Top 5 Social Network alternatives to Facebook
Don’t worry if you missed the Facebook ship, there are plenty of other social networks for you to explore;
Instagram – is a photo sharing site. Over 90% of people of users are under the age of 35, which makes it an attractive platform for the many apparel, entertainment, and media brands focused on the 18- to 34-year-old age bracket. Instagram also allows cross network sharing which is great if you’re a lazy networking!
LinkedIn – is a Professional social networking site with approximately 80 million users worldwide. It’s good for maintaining professional contacts with colleagues, and clients. 24% of 50- 64 year olds use LinkedIn, which makes it the only networking site to be used more than the 18- 29 year olds (15%).
Pintrest – 80% of its users are female. Pinterest users already account for 48.2% of all social media sharing on iPads. They’re primarily sharing fashion, food/drink-related content, along with family and parenting-related items. Pinterest is set to become one of the big four top social networks.
Twitter – is very fast paced, and of the moment. Whilst it does not have the same numbers as Facebook, it is a great way of engaging people and driving traffic to your content; whether its your sales pages, a blog or another social media network.
Google + – in the US, it’s really taken off. So if you are targeting a US customers; it’s the place to be. Cross the Atlantic, and Google + is a morgue. As an online business owner, you are should already be using Google Analytics to monitor your web performance etc. Many businesses have a landing page on Google +, this is primarily because of Google Places (soon to be replaced with Google Local) which allows business to verify their location on Google Maps. Since Google now owns Youtube, you can also link your Google + account. Google + is about putting your mark or staking your claim on the Google search engine. It may not yet improve your search results, but it does give you a online presence. At present, there are a number of teething problems with Google + which I am sure they will sort out. Google ,as a brand is engulfing the internet. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing? Are we putting too many of our eggs into the one basket? Time will tell.
Positive Zest 