Storytelling is a cornerstone of any successful digital marketing strategy. One of the best media channels for telling stories, of course, is social media. But not all social media platforms are created equal.
Understanding the nuances of each social media platform—user demographics, usage trends, formatting requirements, and engagement data—is crucial to being seen and heard on social media.
One of the biggest social media marketing mistakes we see businesses make is posting the same exact content to each platform. Sure, there are rare instances where this is appropriate…but, for the most part, your content will need to be optimized on a platform-by-platform basis. Some obvious examples include:
Adjusting post content based on user demographics
Removing links from Instagram post content, and directing users to the link in your bio instead. Pro tip: don’t forget to actually update your bio link, or add the link to your landing page!
Adjusting hashtags based on platform-specific trends: for example, the hashtag #analytics gets used about 1–2 million times a month on Facebook and Instagram, but almost 7 million times a month on LinkedIn (and there are countless other examples of this).
Resizing graphics: Instagram posts look best at a 1:1 ratio, but Facebook and LinkedIn graphics should be slightly wider.
Making sure graphics and videos display properly on each platform: What looks great as a carousel post on Instagram might look awful as a collage on Facebook or LinkedIn—and might not translate to X at all, considering they have a 4-photo limit.
Adjusting character count for platforms like X, which limits you to 280 characters.
So, yeah. Each platform has its nuances—and we’ve outlined everything you need to know below, including the advantages and disadvantages of each platform, user demographics, hashtag best practices, recommended post length, formatting considerations, and more.
Facebook: The All-In-One Hub
With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a powerhouse in the social media realm. Its diverse user base spans various demographics, making it an ideal platform for businesses looking to connect with a broad audience. However, precise targeting filters and re-targeting capabilities also make it possible to target niche audiences. For many reasons, being on Facebook is an absolute must for businesses of any size, in pretty much any industry.
key statistics
- Facebook is the 3rd most visited website in the world, behind only Google and YouTube
- 70% of American adults use Facebook, spending an average of 30 minutes per day on the platform
- 55% of Facebook users follow or research brands and products on the platform
user demographics
- 56% of Facebook users are male, and 44% are female
- The largest age group on Facebook is 25–34 year-olds, comprising 24% of users, followed by 35–44 year-olds, which make up 18% of Facebook’s users
- Users age 65+ are the fastest-growing age group on Facebook
- 7% of 18–25 year-olds plan to delete their Facebook profiles, and 25% intend to spend less time on the platform
engagement data
- The average engagement rate for a Facebook Page post is .07%
- Photo posts get the most engagement, followed by status updates, video posts, and link posts
post formatting
- Facebook supports text-only posts, single photo posts, photo collages, video posts, link posts, stories, and reels
- The best size for a Facebook post image is 1080 x 1350 pixels; shared link images should be 1200 x 628 pixels
- Technically, there is a 63,206 character limit for a Facebook post…but best practices is to keep your post as short as possible. Some gurus say that posts with 40 characters or less generate the highest engagement. Best practice is to shoot for 80 characters or less, and let your image, video, or link do the rest of the talking.
hashtag use
- Use 2–3 hashtags per post
- Remember that Facebook users cannot follow specific hashtags, like they can with other platforms
- Also remember that it can be difficult to track how users are interacting with your hashtags because around 45% of user profiles are private
Instagram: Visual Storytelling at Its Finest
As a visual-centric platform, Instagram is perfect for businesses with compelling visual content. Boasting 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram caters primarily to a younger demographic. Birdhouse Marketing and Design capitalizes on this by creating visually stunning content that resonates with millennials and Gen Z.
key statistics
- Instagram is the 3rd most popular social media network, the world’s second favorite platform, and the 4th most-visited website in the world
- 64% of Instagram users use the app to browse for funny or entertaining content
user demographics
- 85% of Instagram users are below the age of 45
- Only 2.6% of Instagram users are over 65 years old
- Instagram is the platform of choice for those aged 16–34; this age range makes up 61% of Instagram’s user base
- 52% of Instagram users are male; 48% are female
engagement data
- 63% of Instagram users check the platform daily
- The average engagement rate of an Instagram post is .60%
- Instagram users spend an average of 12-hours a month on the platform
post formatting
- Instagram can support single photo, carousel, and video posts, as well as stories and reels
- There is a 2,200 character limit, but experts recommend posts be 138–150 characters long
- The ideal photo/video size is 1080 x 1080 for a 1:1 aspect ratio, but you can also post horizonal images at a ratio of 1.91:1 or vertical images at a ratio of 4:5
- Stories should be 1080 x 1920 pixels (a 9:16 aspect ratio); videos will play in increments of 15-seconds for up to a minute
- Reels should also be 1080 x 1920 pixels, but display differently in feeds and grids; best practice is to keep important information as close to the center as possible—in a 4:5 ratio for feeds and closer to 1:1 for grids
hashtag use
- While you can use up to 30 hashtags in a post, studies show that posts with just 3–4 hashtags get the most engagement
- Make sure hashtags are relevant to your post content
The App Formerly Known as Twitter: Real-Time Engagement
X—formerly known as Twitter—with its 330 million monthly active users, is the go-to platform for real-time updates and engagement. Over the last year, X has undergone major changes (including its name and ownership), and is more controversial than pretty much any other social media platform…except for maybe TikTok. While CEO Elon Musk says that X is poised to break even after 4+ years of posting massive losses, only time will tell.
