Top Social Media Platforms – I have watched social media evolve. That’s right, not just FaceBook, but all of the platforms have been migrating toward a much stronger social monetization model. Remember when Pinterest as so protective of there “hobbyist” audience? Today an estimated 3.02 billion worldwide users have a social media account. And 70% of all North Americans have at least one social media account.
Social media as a platform, process or mean of communication. Has evolved, and will continue to do so as far as I can see into the future.
The Big 5
FaceBook, Linked-In, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest are my picks of the most attractive social media platforms. Of course, I give YouTube an honorable mention, only because they are massive, and owned by Google.
FaceBook is without a doubt the Gorilla in the room. It boasts over 2,230,000,000 active monthly users. That is more by far than any other social media platform. Although, lately they have been embroiled in some controversy with the elections, and misdirecting, or not showing traffic and news feed at all. Don’t worry Zuckerberg will be fine, and so will his platform.
Instagram is a strong second with about 1,000,000,000 monthly users. This social media platform alludes me a bit. Maybe it is due to my age, or my profession. I choose to express myself through lengthy blogs posts. Not through a social media platform that is primarily photos only. However, it does play into the growth of video, and speed, that I will mention later.
More Choices
Twitter has to rank very highly. They brag to have 336,000,000 monthly users. As a platform, I have to admit that I like it a lot. I can send an image, with
some text. Enough content to express myself and maybe explain the graphic or photo I have chosen. Not to mention it gets unbelievable coverage on the nightly news and talk shows. Still, as a social media platform, I think it is not clearly understood or used properly.
Pinterest will be my fourth choice, with only 200,000,000 monthly users. I enjoy this podium; I also enjoy the demographic as a marketing professional. It is a unique set of users. And very direct with wanting to speak to a community of like-minded, and thinking individuals. This social media program allows me to address a demographic that is moderately wealthy, socially conscious, and decisive. Treat them with respect and be thoughtful, and as a marketer, you will make incredible inroads here.
Linked-In claims a meager 100,000,000 monthly consumers. I am a little excited about this social media kiosk. It started out nicely then seemed to become hi-jacked by headhunters, and un-savory sorties. But today I see a growth in activity and quality of clientele. The monetization of the platform also seems to be displaying advantages in multiple areas.
YouTube, as mentioned, is my honorable mention. However, it claims over 1,900,000,000 monthly requests. Almost 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. And as a social media platform, its demographic is 18-49-year old. 8 out of 10 in this age range, watch YouTube on a regular basis.
Social Media
This list is primarily a US-based model. There are several others to consider Vkontakte with 400,000,000 followers in primarily Russia. Xing in northern Europe, primarily Germany. And Google +, Tumblr, Ozone, Snapchat, and Quora are others to consider. There are too many to mention.
The medium, social media as a tool continues to advance. Google is continually changing the landscape. They control proximally 90% of the worldwide searches every day. That is 40,000 quires per second, and 3.5 billion a day. No wonder that what they do with YouTube and video are relevant to social media. And the basis of a primary algorithm change from Google’s index to a mobile index first, is worth paying attention too.
In Conclusion
Social Media is here to stay. I remember telling my colleges that is was a fad, a phase, and it would not, and should not last. Well, I have been proven to be mistaken with those predictions. Enjoy it, and trust assured it would continue to grow and evolve. Social media is showing its prowess and value.
And always have e2 Total Solutions show you how social media can benefit you and your business.
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