Creating a marketing strategy can be intimidating, especially if you’re a new business owner or creating a plan for the first time. There are various types of marketing, including digital, email, mobile and direct, so it can be difficult to determine which one is right for you and your business. If you want to simplify the process while getting the most out of your efforts, it’s a good idea to start with one type and assess its success before adding on or trying other methods. This is especially true if you have a small budget to work with.

One type of marketing that has the potential to have a high rate of return and is one of the more budget-friendly options is social media marketing. Read on to learn more about the different social media platforms and how to choose the right one for your business!

One of the first things you should do when creating a social media marketing strategy is select the right platforms for your business. To do that, you need to know who your target market is, such as millennials or 30 years old and over. Once this has been determined, you should look at each social network’s primary user base. Check out the following stats for what I like to call “the big three” to help you choose the best platform for business.

Social Media Marketing Statistics

As of June 2017, research into Facebook showed:

The platform has more than 2 billion users; 1.15 billion of whom are daily active users
Females make up 53% of them
87% of their user base is 18-29 years old
The number of users over age 30 is not far behind
When it comes to Instagram, WordStream reports:

The platform has more than 600 million users
Most of its users are between the ages of 18 and 29
More than half of all top brands are on the platform

Twitter data shows:

The platform has approximately 317 million monthly users
Most of its users are male
The most popular age range is 18-29
While Twitter does have one of the highest number of monthly users, it’s said to be one of the most oversaturated social media channels as more than half of its users never post updates. However, this doesn’t mean users are not interacting with other profiles or consuming content.

How to Select the Best Social Media Marketing Platforms

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are three of the most influential platforms in social media marketing. If you’re looking to target users of all ages, or specifically ages 30 and over, Facebook is your best bet. This is the best option for sharing longer content, such as blog posts, infographics, or adding longer text to go with your updates.

If you’re looking to target millennials and young adults, Instagram and Twitter would be ideal for you. While you don’t have to choose just one, (it’s good to be on multiple channels), if you had to choose between Instagram and Twitter, it would come down to if you want to focus your efforts on males or females between 18 and 29. Both platforms are ideal for sharing photos and videos, although Instagram has higher engagement and view rates with videos.

Hopefully these statistics will help you determine the right social media strategy for your business!