Social networks have become a new way to integrate into society. It's the new way to be socially active in a community. Connecting and networking has always been of great importance in people's lives. Today more than 3 billion users are connected to communication or information exchange platforms around the world. In this article we have grouped the most popular networks. You can use them to promote your business on the internet.
The list of the most popular social networks for your business on the internet
Social networks are not only a communication tool but also a very powerful business tool. Today a social network has become a tool capable of expanding your business activities all over the world. Several platforms have integrated a complete commercial system for companies, this system has set up paid and free tools to facilitate the purchase and sale of products or services.
1-The most popular social networks for sharing content for free
It is by far the most popular social network on the planet and obviously the most used. Facebook is the first network to surpass the 1 trillion user threshold with more than 2.6 trillion connected per month. Founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckenberg, Facebook quickly became a communication and information sharing product. Facebook offers the ability to add mages, videos, and allows businesses to create their own pages or groups for free without going through documentation. Without forgetting that the artists also have the possibility thanks to the creation of pages to make themselves known. Unfortunately Facebook has lost the trust of these users by selling personal data to politicians in order to be able to manipulate the elections.
Twitter is a social network that allows you to share small publications called "tweets", these tweets are limited to a number of characters and must not exceed 280 characters. This network has evolved and also allows you to share videos and images with the possibility of retweeting them. Twitter also allows you to promote your business with a company profile. Without forgetting that a good SEO will always depend on the platforms that link to your company's site. More than 152 million users visit Twitter daily.
Reddit is one of the most popular social networks on the internet. This is a general news community site. Reddit is easy to use, it has a sharing system that allows users to submit articles or links. Reddit's voting system has made it popular and different from other social networks. The proposed links that have had more votes by users are the links that are displayed on the home page. This site already has more than 330 million users.
Tumblr is a very popular social network. This platform allows you to perform microblogging. Tumblr is a platform created in 2007 which quickly evolved into one of the most attractive social networks. You can share articles, links, images and even videos. Tumblr allows you to have your own blog while staying connected to the network using a single interface. Tumblr is ideal for promoting your business and getting backlinks to your website. This social network has become huge with more than 500 million users per month
VK or VKontakte is a social network of Russian origin but also available in all languages. Vk is very similar to Facebook even in its interface and organization. It is the most used social network in Russia according to the Alexa popularity ranking. It is also the most popular site in Kazakhstan and Belarus. VK is visited by more than 500 million users per month.
Another fairly popular social media platform is Scoop.it. Based in San Francisco and developed in English, Scoop.it was created by two French people in 2010. It is a site that is moving towards professional trending article sharing. Scoop.it is a site that can help you promote your company and gain popularity while using the free services available. You also have the possibility of conquering new markets, especially in America. Not to mention that 75 million users visit this site every month.
Mix is the official replacement for the social network StumbleUpon. It was one of the most popular sites among social networks. Mix has a recommendation system that helps you discover new websites. An algorithm Depending on your interests will find for you the sites that may interest you. The use of this system is totally free and allows several companies to promote their business in the world. With Mix it's around the sharing of articles that it revolves, you can "mix" any article on your page.
One of the most popular new social networks -We Heart It – (we love it). It is a social network based on sharing articles and sharing images. The concept behind We Heart It describes itself as “a place where you keep the best things like your heart”. Users can collect all the beautiful things on the internet and make a collection to share with other users. More than 45 million visits per month.
Flipboard is one of the most popular social networks. Users can select the feeds that interest them by choosing the magazines of their choice. This new system is very practical to receive only useful information. Flipboard also gives you the option of publishing your own magazine with the articles of your choice. This social network presents a better way to sort and publish information. Flipboard has earned its place among social networks with more than 145 million users per month.
Plurk is a free social network that has grown in popularity with over 100 million visits per month. The community around Plurk is very active with more than 3 million publications every day. Plurk is a sharing and micro-blogging site at the same time. Available in 45 languages and on all mobile platforms. We can say that its design has made the difference compared to other networks.
Ello is an online social network since March 2014. It is a new concept of social network without advertising. It is a site for sharing articles and images and is very suitable for publishing Art. With over 1 million daily users. Ello promises users that their data will never be used for commercial purposes.
LiveJournal is a social network that offers you the possibility of creating a newspaper for free on the internet. Users use this service to create a journal of their daily life, much like a private journal. Except that these newspapers are open to everyone. The only problem is that sometimes these newspapers turn into a political opinion.
Quora is a social network that organizes questions and answers. Users ask questions and the system asks other users to answer questions according to their profiles. Quora's algorithm is very advanced to find answers to every question. It also ensures an exchange between users by the possibility of commenting on subjects and also by private messaging. Quora is also an article sharing site with a voting system that allows a topic to rise in popularity. For a company it is possible to answer certain questions while offering your service or your website.
