Which social network should you choose to promote your products in 2022?

Social networks have become essential in e-commerce. They are part of your communication strategy and let you build a special connection with your target audience. It’s important to choose the networks best suited to your business. Here’s a guide to help you make your choice and use them effectively.

Choosing a social network to sell on: the golden rule

You absolutely need to keep your social networks active, which takes time. Don’t spread yourself thin by linking your store to a multitude of networks that you’d then leave dormant, because the effect is completely counterproductive. If your communication is sparse and poor, you give a bad image of your business.

Choose a reasonable number of networks and manage them seriously. Your communications need to be regular and valuable. If you post just to fill space, with content of no interest, your followers will leave, because you’re cluttering their feed.

If you want to use multiple networks but don’t have the time to manage them, you can turn to the services of a community manager. You can also look into the world of influencers who use their own social networks to promote your products.

Choosing the right networks for your business

The social networks best suited to your business depend on several factors: your activity, your goals, your target audience, and the type of content you want to share. Social selling means using social networks in the sales process. They let you identify users who match your target audience and convert them into customers. Their goal is also to drive more traffic to your store’s website.

Social networks are a unique medium for connecting directly with your target audience. It’s up to you to build these privileged relationships. People buy more easily from someone they have a direct, cordial relationship with. You also benefit from the virality of social networks, as well as the mass effect. Building a community is a very powerful lever.

1 — Facebook, the long-standing leader among social networks

Facebook, now rebranded Meta, has already been declared dead a thousand times by its detractors. It’s one of the long-standing social networks, has survived every newcomer, and remains one of the most popular networks in France and worldwide.

Facebook seems unavoidable. It lets you publish every format — text, images, and videos — which are then shared. You can even go live to interact with your community in real time.

Facebook welcomes all types of profiles, regardless of age or gender. The network mainly attracts the 25-49 age bracket, but younger users keep signing up, letting you reach a broad audience.

The Facebook strategy

Your goal is to build a community and keep it loyal. You need to encourage people to comment and, above all, share your posts. Facebook helps you inform your followers about your products and generate traffic to your e-commerce site.

You have access to effective and fairly simple tools:

• Facebook Ads to precisely target internet users by gender, age, location, interests, etc.;
• the Facebook Pixel analytics tool to measure the effectiveness of your advertising;
• the Facebook Shops e-commerce platform to sell directly on the network;
• Facebook Insights to analyze your audience through your post statistics;
• Facebook IQ to observe customer behavior and get marketing advice to apply on the network.

2 — Instagram, the image-focused social network

Instagram was created in 2010 and acquired by Facebook in 2012. It’s the social network dedicated to imagery and is especially popular among young people. You can sell your products directly there.

The Instagram strategy

Instagram lets you showcase your business and your visual identity. You can highlight your products and use relevant, popular hashtags to expand your audience.

Instagram offers you some interesting tools:

• Instagram Shopping to add a product link directly on your photos;
• Mojo to create original stories;
• Instagram Business, linked to your Facebook account, to run ads on Instagram;
• Favikon to target, evaluate, and contact influencers;
• the InShot mobile app to easily edit your videos.

3 — Twitter, if you’re in sync with the news

Twitter is very distinctive with its 280-character limit. It’s the number one social network for information and thrives on exchange and sharing. Twitter reaches few users under 25. Half its audience is aged 25 to 44.

The Twitter strategy

You don’t sell directly on Twitter, but you build your e-reputation. Your goal is to build a solid, credible brand image. You can use visual content — images, GIFs, and videos — to stand out, but it’s best not to post purely commercial information. Twitter’s tools include:

• Twitter for Business to create and run your ad campaigns;
• Tweetdeck to manage your account;
• Buffer to schedule your tweets;
• Audiense Connect to build your own chatbot and interact with your followers;
• Talkwalker to use Twitter as a monitoring tool.

4 — LinkedIn, the social network for professionals

LinkedIn is dedicated to B2B. You should publish serious content with hashtags to boost your visibility. Your goal is to write articles that generate engagement and comments.

The LinkedIn strategy

LinkedIn is designed for prospecting by growing your network. It’s the place where you promote your business by proving your expertise. You showcase your company and increase your visibility. The network is also a way to establish valuable monitoring.

LinkedIn’s tools are:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator for online prospecting;
• Campaign Manager for advertising;
• Waalaxy to automate your prospecting;
• Shield, a monitoring and analysis tool.

5 — Pinterest, the image-based social network

Pinterest is dedicated to imagery, like Instagram, but it plays an even bigger role in influencing purchases. Indeed, Pinterest is widely used by internet users to make purchases. Most of its users are aged 35 to 49.

The Pinterest strategy

Pinterest helps you attract an audience and redirect it to your commercial website. You showcase your products, then use the network’s tools to sell. Be sure to publish only high-quality images.

Pinterest’s tools include:

• Pinterest Business for advertising;
• Shop The Look to redirect to your store;
• Try On to use augmented reality and let users try on products.

6 — TikTok and its short videos

TikTok is a Chinese network launched in 2016. It saw explosive growth and appears to have maintained strong momentum since. The network features short videos whose virality can multiply your reach. TikTok’s audience is very young, with 75% of French users aged 13 to 24.

The TikTok strategy

TikTok lets you organize contests and challenges aimed at expanding your audience. It offers a few effective tools:

• TikTok Analytics to track your account’s performance and better understand your audience;
• TikTok Shopping, an e-commerce feature in partnership with Shopify that lets people buy products directly from the platform;
• TikTok Live to interact in real time.

This list of social networks is of course not exhaustive. You can pick one or two from this list, then look into more specific networks that fit your business better.