10 Best Business Social Networking Sites To Grow Your Business

Most human beings in this world rely much on the Internet, especially social networking sites. Today, businesses can take advantage of this trend to digitize their business activities and grow their brands more effectively. So, which are the best platforms to invest your time and endeavor in? Let’s figure it out with Designveloper!

Understand Social Networking Sites for Businesses

Social networking sites have attracted a massive number of users over time. According to Statista, Facebook dominated this realm with over three billion users as of April 2024, followed by YouTube (2.5 billion) and Instagram (2 billion). This makes social media platforms increasingly crucial for businesses of all sizes. For them, these platforms provide a powerful way to build brand perception, engage with customers, and ultimately drive sales.

How to Choose the Best Social Networking Site: 5 Essential Tips

But with so many social media platforms available, how do you know which ones are right for your business?

Here, we’ll offer you five key tips on choosing the best social networking stes to reach your audience:

Know Your Audience

Each platform appeals to different user bases. So the first step to select the best platforms is understanding who your target audience is. Research where your potential customers prefer spending time online. For example, younger audiences might be more engaged on Instagram or TikTok while professionals tend to be more active on LinkedIn.

Consider Your Goals

What do you expect to acquire through social media? Do you want to increase brand perception, improve website traffic, or generate leads? Each social network has its own strengths, so choose accordingly. For instance, Twitter is excellent for real-time engagement and creating a buzz while LinkedIn idea ideal for B2B marketing and professional networking.

At Designveloper, our ultimate goals are to increase engagement and reach, build brand awareness and credibility, and generate leads with conversions. That’s why we mix up different types of content to keep our audience engaged across platforms like industry news & updates, thought leadership pieces, and educational content. So, we choose Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Content Fit

Next, think about the type of content you excel at creating. Is it visual content like photos and videos (perfect for Instagram and YouTube), or written content like articles and updates (ideal for LinkedIn and Twitter)? 

For example, Facebook enables the most creative freedom when it comes to content. Therefore, we often use language that is engaging and conversational when writing for Facebook, yet still conveying our key messages. Meanwhile, Twitter is a fast-paced platform and allows for quick, short-form content. So we often focus on concise and witty language for informative and engaging content.

Time Commitment

Maintaining an active presence on social networks requires your consistent effort. Posting regularly, responding to comments, and participating in conversations takes time. So, you should be realistic about the resources you have available for posting frequency. In particularly, you need to consider how much time you can dedicate to each platform and choose accordingly.

Analyze and Adapt

Don’t be afraid to try different social networking sites before choosing the best ones. You can start with the most popular platforms and see how they align with your target audience. Further, you should track the results by analyzing which social networks generate the most conversions or engagement. Based on your data, adjust your social media strategy and focus on the most effective sites.

The 10 Best Business Social Networking Sites that You Should Know

You’ve understood how to choose the best social media platforms for your business. And now, in this section, we’ll discover the top 10 candidates in this realm:  

1. Facebook

Headquarters: California

Facebook is the most popular social networking sites with more than 3.065 billion active users every month as of April 2024. The huge user base makes it useful for every type of business. It’s because when using this tool, you will be able to appear in the feed of the large number of users here.

Further, Facebook brings all the handy features to users, frequently release updates to remove bugs, and add new features. This turns Facebook into a convenient place for different users. Therefore, your business can shoot at multiple targets at once. Increasing web traffic, generating leads, and showcasing products are some examples here.

Features

• Sharing content: photos, text, video, etc.
• Helping users connect with each other with personal profiles, groups or pages.
• Chatting via Facebook Messenger.

Pros

• Facebook helps users easily connect with others.
• The platform helps businesses, public figures, etc. promote themselves quickly.

Cons

• Many people are addicted to this platform. 
• Facebook can be a Dracula-like money sucker. So, to take advantage of this platform effectively, you need a good strategy and an experienced marketing team.

FURTHER READING:

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2. Instagram Likes: Why Likes Are Important

3. How Much Does it Cost to Build Apps like Uber, Tinder, and Instagram?

4. How To Outsource SEO & Web Design Processes?

2. X (formerly Twitter)

Headquarters: California

The moment when Twitter was born, Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg immediately considered it a strong competitor. There are many reasons behind this; however, the main point is that Twitter has a whole different approach and it works perfectly.

