Social Media Stardom: Which Platforms Should Entrepreneurs Prioritize This Year?

The internet has fundamentally changed the world as we know it. Did you know that there used to be a time before social media, before instant communication on the internet, and before the 24/7 news cycle? All of these changes are foundational without necessarily being bad. Instead, entrepreneurs need to look at all of these changes as new opportunities to explore growth for their brand or business.

Today, we are going to take a moment to highlight a few of the best social media platforms for entrepreneurs, influencers, and business professionals alike. As with all things in life, your mileage may vary based upon your background, industry, and future plans.

LinkedIn – The ultimate platform for businesses to integrate into social media, LinkedIn is a business-focused site where you can flourish. Endorse colleagues and seek endorsements from people you have worked with. Build your brand with steady content published through your personal LinkedIn stream.

While not the fastest moving of social media platforms, there is a reason that LinkedIn still exists after almost 20 years in the industry. LinkedIn presently has more than 750 million active users.

Facebook – Facebook is still THE premier spot for social media integration. Set up a business page and brand it with professional graphics. Take a look at this company profile on Facebook for an example of what we mean. There are plenty of ways to use this example as a leaping off point for your own work, so give it a shot before moving on.

Facebook also provides users with complete control over targeted demographics when advertising and promoting sponsored content. Keep your engagement rate high and set up a bot to respond to direct messages until you can personally provide a substantive response. In doing so, you will prevent your response rate from falling below the green threshold.

Twitter – Twitter is one of the best places to have an instant connection with customers and potential customers in the future. Easy to brand and even easier to build upon your audience, learn tricks of the trade by focusing on the trending section of the website. Savvy entrepreneurs will incorporate these trends into their brand to take advantage of traffic as it appears.

Without worrying about trending, Twitter is also a great place for customer relations. Responding to questions and problem solving for past clients can go a long way toward inviting new users to the brand.

Instagram – This social media giant has come a long way since it first opened its doors in 2010. One of the biggest social media platforms on the planet, this graphics-driven experience has more than 1 billion active users as of the time of this writing. This means that there is a ton of potential and a large audience to tap into.

Use Instagram to create branded content while reaching new audiences. With hashtags, stories, and sponsored posts, businesses will find many opportunities to explore growth. Opt for a business page to enjoy on-hand analytics with the press of your thumb.