In recent years, the web has evolved from just a place to keep your blog to a full-blown advertising platform that can be used to engage with potential customers and grow your business. The growth of online marketing has been incredible; HubSpot alone says that it reaches 85% of adult Americans each month (in comparison, TV reaches 18% and radio 6%). If you’re wondering what the best online marketing services are, keep reading.
YouTube
While it might not seem like YouTube is “just” a video hosting platform, it’s actually one of the largest and most prominent websites on the web today. As of April 2020, YouTube says it reaches over 2.963 billion monthly active users.
The reason YouTube is so special is that it’s one of the first large platforms to embrace marketing videos. As the platform grew, creators could see the value in creating videos to promote their businesses or interests and build an audience.
On top of that, YouTube has continued to grow its paid channel offerings. While it doesn’t offer the same free options for content creators, it does have some of the simplest and most effective paid options for marketers.
Instagram, the popular photo-sharing app, reportedly reaches over 1.9 billion daily active users as of April 2020. Similar to TikTok, users can post short-form videos, otherwise known as “snaps,” that lead to engaging content such as articles and live chats with other users.
However, despite its popularity, Instagram is a bit more complicated than TikTok when it comes to creating effective marketing videos. For one thing, while TikTok only hosts videos, Instagram allows users to engage with your video content through “likes,” “comments,” and “shares.” Furthermore, while you can get the basics — such as a beautiful profile image — for free on TikTok, you’ll have to pay to use Instagram’s professional-grade features.
Snapchat
Although quite a bit smaller than its competitors, TikTok and Instagram, Snapchat continues to grow incredibly fast. As of April 2020, Snapchat says it reaches over 600 million monthly active users.
Unlike the other two platforms, Snapchat doesn’t host videos, instead, it offers an “instant” video function that allows users to take a selfie, add a filter, and share it with their followers. Essentially, Snapchat lets you create a video quickly and easily, but doesn’t host videos so you have to find a server to host your content.
However, one of the main reasons why marketers have embraced it is that Snapchat gives users the freedom to share whatever they want with their followers without worrying about consequences. While other platforms can limit what you can and can’t post, with Snapchat, you can only set the privacy options for each individual video.
What is Twitter but another of the world’s largest and most popular social media platforms? As of April 2020, Twitter says it has over 336 million monthly active users.
Users on Twitter can create and share short-form videos known as “tweets.” Even before you could make a profit from them, you could see the value in creating and curating content to engage with your audience.
With so many users, and such an easy-to-use interface, it’s no wonder why marketers have shifted some of their content strategies to use Twitter. However, much like with other platforms, while Twitter provides you with a stage to share your content, the burden of driving organic traffic to your website still rests with you.
Yes, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are all owned by big tech companies, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth mentioning in the same breath as Facebook. As of April 2020, Facebook says it has over 2.9 billion monthly active users.
Like its other “big three” competitors, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, Facebook features a massive audience that can be used to promote your product or service. Even before you could make a profit from the platform, you could see the value in creating interesting, engaging content to build an audience.
With so many users, and such a wide reach across social media platforms, Facebook is currently the most important social media platform when it comes to organic traffic and growth.
What’s Next?
Well, now that you know the basics about the five biggest online marketing platforms, you can begin to build a video strategy that will allow you to harness the power of the internet to grow your business.
As you develop your strategy, be sure to keep in mind your target audience and what is the best video format for them. In addition, you want to find a way to measure the effectiveness of your strategy. Fortunately, Google Analytics is available for free on all websites, which makes it easy to track video metrics such as watch time, shares, and comments.
Also, don’t forget about the value of video discovery platforms such as TikTok, Roku, and the Apple TV app. These platforms make it easy for users to find content that is customized to their specific interests, hobbies, or demographics.