When someone mentions the words “Social Media”, the first thing that comes to mind is Facebook. But, there are so many more networks out there that benefit both the person and a business. They can advance business brands, accommodate paid advertising and properly achieve your business potential.

Social media promotes business products and names and reaches out to the entire world. A combination of several of these social media platforms should be used in business marketing. But, you only need the ones that are appropriate to your niche.The importance of social media for their overall marketing strategy. Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram is imperative for businesses as it assists with their social proofing.

Before trying a new product or service, most people will check out a business’ website and social media to determine their credibility.

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Before you decide which Social Media platforms to use, you will need to educate yourself on what each one does, who it reaches and why people use it in order for you to take the time to develop your presence on the site.

Here are just a few of the more popular Social Media sites. This basic list should help with the decision on which ones to use.

Facebook: Facebook is the biggest and the best. It has 1.6 BILLION users and it connects with literally everyone everywhere around the world. It is easy to use for both personal and business and it posts pictures very well. Your presence is required on this platform.

Twitter: Twitter has now changed to allowing you to use 280 characters, but it is still a great forum for succinct messages and shining up your editing skills. Like Facebook, Twitter allows you to accumulate followers and connect with prospects. You can start conversations, answer questions and post links to web pages and pictures. Photos or pictures easily attract followers on this site.

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YouTube: This platform is known for its video sharing and media. Over 1 billion website visitors a month come to this site to watch everything from funny short videos to movies to TV shows. You can also rent movies. YouTube is the second most popular search engine behind Google. It is very user friendly. You can post your own videos or training films and create your own following. Many stars such as Justin Bieber were discovered via YouTube.

LinkedIn: Professional networking is very important in today’s job market.The website is available in 24 languages and has over 400 million registered users. It is designed for people who are looking to make connections with people in their industries or for other professionals in their field. It is also an excellent platform for searching for employment.

Google+: This platform is perfect for its SEO value. Everything you post on G+ is immediately indexed by Google. Therefore, influencing search engine results positively. The better your SEO the better the chance that your websites will appear on the first page of Google.

Instagram: Instagram is a visual smorgasbord! It is now owned by Facebook with over 400 million users. It is a standout because of its unique filters and offers varied subjects from travel to crafts, food to art. Its users get followers by using pictures and videos and editing them with filters that create award winning photos.

Pinterest Pinterest is a digital bulletin board where you can post content in a category and others can “pin” it to their own bulletin boards. It is great for every kind of business and offers a wide spectrum of shared interests, subjects and training. The boards are best received with photos or pictures.

Tumblr: This platform lets you use several different post formats such as quote posts, chat posts, video and photo posts as well as audio posts.You are not limited to the type of content that you can share.

Flickr: This is an online image and video hosting platform. It is perfect for users who share photographs.

Reddit: Many people like this social platform because they can vote for its content newsworthiness. Users can submit content with direct links and text posts. Submissions with the most positive votes appear in the top category on the main page.

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Snapchat: Snapchat is both a messaging platform and a social network. It is an image messaging application. It is a picture or video you send through the application to one or more friends. It will disappear after a maximum of 10 seconds.

Quora: Quora is a question-and-answer site where questions are asked, answered, edited and organized by its users.

Vine: This is a video sharing social media application that allows users to share 6-second video clips with their followers. Businesses of all sizes are having tremendous success using the service.

BizSugar: BizSugar is a social networking platform for small business owners, entrepreneurs and managers. The platform allows users to share videos, articles, blog posts, podcasts and other content. It also allows users to view and vote on submissions by other members.

StumbleUpon: StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that finds and recommends content for its users. Its features allow users to discover and rate Web pages, photos and videos that are personalized to their tastes.

When using Social Media for business, you always want to bring the viewer back to your own website. The key to spreading your online visibility and establishing business credibility is a well-built website that reflects your products and services in an organized, modern, and aesthetically pleasing design.