Social media is an online communication tool that enables users to exchange ideas, photos and videos. It has numerous applications such as marketing, social networking and more.
Finding the ideal type of social media for your business can be overwhelming. To help you make an informed decision, this article will outline some key types of social media and give examples of platforms within each category.
Social networks
Social networking sites enable users to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues in a virtual realm. Businesses also benefit by using them to cultivate and enhance their brand reputation, promote products and services and address customer questions and needs.
Facebook is one of the world’s most popular social networking platforms, boasting more than 1.55 billion monthly active users (as of the third quarter 2015). Users can create profiles and add other people as “friends” on the platform.
Instagram is a social media platform that enables users to upload photos and videos. It also offers various filtering options and organizes posts by hashtags or geographic tagging.
Social networking platforms are constantly developing and shifting with technology. By taking into account public interest changes and global trends, you can develop a long-term social media strategy.
Periscope
Periscope is an app that enables users to live-stream video. Founded by Kayvon Beykpour and Joseph Bernstein in 2013, Periscope was acquired by Twitter for an impressive $100 million dollars in 2015 for the sake of innovation.
Creators of LiveBroadcast wanted to make it simpler for people around the world to watch what’s happening in real-time. Now, top personalities such as Sky News presenters, musicians and even Prime Minister can use this platform.
It’s also ideal for sharing quick updates with your followers, such as when a new product or service launches. Sharing on Twitter allows you to engage with your audience and keep them coming back for more.
MySpace
MySpace is a social networking platform where users can create web pages and communicate with others. It also allows them to share diaries, photos, music and more. Furthermore, they have the option to create blogs or chat rooms on the platform.
Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe founded Myspace in 2003 while both were heavily involved in the Los Angeles music scene.
The website’s creators recognized that musicians and their fans relied on it more than any other group, so they created MySpace Music – a section of the site dedicated to promoting bands.
MySpace users have the freedom to express themselves about a range of personal characteristics such as their sexual orientation, relationship status, occupation, religion, smoking/drinking habits, body type, personal photo and ethnicity. Furthermore, they may maintain a blog within their profile page for added media exposure.
QZone
QZone is one of the largest social media platforms in China, boasting more than 550 million monthly active users and playing a significant role in social media marketing initiatives throughout China.
This platform enables users to post pictures and videos of themselves, along with comments. Additionally, there is a group chat feature and blog available.
However, Tencent’s platform is plagued with spam and image censorship problems. To combat these, Tencent employs technology which automatically evaluates photos’ MD5 hashes and visual similarity in order to determine whether they are sensitive topics.
QZone is not only a social networking platform, but it’s also used for shopping and blogging. Plus, the platform has integration with third-party applications like Twitter and Instagram – making it simple to share media on these apps and boost the engagement on your QZone page.
Pinterest is an image-focused social media platform that enables users to save and share visual content they find inspiring. Users can create boards, which serve as virtual scrapbooks of images organized by theme for easy retrieval.
Pinterest, like other social media platforms, encourages sharing among friends and followers. This makes it an effective marketing channel for businesses that offer products or services related to visual design.
Making the most of your Pinterest marketing initiatives starts by creating engaging and unique content – this includes posts, photos and videos. Utilizing hashtags for search purposes can also be beneficial. Furthermore, ensure your images and video are of high quality to attract more viewers.
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