Typology of social media: current state and uses
Today, social media is essential in any marketing strategy. However, there are so many different platforms that it's not always easy to navigate them. To use them effectively in your digital strategy, you need to understand their characteristics and potential. So, what are the different types of social media available online today, and what are their uses? Here's an overview of thesocial media ecosystem , mapped out by our agency.
Social media vs. social networks: the differences
It's impossible to discuss this classification without distinguishing between social media and social networks, which are often confused. So, what lies behind these two terms, which are admittedly quite similar but nevertheless have some differences?
Based on the concept of digital communication, social media include sites, applications or platforms whose primary function is to offer spaces for interaction (conversational and social) to internet users.
Through social media, you can, among other things:
- publish content (articles, short news items, photographs, videos, PDF files)
- share your point of view
- interact with other users
- participate in participatory/collaborative
- to aggregate information for redistribution.
As for social networks, their original purpose is to connect users. Thus, social networks constitute only one part of social media. It should be noted that blogs, discussion forums, and wikis are indeed social media platforms, but are not necessarily classified as social networks.
Social media: an overview of web services today
To gain even greater clarity in this ever-expanding digital world, our social media agency So Bang has decided to compile a list of social media platforms categorized by service type. Let's get started!
- Social networks
Today, among the most popular are Facebook and LinkedIn. Their objectives? To create a community ofsubscribers and fans in order to develop networking.
Thus, each social network offers followers the opportunity to interact with each other. Simply creating a profile allows users to connect with others or share content (videos, photos, files, etc.). For a business, collecting data through social networks presents a fantastic opportunity to enrich its database of high-quality leads.
- Social bookmarking platforms
These platforms help internet users save and share references (web bookmarks, online articles, bibliographies) or index them using keywords (tags). Scoop.it and StumbleUpon, for example, allow you to list and tag your favorite topics. A valuable service for marketing monitoring. Others, like Google Alerts and Feedly, are more useful for your online reputation. The choice is yours!
- Wikis
These are collaborative websites that provide editorial content for everyone. Anyone can then participate in its creation, development, and updating. The best-known example is Wikipedia, an online collaborative encyclopedia that allows contributors to define terms, write historical accounts, celebrity biographies, or even current events.
- Participatory websites
These platforms allow users to express their opinions, vote, and participate in surveys (Monkeysurvey, Doodle) , as well as fund a cause or project. Crowdfunding is a growing trend on the web. Its principle? To raise funds from a large number of individuals. The most successful platforms are Kickstarter, KissKissBankBank , and WiSeed.
- Professional websites
Professional social networks appeal to businesses, associations, and both employed professionals and those seeking employment. Today, they play a vital role in recruitment processes and in boosting careers. As platforms for exchange and networking, ideal for B2B development, these services offer a fantastic networking opportunity. Leading the pack is the American giant LinkedIn.
- Enterprise social networks or ESN
(ESNs) are reappropriating the codes of social media within an organization. Access is restricted to individuals who belong to theecosystem (executives, managers and employees, clients, suppliers, service providers, partners, and subcontractors). The objectives? To facilitate communication between different stakeholders, optimize project management, reduce the burden on messaging systems, and offer collaborative tools (Cloud Office 365 services).
- Sharing services
which are very common in the social media landscape, are used to upload and share photos, videos, and audio content. The most popular are YouTube, Flickr , and Deezer.
- Blogs
A blog is fundamental to your social media strategy because it connects your digital presence to your website. Like a mini-site, it's characterized by the regular publication of articles and content (posts) by an author. Editorial content is displayed chronologically, from newest to oldest. And, as an added bonus, the blog helps optimizeyour website for search engines.
- Microblogs
Microblogs are somewhere between blogs and instant messaging/ SMS. Aggregated feeds are lighter than in traditional blogs and can contain the entire message. Distribution can be restricted by the publisher to a select group of people. Brevity and relevance are key in microblogging, as these platforms limit themselves to short texts deemed relevant by their publishers. The best-known example is Twitter , with its 280-character limit.
- The forums
It's a "social" service that allows public conversational exchanges on a given topic. In the form of discussion threads or messages, the discussion forum offers several uses: finding an answer to a question, sharing information, and advice.
- Collaborative platforms
More than just a task board, these free and paid collaborative tools improve teamwork and project management. Accessible to a specific community (employees, clients, partners, shareholders, etc.), they allow for the immediate synchronization of all changes and progress on shared projects. Trello and Monday.
- Social messaging
These free social messaging apps are used for voice calls, video calls, and sending instant messages to others. The most well-known? WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat not forgetting Viber and WeChat/Weixin. Always useful for taking the hassle out of traditional messaging apps!
A solid understanding of social media is essential to grasping the intricacies of social marketing when working with a social media agency like So Bangexperts community management are there to support you at every stage of your project, helping you identify and select the best platforms with "social" features the most suitableyour brand's DNA.