We often get asked whether X is worth posting to anymore, and this is what we usually say: definitely at least HAVE a profile, because, if nothing else, this is beneficial for SEO and building a broad web of digital backlinks. Post as it makes sense, but I wouldn’t hang your social media marketing strategy on X—brands are pulling back from advertising on X, and even stepping away from the platform completely. Musk’s recent endorsement of an antisemitic post has caused this mass exodus to gain even more traction.
If you do choose to include X in your social media strategy, here’s what you need to know:
key statistics
- X is the 6th most popular social media platform, and 7th most favorite platform
- X is the most popular social network for news and current events; 61% of people go to X to stay up-to-date
- 33% of X posts are political in nature
- 89% of people use X to find new products, and 50% of people aged 16–24 use X to do brand research
user demographics
- 42% of Americans between the ages of 12–34 use X
- 63% of X users are male; 37% are female—this is the largest gender gap of any social media platform
engagement data
- Users spend about 4.4 hours per month on X
- The average engagement rate of an X post is .05%—ouch!
- Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets
- Using video in a post increases engagement by up to 33%
post formatting
- X supports photos and animated .gifs
- The ideal image size is 1600 x 900 pixels, which will display well on both desktop and mobile applications
- Images/gifs must be 5MB or less if uploading via mobile device, or 15MB or less if uploading via desktop
- You can include up to 4 images per post; they will display as a collage and not a slideshow or carousel
- There is a 280 character limit on X posts (but you already knew that)
hashtag use
- The 280 character limit on X posts definitely limits the amount of hashtags you can fit; 1–2 hashtags are recommended
- Follow trending hashtags, and join the conversation when it’s appropriate to do so
LinkedIn: Professional Networking, Redefined
LinkedIn, with a modest 875 million users, is widely-known as the social network for professionals. Ideal for B2B marketers, it allows businesses to establish thought leadership and build professional relationships. For B2C businesses, LinkedIn is a great platform to build up your network of referral sources.
There are two primary types of LinkedIn profiles: personal profiles and company pages. Company pages are more passive, while personal profiles are where the action happens. After all, on LinkedIn, people want to interact with people…not companies. That’s not to say you don’t need a company page—you absolutely do. It reinforces your business’s credibility, increases the size of your digital footprint, enhances SEO performance, and keeps your employees connected. But leveraging the personal profiles of your company’s leadership team will always be more fruitful.
Our team likes to re-share updates from our company page to our professional profiles, adding a few sentences of personal insight on whatever the topic is!
key statistics
- LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter
- LinkedIn ads generate 200% more engagement than on other social media platforms
- 50% of brands are perceived as being “higher quality” after advertising on LinkedIn
- 40% of B2B marketers claim that LinkedIn is the most effective lead-gen platform, and 77% of content marketers say they get the best organic results on LinkedIn
user demographics
- 51% of LinkedIn users have a college degree
- 57% of LinkedIn users are male; 43% are female
- 60% of LinkedIn users—it’s biggest age group demographic—are between the ages of 25–34; this is followed by the 18–24% age range
engagement data
- 16% of U.S.-based LinkedIn users login to the network every day, and 49% of users login at least once a month
- 40% of LinkedIn users engage with a company page every week
- Posts with images get 2x as many comments
post formatting
- LinkedIn supports text-only posts, single image posts, multi-image posts, single video posts, image and video carousels
- LinkedIn also enables article, e-Newsletter, and document-sharing, as well as milestone celebrations and polls
- The ideal image size for a LinkedIn post is 552 x 276 pixels; there is a 5MB maximum image size
- Image carousels support up to 20 images
- Ideal post length is about 25 words, or up to 140 characters
- Ideal video length is 30-seconds
hashtag use
- Experts recommend using 3–4 hashtags
- Capitalize each word in your LinkedIn hashtags (i.e. #BirdhouseMarketing instead of #birdhousemarketing)
- Shoot for two general hashtags and two specific hashtags in each post
- Bury your hashtags at the bottom of your post; don’t integrate them with post content like you might on Facebook, Instagram or X
Advantages & Disadvantages: A Comparative Analysis
The Best Way to Maximize Different Social Media Platforms…
Social media marketing isn’t rocket science, but it is time-consuming as all hell. Curating content, adjusting it for each platform, creating graphics and resizing them for each network, doing platform-specific hashtag research, figuring out which time of day to post to your various accounts…
It’s exhausting.
And it’s why small businesses across the country count on us to manage their social media marketing for them.
Our team includes several social media strategists with specialized experience on each of these platforms—as well as on TikTok, YouTube, and even Threads. From crafting eye-catching Instagram content to curating intriguing and captivating Facebook captions, we combine our efforts and work together to ensure your business presents with a consistent and impactful online ubiquity.
If you’d like to level up your social media game—or if you’d simply like to get started with social media marketing—we are happy to jump on a call to discuss your goals, and brainstorm some ideas to help you achieve them. Get in touch with us using the brief form below!
