For the serious social media marketer, there are a few global platforms that have risen to prominence: 

• Facebook:  still the top by far, with 2.4 billion active users
• Instagram:  a distant second, but with broad popularity, having over a billion users
• Snapchat:  now a distant third place, with around 330 million users
• Reddit:  also around 330 million users
• Twitter:  Twitter is still a must-do medium, having over 320 million users
• LinkedIn:  with a focus on professional network, LinkedIn has just over 300 million users
• Pinterest:  last one on this list with (only) 290 million users

We should also add to this list the Chinese platforms such as Weibo (376 million) and Qzone (563 million), both of whom continue to rise in popularity within China, and must be at the top of the list for any marketer focusing on the Chinese market.  Remember also that many regard YouTube as a social media platform, with nearly two billion users.  Similar to the others, allows easy posting of original content with the opportunity for users to comment. 

The landscape has changed somewhat, but not entirely.  In 2009, Facebook had just barely taken over the top spot against… do you remember, MySpace?   Pinterest, Snapchat and Instagram hadn’t even launched, and Twitter, at the time, was boasting around the same number of users as now. 

With over fifteen years of social media platform development behind us, we still see a dynamic picture emerging regarding which platforms are popular and how these can be integrated into a social media strategy.  By some accounts, there are 65 different social media sites which are active (hello, MySpace), and many of them aim to cater for a niche market.  For example, hi5 is a social networking site aimed at the younger crowd, with features like flirt and enabling members to give gifts (presumably virtual gifts).  Quora is also considered a social networking site with a specific focus on crowdsourcing answers to questions.  MyLife flies under the radar for many analysts, but actually has 750 million users.  Its simple interface is very appealing to many people, although it lacks many of the higher-value features available on Facebook, and lacks the broad popularity for sharing.

Regardless of the type of business, sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are essential.  From there, a well-crafted social media marketing strategy will take a close look at many different online platforms and forums through which to broadcast content and promotions.  Matching these to the user profile you are aiming to target is essential. 

Much of the profile analysis centers around age ranges of the users.  For example, the sweet spot for Facebook is 25 to 45 years old, while Instagram has proven itself popular with a younger crowd, within 15 to 30 years old. 

There are three main questions a business must ask in determining which platforms to focus their efforts, as follows:

• Regardless of age, does your target audience use this platform?  The most straightforward way to answer this question is to simply ask your customers.  You may not have the time or resources to execute a statistically valid survey, but an informal discussion about preferred social media sites can reveal a lot about which platforms will be most effective.
• Are the capabilities of the social media platform in line with your business strategy?  LinkedIn is a fantastic resource for networking with professionals, but would have almost zero value in selling children’s toys, and members would react negatively to that kind of promotion. 
• Does the social media platform offer the right tools of engagement, with the ability to track engagement rates and respond actively to customers?  Without these tools, not only is your social media strategy facing a dead end, you may also assume that the platform itself will not last. 

The right social media strategy for your business will be driven by the behavior and preferences of your customers.  Although there is only limited time and resources to leverage in pursuing customers via any popular marketing channel, time spent up front investigating your customer preferences can go a long way toward determining the optimum mix of social media platforms.