A guide to choosing the most effective social media networks for your brand

Which social media networks should your brand focus on?

Not too long ago, the answer may have been, “as many as your team can handle.” But times have changed. Social media management is evolving rapidly, and consumers are becoming more discerning about where they engage. They now turn to different platforms for different purposes—whether it’s customer care, entertainment or staying informed. And they expect your brand to meet them where they already are.

The most successful strategies strike a balance between your business objectives and the behaviors of your audience. In this article, we’ll explore how to prioritize social media networks so your brand shows up where it matters most.

What is a social media network?

A social media network is an online platform that supports communication, interaction and content sharing among individuals and communities. It’s a broad definition, and intentionally so. As consumer and advertiser preferences shift, so do social media networks.

Consider this: Early social media was primarily about connecting existing communities through text-based content and personalized profiles—think custom-coded MySpace page or writing on your friend’s Facebook Wall.

Today, visual content and algorithmic feeds reign supreme on social, ushering in an era of hyper-personalization. Feeds and timelines have become entirely unique to the individual, based on user preferences. Interactions are less public and flourish in comment sections, direct messages and closed communities.

These shifts may feel sudden, but they’re the result of small changes happening constantly over longer periods of time. That’s why it’s crucial to stay up to date with the state of your favorite networks.

The three types of social media networks (and their benefits)

The social media network landscape has grown exponentially in recent years. Emerging networks are constantly introduced; existing networks evolve to remain competitive and the idea of maintaining a presence on every platform is becoming less feasible, even for teams with ample resources.

Before we can help you decide where to focus your efforts, let’s get on the same page with how consumers are using different types of social media networks today.

General social media networks

General social media networks are what most people think of when they picture traditional social platforms. They’re built primarily for communication, connection and content sharing. These networks enable a broad range of interactions—from posting text and images to professional networking and community-building. These networks include:

Instagram

According to the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, 84% of social media users have an Instagram profile, making it the most popular social media network across ages.

Users’ primary reasons for scrolling Instagram are to connect with friends and family and alleviate boredom. But half of all users also interact with brands there at least once per day.

Facebook

Two decades after Facebook first appeared and revolutionized how we connect and share online, it’s still one of the most popular platforms in the world.

Today, about 83% of all social users have a Facebook profile. Gen X leads the way in Facebook usage, followed closely by Boomers and Millennials. It remains the top choice for news and current events. Consumers across all ages are also likely to turn to Facebook for social media customer service.

X (formerly Twitter)

Almost half (48%) of all social users across age demographics have an X profile, with men significantly more likely to have a profile than women.

Consumers use X for entertainment, connections with friends and family and keeping up with influencers and celebrities. When interacting with brands, X’s purpose changes slightly. While still wanting to be entertained, consumers are also most likely to engage with educational product content and contests and giveaways.

Pinterest

Social users view Pinterest as a source of good vibes. In fact, more than half (51%) of surveyed consumers feel that Pinterest content is more positive than content on other platforms. That number climbs even higher for Gen Z.

The best brands on Pinterest use the social media network to inspire their audiences with aspirational content. Affirm, a fintech company offering buy now, pay later services, uses the brand to connect with Millennial audiences planning their next big purchase—whether that be a bucket list trip or furnishing their first home.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s user base primarily consists of Gen X and Millennial corporate professionals, making it the go-to platform for everything career-related—jobs, networking, professional development and personal brand building.

As the leading platform for B2B marketing, it’s also an excellent place to source leads. In fact, recent LinkedIn statistics show that 62% of B2B marketers generate leads through LinkedIn. Even better, it delivers 2x higher conversion rates and a 33% increase in purchase intent compared to other platforms.

Threads

In 2023, Meta launched Threads, which quickly became the fastest app to reach 100 million users. Since then, new features have been rolled out and users are starting to figure out how Threads fits into their daily scrolling habits.

Currently, most users turn to Threads to pass the time, though many also use it to stay updated on news and real-time events. While entertainment and education are key draws, users also enjoy seeing brands interact with one another, which has proven to be an effective strategy for brands on Threads looking to drive engagement.

Social entertainment networks

The rise of short-form video—along with the growing accessibility of video editing tools like CapCut and Canva—has ushered in what social media consultant Rachel Karten calls the “social entertainment era.”

Consumers now prefer entertaining content across all platforms, with 66% of social users finding “edutainment” to be the most engaging form of brand content—outperforming memes, serialized content and skits. While all platforms are beginning to favor more entertaining content, certain networks are built with entertainment at their core. Those include:

YouTube

More than three-quarters (78%) of all social users have a YouTube profile, and that number soars even higher for Gen Z and Millennials.

As consumer attention spans shorten, YouTube’s relatively long videos continue to appeal—even when it comes to brand posts. Over half (51%) of YouTube users favor brands’ long-form videos. The long-form nature of YouTube content also allows you to create short-form content for other video platforms like Instagram and TikTok, maximizing your reach and ROI.

