong social strategy. First, social media marketers should understand both the brand’s creative limitations and each platform’s specific content requirements. While there are similarities among platforms, and content can be cross pollinated to surround a brand’s audience, each platform has specific nuances to keep in mind.  

Several platforms are moving away from static images as the preferred content and now have algorithms that prioritize video content, but not just any video content. Instagram and TikTok are optimized for 9:16 video aspect ratios, while other platforms may be optimized for 16:9 or 4:5. However, between TikTok and Instagram, length of video, safe zones, thumbnail needs and specific placement (IG Reels or IG Stories) differ. All affect the design needs of the asset. 

If a brand does not have resources or content for videos, a social content strategy may need to focus less on video-centric platforms. For example, successful TikTok content relies heavily on trending themes, creator collaborations, human-centric content and, within the past year, shoppable products. A brand with little content that meets those criteria should limit its investment in TikTok even if it is a core platform for its audience. 

Yet even when we create an effective social media strategy with all of this in mind, social likes to keep us on our toes. The platforms are in a constant state of change as they compete against each other. 

Staying Up To Date With the Ever-Changing Nature of Social Media 

As new platforms emerge or new trends and features pop up, existing platforms implement new or similar features. This means that defined social strategies need room for growth and adjustments to align with changing platform features and best practices. 

See below for some, but not all, of the changes already implemented or being rolled out on social media platforms in 2024: 

• Instagram: 
  • Instagram grid changing from 1:1 to a 4:5 view (rolling out in Beta currently) 
  • Instagram Stories font interface changes 
  • Instagram increases carousel limit from 10 to 20 slides 

• TikTok 
  • TikTok contract with UMG expired, resulting in countless music tracks removed from the platform and posted content, then signed a new contract with UMG 
  • TikTok partnering with Amazon for ease of in-app purchasing 
  • TikTok launches commercial music library 
  • TikTok enables 60-minute-long video options 
  • TikTok integrates an option to add post collaborations 

• X/Twitter 
  • X/Twitter Premium and Premium Plus subscriptions changes 
  • X/Twitter user post likes are now private 

• LinkedIn 
  • LinkedIn introduces sponsored newsletters 
  • LinkedIn introduces messages for pages 
  • LinkedIn introduces a new short-form video interface 

• Meta/Facebook 
  • Meta ads-free subscription in Europe 

• AI integrations, including an AI chatbot and AI summaries of post comments 

With the sheer number of changes listed above, and even more on the horizon, brands need both a defined, yet evolving social strategy, and a team of social professionals with their thumb on the pulse of this ever-changing world of social.