With well over half the world’s population connected to the internet, it should come as no surprise that over 3 billion internet denizens use social media platforms each month. While you’re probably familiar with the big players, such as Facebook and Instagram, you may have overlooked some other worthy social media platforms for e-commerce in 2018.
If you’re serious about growing your business’s online presence, it’s vital that you stay ahead of the curb and establish your brand wherever your customers flock. So, let’s take a look at three underrated social media platforms that can boost your business.
- Google+
Since its launch in 2011, Google+ has struggled to keep up with competitors like Facebook and Youtube. However, while Google+ isn’t necessarily the best social media platform for individuals, it has a number of fantastic benefits for small businesses. One of those is SEO.
Google Plus is linked with Google My Business, an intuitive parent platform that utilizes Google’s powerful search tools and maps to make your brand more visible to local customers. Bringing your business to the top of local Google search results can have a huge impact on views, with sites listed on the first page of Google search results accounting for over 50% of clicks from all users.
Another benefit of Google+ is its Collections feature. Humans are visual creatures, so regardless of what type of business you’re running, potential customers will engage more readily with you if your social media presence is image heavy.
Google+ Collections provides a fantastic way to create collections of images and categorize them so like-minded users can easily access the images that interest them. You can see a great example of this on photographer Lori Janeson’s Google+ page, where images are cleverly sorted by theme, making it easy for fans to find what they’re looking for.
- Pinterest
Pinterest is another platform that’s strength comes from its visual nature. When people browse Pinterest, they are doing so to get inspiration, whether it’s for baking, decorating or even choosing a wedding dress.
When users browse Pinterest, they are doing the equivalent of window shopping and collecting quotes to inform their purchases. According to research undertaken by eMarketer, Pinterest comes second only to Facebook in how heavily it influences consumers’ purchasing decisions. That’s why it’s vital that your business has a presence on Pinterest.
Get started on Pinterest by creating boards that relate to your business and following the boards of users that like goods or services similar to your own. Through this interaction, you’ll build up a stronger following on Pinterest and encourage other users to repin your images and increase your exposure.
- Quora
Quora probably isn’t the first platform that comes to mind when you’re planning your business’s social media strategy. However, as a question-and-answer platform, Quora is a highly underrated tool for establishing yourself as a leader in your industry.
The key is to avoid overt self-promotion. By answering questions in your field presented by customers and competitors, you can build a name for yourself and prove your worthiness in the field.
Quora is also useful for market research, as you can monitor the most common questions within your area and identify areas for improvement. For example, if you run a clothing label and find many questions about why plus-sized clothing looks outdated, you have already identified a gap in the market you can address.
With dozens of popular social media platforms to choose from, it can be tempting to stick to big players like Facebook and Twitter. However, if you really want to make your company shine, it’s important to do your research and determine what lesser-known platforms like Google+, Pinterest and Quora can do to boost your business.
