The variety of social media platforms available can leave you feeling overwhelmed and possibly wasting valuable time sharing the right type of content, to the wrong audience.
The platform that you choose to use, will largely come down to what you aim to achieve, the type of content you wish to share and who you are targeting.
There are 5 major players, all with very unique factors, some of which can drive more business to your website and ultimately increase sales or just create brand awareness which in turn can lead to sales.
Below, I have listed some key points to take into consideration when creating an online presence.
The platform that you choose to use, will largely come down to what you aim to achieve, the type of content you wish to share and who you are targeting.
There are 5 major players, all with very unique factors, some of which can drive more business to your website and ultimately increase sales or just create brand awareness which in turn can lead to sales.
Below, I have listed some key points to take into consideration when creating an online presence.

Check out GroSocial's infographic for why every business should be using Facebook.
- Over 1 Billion daily users
- Pages, groups and personal profiles
- Targeted marketing using paid ads
- All types of content
- Requires interaction from likers to increase reach to a wider audience
- Great for Brand awareness and promotional material
- Perfect for all types of businesses
Check out GroSocial's infographic for why every business should be using Facebook.

- Over 100 Million members
- Business or Personal accounts
- Targeted marketing via paid ads
- 140 characters or less text, links, images, videos
- Hashtags to widen your audience
- Perfect for short snappy intros
GroSocial goes deeper into the pro's and con's of Twitter, so read before making a decision if Twitter is right for you.

- 400 million + monthly users
- 3.5 billion likes daily
- 80 million photos shared daily
- Business and personal accounts
- Mainly for Images, GIFs and Short Video's
- Paid advertising for targeted audiences
- Hashtags to increase reach
GOOGLE +

- All varieties of content is suitable
- Business,personal profiles and communities
- Helps your business with SEO, local listings, adwords, google analytics, google maps
- Hashtags can be used

- All types of content for business purposes
- Personal, Business and community groups
- Paid targeted advertising
- Great for Headhunters, Job seekers
- Acts as an online CV
- Publish blogs on LinkedIn pulse for a wider audience
If your ideal target market is other business owners, then LinkedIn is for you.
SUMMARY
When you first turn to online media, start off by using one platform and test the waters. Try different types of content, at different times of day.
Gradually increase your platform base and see which works for your business and which ones don't.
Look out for the next blog: How to Read Facebook Insights for Newbies
Gradually increase your platform base and see which works for your business and which ones don't.
Look out for the next blog: How to Read Facebook Insights for Newbies