Instead of being a place where people can easily connect with each other, Twitter, on the other hand, always focuses on utilizing short ideas and topics. Many celebrities or famous figures take this advantage to communicate with their fans fast via tweets. For this reason, there are a whopping 335 million people using Twitter monthly.

Features

• You can make your tweets more alive with gifs.
• Users can chat with each other in this app.
• Twitter allows users to comfortably look for and discuss topics they are interested in with hashtags. This way, your business can reach more target audiences if they use the right hashtags. (Tips: adding 1 or 2 hashtags works more effectively than 3 hashtags in a tweet).
• Its simple UI/UX enables users to easily communicate via tweets and messages. You may use this feature to provide better customer service.

Pros

• Its search engine is really powerful.
• You can get the latest news quickly.

Cons

• You can only write content with a maximum number of 280 characters.
• Users cannot download images from this platform.
• It’s hard to find quality comments in a thread.

Recommended reading: How to Choose the Right Social Media Platform for Your Business?

3. Instagram

Headquarters: California

Instagram is a social networking platform that only allows users to post images or short videos there. Similar to Twitter, this app helps people easily search for images with hashtags.

Apart from that, Instagram is a completely different world. It has two feeds, one is for photos posted by people you follow and the other is personalized as what you frequently searched.

The interface is designed to be as simple as possible but still elegant and aesthetic enough to be one of the most beautiful social networking sites at the moment. According to Statista, the number of monthly active users on Instagram is 2 billion as of April 2024.

Features

• Before posting photos and videos, you can apply filters or other editing tools to your media.
• Users can comment on photos/videos or like them with a double tap.
• Instagram users can send each other direct messages.
• People can post stories which will disappear within 24 hours. 
• Instagram allows you to build short, funny videos called reels.

Pros

• Your business can use it to promote your products easily.
• You can easily edit your photos/videos with simple tools.
• Your business can approach the target audience in different ways (e.g., photo posts, video posts, and in-app massage).
• Thanks to its creative team, Instagram makes its interface intuitive and appealing for your business to promote offerings and attract customers.
• Hashtags allow you to see other posts including that very keyword effortlessly. This enables your target audience to find your offerings by hashtags with ease.

Cons

• It discourages website traffic since links are unclickable.
• You cannot reach many of your followers unless promoting products with their advertising tools.
• Instagram doesn’t allow users to post only text to the feed. This means you must prepare one or more photos/videos and attach them with your text.

Recommended reading: 8 Steps on How to Create a Social Media Platform

4. QQ

Headquarters: Shenzhen

Perhaps, you have never heard of this platform but it is one of the most popular and used social networking sites in China. It even set a world record for the platform that had the most users online at the same time.

QQ can be considered a super app since you can perform multiple activities (payment, mail exchanging, music streaming, etc.) other than just connecting with people. For this reason, it attracts 554 million active users monthly in 2024.

However, since the number of people using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets is increasing day by day, QQ’s parent company – Tencent – changed its strategy and shifted its resources to building WeChat, the new king of the Chinese social networking industry.

Features

• Music streaming
• Payment
• Messaging
• Group chats
• Video calls
• File sharing
• Integration with other Tencent services like QQ Music and Tencent Video

Pros

• QQ boasts a huge potential audience for businesses targeting the Chinese market.
• Businesses can devise diverse marketing strategies on QQ as this platform offers a multitude of functions beyond messaging.
• Regular interactions on QQ groups and communities can build your brand awareness and foster customer engagement more effectively than traditional marketing methods.

Cons

• As QQ’s primary user base is in China, looking for a global reach may be less effective.
• Content and communication mainly occur in Mandarin Chinese. This may be a barrier for non-Chinese speaking businesses.

Recommended reading: Social Media Strategy for Small Businesses: Complete Guide [2023]

5. TikTok

Headquarters: Shanghai

TikTok is another China-based social networking app that has been attracting billions of users worldwide. A bit like Vine, a then-famous platform in the mid-10s, TikTok is a video-sharing app where users can lip-sync to music, TV shows/movies’ script, meme, etc.

You might feel familiar when heard of its features. That’s right, TikTok is similar to Musical.ly. However, the California-based app was merged with TikTok in 2018. This move helped TikTok acquire a large base of users living oversea, especially US users.

