Given how many people use the internet and social media (70% of Americans use Facebook [1], 80% of Latvians are online [2]), companies can't afford to be absent from various social networks. While you should take advantage of these media, that doesn't mean you need to be on every social network. It's important to invest your time and effort in platforms where you have the best chance of reaching and engaging with your target audience. We offer some key insights about the most popular social networks today.
FACEBOOK.COM
Facebook is the third most popular website in Latvia [3], with an average daily audience of 694,000 people. It is the largest social network in terms of both visibility and user base. With 2 billion active users, Facebook is an excellent channel for connecting with your existing and potential customers. In 13 years, Facebook has grown from a small website where students could connect with each other into a place where anyone can quickly and easily connect with family, friends, celebrities, organizations, and companies. This social network offers a wide range of opportunities for any organization or company, making it a good starting point for your business, regardless of your industry. Maintaining a Facebook page is easier and offers more opportunities than other social networks.
TWITTER.COM
Twitter isn't as popular in Latvia as it once was, but it has 328 million active users and is one of the top ten most popular websites in America. This social network allows messages up to 140 characters long. Twitter also offers the ability to post images, videos, polls, and hyperlinks. Given Twitter's type and number of users, it's an excellent channel for customer service. For example, if you're active and visible on this social network, your customers will seek you out to voice their complaints or praise your excellent service. If you can provide engaging content, Twitter can be a great channel for quickly reaching even those who don't follow you, as sharing is very easy and convenient. You can add hashtags to your posts to make your content easier to find. When using Twitter, it's important to maintain balance—don't share only your ads or hyperlinks to your website. Also share other information you find important and interesting, not just about your business.
INSTAGRAM.COM
Like Pinterest, Instagram is an image- and video-based platform. This social network is owned by Facebook and has over 700 million active users. In Latvia, Instagram is the 11th most visited website, with an average daily audience of 235,000 [4]. Most users post images related to food, travel, fashion, and similar topics. Instagram is known for its filters and image and video editing capabilities. Before registering a business on this social network, it's important to note that Instagram is a mobile app, meaning images and videos can only be posted and edited from a phone. Artists from various industries tend to stand out on this site, and this platform may not be right for you, depending on your industry. It's crucial that the person maintaining your company profile has an eye for interesting details and at least some skill in taking visually appealing, high-quality photos. Images are tagged with hashtags so others can find them using specific keywords.
SNAPCHAT.COM
Snapchat is another image-based mobile app known for its disappearing content. Its 150 million users can send photos and videos up to 10 seconds long to their friends and post content to their public stories, which disappear after 24 hours. Over the past five years, the app has evolved to offer messaging, image storage, and event publishing. Given that messages posted here disappear after a certain period of time, there's less pressure on companies to create perfect messages with perfect images and content. However, please note that stories created by a company and available for 24 hours can only be seen by those who follow the company's profile.
YOUTUBE.COM
YouTube is a video platform with over a billion users. People can watch, upload, rate, share, and comment on videos. YouTube is the second most visited website in Latvia, with an average daily audience of 706,000 [5]. Owned by Google, the site has seen significant changes in over ten years. For example, users can now earn money through Google AdSense by publishing their videos. Of course, profit is only possible when a video is viewed a certain number of times. Many companies and individuals have their own channels where they publish engaging, interesting, or educational content. Incidentally, your company doesn't need its own channel to advertise on this platform. It's full of vloggers, known as YouTubers, who regularly publish engaging videos and have large audiences. Companies often partner with these vloggers to promote their products or services.
1 – http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/ 2 – http://www.irlv.lv/2016/2/24/80-латвийских-жетелей-удались-в-Интернете 3 – http://www.tns.lv/?lang=lv&fullarticle=true&category=showuid&id=5163 4 – http://www.tns.lv/?lang=lv&fullarticle=true&category=showuid&id=5163 5 – http://www.tns.lv/?lang=lv&fullarticle=true&category=showuid&id=5163