When to Hop Aboard the New Platform Bandwagon

As of 2023, over 4.8 billion people were using social media, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. The majority of people who use social media are on Facebook, which currently has over 3 billion monthly active users. That doesn’t mean, though, that Facebook should be the be-all-end-all for marketers, but it’s a great place to start. Considering there are hundreds of social media platforms available, trying to decide which platform is best for your brand can be an overwhelming task. Here are some things to consider when thinking about jumping on a new platform.

Audience

Every platform has a different base audience. On Facebook, for example, the most active users tend to be adults ages 29 to 34. With its huge number of users, though, Facebook is a “catch-all” social media network, making it a great place to prove legitimacy, but it might not be the best platform for your sales. Depending on who you’re selling to, you might choose a more visual platform, like Instagram, where 87% of people surveyed said they took action after seeing product info on the platform, including 46% who made a purchase.

According to Statista, 62% of all Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 34, so products aimed toward those age ranges will do well, while those geared more toward middle-aged and older adults are likely to go flat. Brands on Instagram see engagement rates 58 times higher than on Facebook and 120 times higher than on X, so companies geared to young adults that are looking for a more visual approach to sales should look to Instagram before anywhere else.

Platform Stability

Making the investment into leaping onto a new platform is a little discouraging in part because history includes plenty of failures. MySpace was the social media hot spot for much of the mid aughts, until Facebook overtook it in 2008, driving it to the brink of extinction. Many platforms have faced similar instability, most without the years of success MySpace enjoyed.

Tsū was one of the fastest-growing social media companies in history, with more than 1 million users joining within its first three weeks and 3.5 million in the first six months. With a promise to pay users for popular content, it’s not surprising to see what drew such large numbers, but the fast failure rate was less expected. It’s another example of why brands looking for long-term social media presence should consider proven platforms over those with flashy promises but no track record of success.

Stability is crucial, but so is understanding the actual intentions for platforms. When considering an emerging platform, think about how it can perform against more established platforms.

Platform Function

Platform function is important when considering expanding social media because not all platforms have the same intended purpose. We know that Facebook is great to show legitimacy and Instagram is a good spot for sales. TikTok is popular among younger people for its viral and trending content, while LinkedIn is a more professional networking site popular among B2B audiences. Snapchat is used by young adults to send quick status updates, and businesses can find success on Reddit because, though it is a catch-all like Facebook, posts are filtered into subreddits for specific topics and users can choose which subreddits to join.

New social media platforms may be aimed at image aggregation, book lovers, or gamers — any number of topics. Before investing time and energy in a new platform, it’s best to understand the main function of that platform and decide if its function is best for your audience.

Ultimately, exploring new platforms comes down to decisions about time and investment. What is the ROI for joining the platform, and is the new audience appropriate for your digital strategy? Influencer Marketing Hub built a list of 116 platforms and their main purposes, but new platforms emerge daily. If time allows, it can be fun to explore new social media sites, but from a financial standpoint, focusing on proven platforms that are stable and fit the functionality of your digital strategy is the best practice. That’s not to say social media managers shouldn’t look into sites like Medium, Mix, or any number of other sites that might allow for an expanded reach. (Don’t eschew proven platforms until the new ones have shown their worth, though.) If you need help deciding which social media platforms are best for your brand, reach out to Social Factor today. We’d love to help.