This app became popular in China right after its launch in September 2019 with the name Douyin. One year later, it entered the global app market via App Store and Google Play by the name TikTok. Until now, it appeals to more than 1.5 billion active users per month.

Features

• You can create captivating, short-form videos to draw attention quickly.
• It provides diverse in-app features like music libraries, filters, and editing tools to build high-quality content.
• TikTok allows you to use trending hashtags and participate in challenges to boost discoverability.
• It enables you to partner with relevant influencers to reach a wider audience and leverage their established communities.
• The platform integrates eCommerce features for smooth product discovery and purchase within the app.
• It offers data analytics to gain valuable insights into audience demographics, engagement metrics, and campaign performance.

Pros

• TikTok has a vast user base, with a significant portion of those under 30. This can be a goldmine for those targeting this demographic.
• The platform’s algorithm prioritizes entertainment value over follower count. This makes it easier for newcomers to go viral and reach a large audience.
• TikTok offers several eCommerce features to help your business promote products and drive sales directly on the platform.
• It requires no expensive tools or extensive skills to produce and edit videos.

Cons

• Trends move quickly on TikTok, and content has a shorter lifespan than other social networking sites. So your business needs to constantly produce fresh content.
• TikTok focuses on less formal and more personal content. So, it’s not suitable for those looking to establish themselves as thought leaders in their field, showcase professional expertise, or build serious discussions.
• There’s a risk of encountering negative comments or brand misuse.

6. LinkedIn

At first, LinkedIn was a platform for employees who wanted to stay connected with their former colleagues. And now, it becomes a virtual place where people network and find jobs or find talents.

However, LinkedIn is not all about networking, it also helps you promote your business to top talents here (most of them are CEOs, COOs, or high-level employees). High chances are that they might be interested in your products or services.

To use this channel efficiently, first of all, your company page should publish valuable and relevant content. Besides, let’s ask your co-workers to connect with the page so that its presence will appear more to the huge user base here.

Features

• LinkedIn allows you to connect with industry professionals.
• It enables you to create a professional company page with services, culture, staff, and brand story.
• The platform allows you to publish articles, infographics, and videos to establish thought leadership.
• LinkedIn helps you track engagement metrics and measure campaign performance.

Pros

• You can reach a highly professional audience interested in business-to-business (B2B) communication.
• LinkedIn allows you to build trust, share meaningful insights, and position your brand as a leader in your industry.
• It helps generate leads through organic search and targeted advertising, and seek top talent for your company.

Cons

• Maintaining a professional tone can limit creativity.
• To stand out, you have to constantly create high-quality, valuable content that cuts through the noise.
• It’s hard to reach a large audience organically.

7. YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing platform that now works similarly to social networking sites. Besides movies, music videos, etc., you can communicate with your audience more effectively compared to other text-based or photo-based platforms.

Like Facebook, YouTube can help multiple types of businesses. If you’re a retailer, it’s possible to collaborate with famous YouTubers, and ask them to introduce or review the product with their subscribers. And in case, you are a B2B company, instruction or Q&A videos would be an incredible way to promote your services or products.

And in the situation that you are not fond of making videos for some reason, using display ads may be a great approach.

Since YouTube is in the same system as Google, so you can use Google Adsense to set up the ad as well, and of course, you will be able to target very exactly.

Features

• YouTube allows you to create and share high-quality videos to engage your audience. It also fosters engagement with viewers through likes, comments, and playlists.
• The platform helps track video performance, acquire valuable audience data, and reach a broad audience through targeted advertising.
• It enables you to host live events, Q&A sessions, and product demonstrations.
• Data analytics provide insights to fine-tune your video strategy and optimize content for better results.

Pros

• YouTube boasts over 2.5 billion active users per month. So, it offers massive potential to reach a vast audience.
• You can optimize video descriptions and titles with hashtags to enhance search engine ranking for your brand and videos.
• Organic reach on YouTube allows you to build your brand without massive ad budgets.

Cons

• Producing high-quality, engaging videos on YouTube can be time-consuming. Further, it can waste lots of resources for equipment, scripting, and editing.
• Standing out requires your creativity, consistency, and even SEO optimization.
• While targeting is possible, viewers have control over what they watch and can skip ads.

8. WhatsApp Business

Headquarter: California

WhatsApp is one of the most popular social networking sites and communication tools. According to Statista, it attracts around 2 billion monthly active users. Apart from an app for individual users, WhatsApp provides another version for businesses.