2-The most popular social networks for sharing photos and videos for free
Instagram is one of the most popular social networks on the planet. It is a photo and video sharing application launched in 2010. But since 2012 the application belongs to Facebook. This application is available in 25 different languages and compatible with all platforms. Sharing is not only done on mobile, but its use on a computer can be done easily with chrome or firefox extensions. Over 500 million visitors use the Instagram app every day.
Snapchat has become one of the most popular social networks in the world with over 200 million snaps posted per day. You can share photos and videos on all iOS and Android mobile platforms. the application was developed by students from Stanford University located in California. The application is free and it is still the property of Snap inc.
Pinterest is a cross between a social network and an image collection site. The Pinterest algorithm is very powerful, just add the link of a web page and the image of your choice is automatically integrated into your collection. Users can register and share their collections freely. For example, you can make your business known by adding photos that point directly to your website. It has become one of the most popular photo sites with over 320 million monthly users.
Flickr is a very popular photo sharing site. But it is mostly used by professional photographers to share their creations. After Yahoo Flickr is now owned by Smugmug since 2018. Flirck alone hosts 13 billion photos and is trusted by 22 million photographers worldwide. The site is free but also offers paid features.
DeviantArt is a very large community of artists online. Everyone has the opportunity to register for free and publish their photos or illustrations or even literary. The site has over 36 million members and over 200 million creations. Creators can also collect donations to provide free resources. DeviantArt is a great place if your business operates in the arts.
ArtStation is the new home of artists and it has become the reference especially for 3D and illustration. It is Ali Baba's cave of works and creations related to films and video games. Artstation is not a discussion forum but an interface that helps artists to make themselves known in the world. It is one of the few social networks that have not been banned in China, so there is great artistic diversity there.
Behance is one of the most popular artist community sites in the world. In this network, creators can post their creations freely and for free. The giant Adobe is the owner of Behance so it will always be quite close to the artists and we will always find new things there. As of 2018, Behance has over 10 million artists.
Dribbble is a social network for sharing artistic works just like Behance and DeviantArt. Designers use this platform to have a professional online portfolio. Dribbble's interface has become one of the greatest interfaces that allow artists to share their creativities online. More than 5 million artists visit this site each month.
500px is one of the most popular photography social networks. This site based in Canada was founded by Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny in 2009. 500px is a very large community gathered around a system of exhibition, inspiration and even sale of photographs. Photographers can have a portfolio and host an unlimited number of photos for free, except an advanced statistics system is charged. One of the few unblocked community sites in China.
Imgur is quite simply the king of buzz on the internet. It is the ideal social network to discover the magic of the internet. It's also where you'll find the funniest posts and pictures. Imgur is arguably the best site for finding animated GIFs with entire stories behind each one. This site has become one of the most eventful social networks on the internet. Its Alexa rand is #67 worldwide and #27 in the US which is huge.
Unsplash is without a doubt the benchmark for royalty-free photo sharing websites. Based in Canada Unsplash hosts over 1 million free photos with over 120,000 photographers who have contributed to this extensive library. This community helps artists to make themselves known in the world and thanks to this social network you can find lots of high resolution photos for free.
3-The most popular for sharing videos:
YouTube is not only a social network for sharing videos but also one of the best marketing tools available on the internet. The future of marketing is undoubtedly in videos because it is more convincing than a simple image with a title. The chance of selling a product is 10 times greater if this product is presented in videos. YouTube remains the market leader and no other site has managed to keep up. To promote your business, you need a YouTube channel, period.
Dailymotion is Youtube's direct competitor. It is the only French company offering video hosting on the internet on a large scale. Dailymotion was able to survive the presence of Google's video giant thanks to its flexibility and very good video quality. For long videos it must be recognized that Dailymotion is more flexible in accepting videos without respecting copyright.
Vimeo is a social network that offers video sharing and viewing. The site was launched in 2004 by the American group IAC. Vimeo is geared more towards user-made content like tutorials and short films. more than 150 million users have trusted Vimeo. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo does not offer unlimited hosting but does offer a paid subscription to have more space available.
TikTok, is a social network application for sharing videos between users. Also called “Douyin” this network was launched in September 2016 by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Tiktok has become the video buzz social network par excellence. Arguably one of the most popular social networks with over 1.5 billion downloads on Google Play.
