There’s no question that social media marketing plays a key role in a business's digital exposure. With 4.89 billion social media users worldwide, it’s an effective way to get your brand seen and heard. 

But before you begin to craft a strategy, you first need to familiarize yourself with the top social media marketing platforms businesses use, starting with knowing what they are.

Leading the list of the top social media marketing platforms is none other than social media giant Facebook. According to recent research, as many as 21.5% of businesses use the network as part of their marketing efforts.  

This comes as no surprise, considering its massive 2.94 billion active user base. Plus, not only is it the most popular social media platform, but it’s also one of the networks on which consumers spend the most amount of time.

The second-most popular social media marketing platform is Instagram, which, together with Facebook, is owned by Meta. Survey results show that nearly one in five (18.2%) of marketers use the popular photo- and video-sharing app to promote their business. That said, if you’re thinking about using Instagram for business, make sure to do your research into the platform’s average engagement rates so you know what benchmarks to set for your brand.

Third on the list of the most popular social media marketing platforms is WhatsApp, which is also owned by Meta. 16.6% of marketers actively promote their businesses there.

In terms of usage, these top social media marketing platforms mentioned so far have quite a large lead over their competitors. After WhatsApp, YouTue is in fourth place. It is used by 13.6% of businesses to market their brand. 

Following YouTube are LinkedIn and Twitter, the fifth- and sixth-most popular social media marketing platforms, respectively. 13.2% of brands include LinkedIn in their marketing strategy, while 10.9% of them use Twitter. Unlike the other platforms on this list, LinkedIn is intended more for the professional space and caters to the corporate world more than the other networks.

After Twitter is Telegram in seventh place, used by 8.4% of marketers. Facebook Messenger follows in eighth place. With the number of people using Facebook Messenger increasing year after year, it’s no wonder it ranks among the top social media platforms for marketing, used by 7.7% of businesses.

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