While not a traditional social media platform, WhatsApp Business provides a powerful and unique way for businesses to connect directly with customers. It goes beyond simple messaging, enabling you to create a business profile that showcases your brand, product offerings, and even contact information.

Features

• You can reuse common replies to answer customer questions faster.
• WhatsApp Business allows customers to connect with your business by promoting a WhatsApp number across multiple channels like websites or social networking sites.
• You can participate in one-on-one conversations with customers, answer queries, and offer personalized support.
• You can send messages to various contacts at the same time, track message delivery, and demonstrate offerings directly in chats.
• You can access business clients in the WhatsApp Business Directory, link your account with Facebook shops, and make payments directly through WhatsApp.
• The platform allows you to label your contacts for easy organization and management.

Pros

• Compared to traditional email marketing, WhatsApp has higher open rates. This turns it into a more effective tool to reach target customers.
• Customers can directly interact with your business. This helps you handle their issues faster and give more personalized experiences.
• As many people already use WhatsApp for personal communication, it’s familiar and convenient for your business to connect with them.

Cons

• WhatsApp Business providers fewer features for content creation and brand building than other social networking sites.
• It’s ideal for smaller-scale marketing campaigns, while broadcasting to vast audiences can be tricky.

9. WeChat

Headquarter: Shenzhen

WeChat, also known as Wexin, is a Tencent-developed tool that supports social networking, mobile payment, and instant messaging in China. The tool provides a diversity of features beyond just messaging. Just imagine it as a perfect combination of Facebook, WhatsApp, and other mobile payment apps.

You can register a WeChat account using Chinese phone numbers, thereby being under the regulation and supervision of Chinese authorities. However, those registering with non-Chinese numbers can be subject to a different privacy policy and terms of service.

Features

• You can create a verified business account to connect with your customers, share updates, and promote products.
• WeChat allows you to send text, voice, and broadcast (one-to-many) messages. Further, you can hold video conferencing, share files or location, etc.
• You can craft mini-apps within WeChat to provide services like appointment booking, online shopping, or loyalty programs.
• The tool offers eCommerce features like targeted advertising options, in-app payments, and data analytics.
• You can share articles, videos, and other content to engage your customers and build brand perception.

Pros

• Since its first launch in 2011, WeChat has appealed to more than 1.5 billion active users every month. This gives your business a big chance to reach a broad audience in China. Further, its international version allows you to get a global reach.
• Your business can interact directly with customers, handle issues, and forge relationships through chat functions and groups.
• WeChat offers valuable insights into customer behavior and campaign performance.

Cons

• The sheer volume of users may lead to high competition for attention on WeChat.
• Staying compliant with strict regulations related to data privacy and marketing practices in China can be complex.

10. Pinterest

Headquarter: California

Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where you can share and discover ideas through images and videos, often called “pins”. It functions like a digital bulletin board, enabling you to curate collections (boards) on different topics like home decor, recipes, travel destinations, and more. Accordingly, you can save pins you find interesting, and click through them to access the original source (e.g., blogs or websites).

Features

• You can establish a dedicated business profile to visually present your offerings and brand identity.
• Pinterest allows you to use rich pins with additional information such as product prices or availability for better user experience.
• You may link pins to relevant landing pages on your website to drive targeted traffic and potential sales.
• It enables you to share informative and valuable content through pins to create brand authority and attract potential customers interested in your niche.
• You can leverage targeted advertising to reach a highly engaged audience.
• Data analytics allows you to track user engagement with your pins and acquire valuable insights into audience demographics and preferences.

Pros

• You can utilize the power of images and videos to draw attention and show products in an appealing way. This helps increase your brand awareness and drive traffic to your website with cost-effective content marketing.
• Pinterest drives traffic back to your website. This can enhance search engine ranking and organic discovery.
• You may reach a user base actively searching for inspiration and ideas. This makes them willing to accept new offerings and brands.

Cons

• Your brand’s success relies on visual content.
• Pin descriptions have character limits. So conveying detailed product information can be challenging.
• Converting interest into sales can require additional marketing efforts.

How to Position Your Business in Social Media: Designveloper’s Insights

At Designveloper, we understand the power of social networking sites for reaching target audiences and achieving marketing goals. We currently leverage a multi-platform approach, using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to interact with potential customers. We’re also strategically expanding to Medium and YouTube to the near future.