4-Free communication tools on the internet
Skype is the most popular communication software on the planet. It was the software that turned the computer into a telephone device. It allows these users to communicate for free anywhere in the world with internet only. Skype also allows you to make calls on fixed and mobile telephone lines, but this service is chargeable. This software is the ideal tool to ensure free communication in your company and reduce your business expenses. Skype is used by 200 million people every day.
Viber is a free communication software that has evolved very quickly in recent years. Viber can provide messaging across all platforms instantly. It allows you to communicate on computer, tablet or smartphones by text messages but also by audio/video call. Viber has over 260 million monthly users. It is also considered as a means of distributing advertisements which can help you to make your business known on this social network.
WhatsApp Messenger is a mobile communication application. Whatsapp can provide an encrypted instant messaging system over the internet and mobile networks. This application has quickly evolved into a very popular social network through the group system that can bring users together according to their interests. In 2014 Whatsapp was acquired by Facebook and since this acquisition this application has found itself at the center of many criticisms about data privacy.
imo is one of the most popular social communication networks. It is a free application with an integrated social networking system. imo presents itself as a good alternative to WhatsApp especially after the criticisms regarding data privacy. The imo application can ensure very good quality audio and video calls and also offers the possibility of sharing photos and videos. It is a very practical application to ensure good communication between friends or colleagues within your company. or business.
Discord is one of the most popular social networks with over 250 million users. Discord is a Multi-platform interface compatible with all Windows, iOS and Android devices. It was originally designed for the community of video game players. This communication software has evolved very quickly in other sectors such as e-learning and internal corporate communication. Discord is undoubtedly the ideal communication tool for your business.
Google Hangouts, another fairly popular free communication interface. At the beginning this tool had known the name of “video-bubbles” developed by Google to ensure video conferences. The ease of use of this communication system has given rise to a whole social network of users. You can send messages and start audio / video calls and join lots of groups for free. Unfortunately Google announced that this service will end in 2021 but it is still functional until now.
Slack is a professional communication platform. Its software is a mix between a social network ensuring collaboration between members and a project management tool. Slack started out as a gaming app called Tiny Speck. Launched in 2014 by Stewart Butterfield and Eric Costello, Slack is now valued at $20 billion.
Telegram is a secure, cloud-hosted messaging and sharing app. Telegram is not just a communication application but a whole social network through hundreds of thousands of private groups. Users can exchange files with unlimited size of photos and videos. Telegram is the ideal application to ensure good communication in an online business.
LINE is an application launched in Japan in 2011. It provides instant messaging and voice and video calls. In 2014, LINE announced the launch of its Music Streaming service on its mobile interface. In 19 months Line reached 100 million users. Line has also integrated commerce tools for selling products while ensuring payment from the same mobile interface.
11-Measure
MeetMe is a social network that can help you find new people around you who share the same passions with you. This application provides free communication between users and information sharing. More than 100 million people are already in this network why not you?
5-For Professionals and companies
LinkedIn is the most popular professional social network on the planet. This platform was launched in 2002 from California. Linkedin today has more than 660 million members in 170 different sectors and 19 million users in France use this network. To succeed in your business on the internet, you must essentially go through Linkedin.
Viadeo like Linkedin is a very popular professional social network. Online since 2004 Viadéo was created in France. It is a platform that facilitates communication between professionals for free and that allows you to build a whole network of companies around your activity. In 2018 Viadéo had more than 7.5 million members in France.
Meetup is a social network created in 2002. Meetup allows members to create groups of like-minded people. One can find for example groups of sporting, cultural, technological activities and even groups of political exchange. Group administrators organize events that allow members to meet in real life. Meetup has some free and some paid features. Meetup has over 20 million members and over 200,000 groups.
Crunchbase is a commercial network of private and public companies. It is a platform that aims to gather as much information as possible about each company. Crunchbase with the agreement of registered members provides detailed sheets that include financial information, investments, founding members and many other very useful information. Crunchbase is an essential tool for gathering market information before getting started.
SlideShare is a social network for sharing documents and information between users. Launched in 2006 Slideshare alone hosts more than 15 million documents available for free by members. With over 30 categories of documents to explore Slideshare has become the most popular documentation site with over 60 million users. In 2012 Linkedin announced the acquisition of Slideshare inc.
6-Authorstream
AuthorSTREAM is a network for sharing PowerPoint presentations between users. AuthorSTREAM offers a fairly robust interface for sharing PowerPoint slideshows more easily and many other formats. A presentation uploaded to AuthorSTREAM appears with a unique URL that can be shared anywhere on the internet. Users have no limit on the number of files they can send.
XING is a professional network of online companies which mainly focuses on the German, Swiss and Austrian market. Xing has over 14 million members. Since Xing is in French, French companies have started to integrate this network. Xing has become one of the most popular professional networks in Europe.