By using effective ecommerce marketing strategies on social posting platforms, your online store can build brand awareness, drive sales and grow business in one of the most competitive industries. Every year, there is a rise in the number of people signing up for social media. While there weren’t even a billion people using social media back in 2010, the number exceeded more than 2 billion within just five years.
In 2019, there were around 2.77 billion people using social media. And, with smartphones and internet connectivity becoming cheaper and easier to access, these numbers are set to grow even higher. By 2021, more than 3 billion people will be using a social media platform.
What this means for marketers is that there is huge potential to reach a massive and engaged audience on social media. And that’s not just limited to the popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Some of the top social media networks include:
aNobii
aNobii is a social networking site like Goodreads that has users in more than 20 countries but is most popular in Italy. The site launched in 2006 but was acquired by Mondadori in 2014 in a purchase backed by HMV Group, HarperCollins, Penguin and Random House. Users can add their books as well as rate, review and discuss them with other readers.
Vimeo
This is a video-sharing social posting platform like Twitch or YouTube. You can create and share videos or go live, just like you can on any other video platform. It is a paid platform and the plans start at $7 per month.
ASMALLWORLD
ASMALLWORLD is a social networking platform geared towards North Americans and Europeans who are interested in meeting other travellers. It’s a paid social network with four tiers ranging from €80/year to €21,950/year. Users have to apply for membership and membership usually requires an invitation from an existing member or approval by a membership committee.
Athlinks
Athlinks is a free social networking site targeting competitive endurance athletes. The platform mostly focuses on competitive results for running, swimming, cycling, mountain biking, triathlon and adventure racing. Athlinks members can connect with their competitors and fellow athletes.
BAND
BAND is a social network that focuses on group communication. Users can create their own space for communication with others for a specific purpose. These groups range from sports teams, friends, family, interest-based groups, teams and pretty much anything else you can think of.
beBee
beBee is a collaborative platform for professionals. It was created to help people market themselves to employers, clients, vendors and the media, sharing their personal brand. Users can also network with one another through personal and professional interests.
Blind
Blind is another professional network where verified professionals can come together to anonymously communicate in private company channels. More than 3.5 million professionals around the world are part of the platform, sharing advice and providing feedback to help improve company culture and uncover vital career information.
Diaspora
Diaspora is a nonprofit, user-owned, distributed social posting platform consisting of independently owned nodes (pods) that connect to form the network. Since the network isn’t owned by a single person or enterprise, it’s safe from advertising and corporate mergers or takeovers.
Fark
Fark is a community website that lets users comment on news articles and other content from around the web. Out of all of the story submissions the site receives each day, only about 100 of them are displayed on the main pages. All of the links have associated threads where users can comment on the link.
Facebook is currently the largest social posting platform in the world. With 2.6 billion monthly active users as of 2020, it’s safe to say that nearly every social media user is on Facebook. So it’s an excellent platform for brands to market their products to a huge audience.
Users can share text posts, links, images and videos with their Facebook friends. They can follow famous people and pages and react to people’s posts on the platform. Brands can also promote their products using paid ads on Facebook.
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networking platforms. While it is mostly app-based, users can also access their feed through the website version. In June 2018, it finally reached 1 billion monthly active users.
Instagram is a highly visual platform, where users share videos and images. You can also use Instagram Stories and Live features. It is very popular among younger generations. According to Statista, 32% of users are aged between 18 and 24 and 33% are aged between 25 and 34.
Twitter is a social posting platform that lets users stay on top of trending topics and engage in relevant conversations. In 2019, the platform had over 330 million monthly active users. While it doesn’t have as many users as other top social media sites, it does have a highly engaged user base. Twitter users send out at least 500 million tweets per day on average.
Tumblr
Tumblr is another leading social media site. Users can join communities and participate in cultural dialogues to expand their ideas. It’s one of the top social media sites for self-expression and is very popular among teens.
In February 2020, there were a total of 321 million unique visitors to the website.
LinkedIn is a social media site for professionals and is very popular among a B2B audience. The platform has grown rapidly over the years and currently has 690 million members. Members can expand their professional connections on the platform, showcase their portfolios and search and apply for jobs.
LinkedIn is also an excellent social posting platform to share your professional expertise, as it allows members to publish blog posts that reside on the platform.
WhatsApp is a messaging app that lets users share text messages, images, voice notes, audio files, documents and videos. It has grown exponentially over recent years and had about 2 billion monthly users as of March 2020. Along with its growing user base, the platform has also introduced many new features to make interactions easier among users.
While users could only make one-on-one calls before, it now has a group calling feature. They also introduced a WhatsApp Status feature that allows users to update photo, video and text statuses which disappear after 24 hours. As of Q1 of 2019, 500 million users were updating their WhatsApp Statuses daily.
Snapchat
Snapchat is another highly visual social posting platform that’s popular among the younger generation. Users can send snaps to each other and update 24-hour Statuses just like on WhatsApp and Instagram. In Q1 of 2020, it had 229 million daily active users who are highly active on the platform.