But building a strong social media presence goes beyond just having accounts and posting content on different platforms. It’s about crafting a targeted strategy that draws attention, encourages engagement, and drives results. Here, we share our experience and insights on how to effectively position your business in social media:

1. Identify Your Ideal Customers

The foundation of any successful social media strategy is a deep understanding of your target audience. Accordingly, we employ a three-pronged approach:

• Market Research: We conduct thorough market research to identify demographics, interests, and online behavior patterns of our ideal customer base.

• Customer Personas: Based on market research, we develop detailed customer personas that involve the needs and pain points of our target audience. These personas guide content creation to ensure its relevance and value.

• Data Analytics: We leverage such tools as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and LinkedIn Analytics to detect trends and preferences within our current customer base.

2. Grab Attention & Build Engagement

Once you know who you’re targeting, it’s time to capture their attention and keep them engaged. Here’s how we achieve this:

• High-Quality Content: We prioritize the creation of valuable and informative content tailored to our audience’s interests. This includes blog posts, engaging videos, and visually appealing images.

• Continuous Interaction: We adopt a two-way conversation with our followers by actively responding to comments and messages. We also create interactive content like polls or quizzes to encourage participation.

• Strategic Advertising: Paid advertising campaigns on channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google allow us to reach a wider audience within our target demographic. Through data-driven insights, we customize these ads for maximum effectiveness.

3. Optimize Reach and Visibility

Timing is crucial in social media. We leverage analytics tools like Hootsuite and Buffer to identify the optimal times to post for each platform. This ensures our content reaches the largest audience when they’re most active. Further, we establish a consistent posting schedule to keep our profiles fresh and engaging.

4. Measure Success and Adjust Strategies

Social media success isn’t an accident. We actively track and analyze performance using key performance indicators (KPIs) like clicks, views, engagement rates, and conversions. These metrics provide meaningful insights into how effective our campaigns and content are.

Further, we use analytics tools like Facebook Insights, LinkedIn Analytics, and Google Analytics to collect data and generate detailed reports. These tools help us better understand how individual posts and campaigns perform, enabling data-driven adjustments to our strategy.

We also proactively listen to our audience’s feedback through comments, direct messages, and surveys. This allows us to modify our strategy promptly.

Overcoming Challenges: Lessons Learned

Building a strong social media presence isn’t always easy. Here are some challenges Designveloper has faced, along with the solutions we’ve applied:

Content Quality

Problem: Maintaining consistently high-quality content is an ongoing challenge. The content must be engaging, useful, and suitable for each customer segment. However, producing high-quality content requires much time and effort.

Solution: We’ve addressed this by building a dedicated content creation team that collaborates closely with other departments to ensure diverse and informative content. In addition, we invest in ongoing training and workshops to keep our team’s skills and knowledge updated.

Customer Interaction

Problem: Engaging with a growing audience and responding to a high volume of comments and messages can be demanding.

Solution: We leverage social networking management tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social to track and manage all sites in one place. This helps us to streamline communication and ensure timely responses across platforms.

Measure Effectiveness

Problem: Accurately gauging the impact of of social media campaigns requires ongoing analysis of metrics like engagement, conversions, and ROI.

Solution: We address this by using professional analytics tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights to collect and analyze data. Further, we hold regular meetings to evaluate and adjust strategies based on real data.

Algorithm Changes

Problem: Social media algorithms often evolve. This affects post reach and visibility.

Solution: To stay ahead of the curve, we closely monitor algorithm changes across social networking sites and adapt our strategy accordingly. We also test different content formats to determine what resonates best with current algorithms.

Brand Consistency

Problem: Ensuring all content and activities align with your brand identity is a big challenge.

Solution: We’ve handled this by creating a comprehensive brand guideline document and training our team. All content undergoes careful review before posting. This ensures it reflects Designveloper’s brand values and vision.

Final Thoughts About Social Networking Sites

The 5 sites above can help you a lot when it comes to marketing and customer service. However, there are still many limitations to deal with. Spams, public negative criticisms, costs to run ad campaigns, etc. might be some major downfalls you should pay attention to.

Hey, if you are seeking software outsourcing to build some profitable social networking sites, Designveloper might be the one. Let’s get in touch with us and discuss this idea now!