TikTok

Younger consumers drove (and continue to drive) TikTok’s rapid growth. Though 68% of social users have a TikTok profile, that number skyrockets to 86% for Gen Z and 73% for Millennials.

For Gen Z especially, TikTok is more than a social network. It’s a search engine, a news source, a birthplace of culture and an online shopping mall. It’s the top channel for news and product discovery among the age cohort.

Community-driven social networks

Community-driven social networks offer dedicated spaces for groups with shared interests. Unlike broader social spaces, these networks prioritize group discussions, along with direct interactions within specific, interest-based communities. These networks include:

Reddit

Reddit is a text-based social network made up of over 100,000 communities, known as subreddits, each with its own unique rules and culture.

The network’s audience tends to be younger, with nearly 70% identifying as male. While Reddit is often associated with its major subreddits—like /r/IAmA or /r/personalfinance—it also hosts active communities on a wide range of topics, from fitness to beauty and beyond.

Discord

Discord is a voice, video and text chat app used by over 300 million people worldwide. What began as a spot for gamers to congregate is now home to communities for all sorts of interests—from readers and equestrians to botanists. If a topic has enough enthusiasts, there’s likely a Discord server dedicated to it.

While Discord may not be the best network for growing your audience, it offers significant potential for those willing to invest in building a long-term community. For brands with strong advocacy programs, a Discord server can facilitate meaningful connections and conversations among community members, making it an invaluable space for fostering engagement.

Vertical social networks

A variety of niche social media networks have emerged to serve the interests of highly specific communities. There’s Letterboxd for film enthusiasts, Strava for runners and Nextdoor for local neighborhoods—the list goes on.

If your target audience aligns with an existing vertical network, these platforms can provide unparalleled access to authentic opinions that can enhance your marketing strategy. For example, a construction company operating in a specific region might find greater value in focusing its efforts on Nextdoor rather than investing heavily in larger platforms.

A framework for choosing the right social media networks for your strategy

So which networks are the most important for your brand?

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil—or open your favorite note-taking app—and take some time to answer the following questions. Some answers may come to you easily, while others might require a bit of research. Remember, this isn’t a decision to rush. Use this opportunity to align all stakeholders on your social strategy, ensuring everyone is on the same page. That way, you can narrow your focus with confidence.

What are your top business priorities?

Social media is valuable for more than just marketing, so it’s important to consider marketing and overall organizational goals. If you limit your focus to just your greater marketing team, you might miss opportunities to make a bigger impact.

For example, let’s say you work with a B2B brand that’s primarily focused on conversions in its marketing efforts. If you pick priority networks based solely on that goal, you might spend all your time on networks that drive a lot of clicks. Your product team, on the other hand, might be focused on improving customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

If you don’t take the product team’s goals into account, you might end up ignoring networks that provide valuable customer feedback through support requests or community discussions. By paying attention to this feedback, you can work together with your team to increase social influence within your organization.

Social media can affect many areas of a business. That’s why it’s essential to understand priorities at different levels within the organization before choosing which networks to focus on.

Where is your audience currently spending their time online?

Remember, successful strategies strike a balance between business objectives and audience behaviors. Focusing too heavily on one at the expense of the other can lead to a strategy that misses the mark.

To determine where your audience is currently spending their time, you should combine consumer research—like the stats mentioned in this article—with your historical performance data. Use a social media management tool to identify which profiles are generating the highest impressions and engagement. If you’re using Sprout Social, you can find this information in the Profile Performance Report.

This report will provide you with a high-level aggregation of analytics so you can get a pulse on the performance of your social profiles. If certain profiles consistently outperform others, now is the time to dig into why.

Where are your competitors most active?

Your last step in the research process is conducting a competitive analysis. By taking a closer look at the social media strategies of your top competitors, you can uncover valuable insights that you might have missed when focusing solely on your efforts.

Social media is an incredible resource for competitive intel. Marketers often tap into social data to assess customer loyalty and pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors’ offerings. If you see your competitors thriving on a particular channel, it’s a strong signal that it’s worth exploring your presence there, too.

If you want to dive deeper into your analysis, consider using a social listening tool. With Sprout’s Social Listening capabilities, you can create Competitive Analysis Topics and break down the data by specific Themes. This way, you discover which messaging from your competitors resonates most with audiences and where they’re making the biggest impact.

Prioritize the right social media networks for your brand

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which social media networks your brand should prioritize. The key is to combine consumer insights, data and your marketer’s intuition to make the best decisions.

Luckily, when it comes to consumer insights, we’ve got you covered. Our survey of over 4,500 consumers reveals what people really expect from brands on social media—and how those expectations vary across different platforms. Dive into the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report to discover which content types your team should focus on and where to direct your energy to create the most ROI.

Get the report