“Social media is the center of everything. It's the place where trends are born, news
stories break, and cultural ties are formed." – 2025 Sprout Social Index™
In 2025, more than 5.4 billion people worldwide will use social media, showcasing its unprecedented potential for marketing and sales. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn have evolved into the primary channels for communication, news consumption, shopping, and brand discovery for many consumers. Embracing a data-driven social media strategy can unlock lucrative customer engagement opportunities for your business.
While social media moves quickly, a well-planned strategy can help your brand successfully harness the power of social media. When you know your audience well and use the right tools, you can spot cultural shifts and changes in consumer behavior. This proactive approach allows you to build strong, lasting connections, increase brand visibility, boost customer interaction, and drive conversions.
This article will discuss social media marketing fundamentals, including platform selection, content strategy, influencer partnerships, and tools to help your business succeed.
Know Who You're Talking To: Start with Audience Personas
Before you decide where to post or what to share, you need to understand who you're trying to reach. You do this by creating audience personas. A persona is a fictional profile based on real data representing each target audience segment. It includes details like age, education, location, interests, goals, and challenges.
Personas are vital marketing tools for both B2B and B2C customers. If you serve B2B customers, focus on factors like industry, job title, and decision-making power, in addition to demographic data. If your customers are B2B, read more about their interests, needs, and characteristics here.
Personas help you focus your social media strategy and messaging more effectively. To create a persona, start by analyzing your existing customer data. Look at who buys from you, how they heard about your brand, which marketing channels they use to engage with your brand, and if they follow you online currently. Interview key customers or send out short surveys to learn more about what they care about and how they use social media.
If your audience includes multiple segments, build a persona for each. For example, a hotel in a major tourist destination like Mexico or Hawaii may have two target audiences: business travelers for conferences and couples planning a destination wedding. A local craft brewery may appeal to both beer lovers and families looking for an informal and fun place to have dinner. ). These details are important because they’ll inform your decisions on the best platforms and messaging to use.
Now that you've outlined who you're trying to reach, the next task is finding out where and how they spend their time online. Matching your platforms and content to your personas will improve engagement and help convert attention into action. Instead of guessing what might work, you'll be creating content that's more likely to resonate.
Consider these questions:
- What social platforms do they use most?
- What kind of content do they consume or interact with?
- What problems are they trying to solve?
- When are they most active online?
Choosing the Right Platform
Not every platform will make sense for every business or every audience segment. When you align your platform choices with your personas' habits and preferences, you can focus on where they'll have the most impact.
The following is a breakdown of major social media platforms, who uses them, how they're used, and what types of content perform best on each as of February 2025. Use this breakdown to help align each platform’s strengths with your audience and goals.
84% of social media users maintain an Instagram profile, more than any other network. While it's especially popular among Gen Z and Millennials, its reach spans across age groups. Most users visit Instagram to stay in touch with friends and pass the time, but brand interaction is common, too. In fact, about half of all users engage with brand content on the platform daily.
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Monthly users: 2 billion
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Most active users: Gen Z and Millennials
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Top content: Short videos, static images, and influencer content
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Average time spent: 32 minutes per day
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Brands see the most engagement here, and 44% of users wish brands posted more often.
Facebook remains a key channel, even 20 years after its launch. Around 83% of social media users have an active profile. Most people use Facebook to stay connected with family and friends, but it's also a top source for news and current events. Nearly 44% of users engage with brand posts on the platform daily.
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Monthly users: 3.06 billion
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Most active users: Gen X and Baby Boomers
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Top content: Text posts, images, and short videos
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Average time spent: 32 minutes per day
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Still the go-to for news and customer service, especially among older generations.
YouTube
In the U.S., YouTube now ranks as the most widely used social media platform, surpassing Facebook in popularity. About 78% of social media users have a YouTube account. YouTube is the most popular channel for long-form video content. Brand engagement is also strong. 32% of users interact with branded videos daily, and nearly half do so weekly.
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Monthly users:5 billion
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Most active users: Millennials and Gen Z
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Top content: Long-form videos followed by short clips
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Average time spent: 49 minutes per day
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A popular search engine for Gen Z, making discoverability and SEO essential.
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Use it for storytelling and in-depth content, then repurpose it for other platforms.
TikTok
TikTok's rapid growth has been fueled largely by younger audiences. While 68% of all social media users have an account, usage jumps to 86% among Gen Z and 73% among Millennials. For Gen Z, TikTok plays multiple roles. It's where they search for information, keep up with trends, and discover new products. It's also their leading source for news and recommendations. Over half of TikTok users engage with branded content at least once daily, and another 30% interact with brands weekly.
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Monthly users: 2 billion
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Most active users: Gen Z and Millennials
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Top content: Entertaining short videos, influencer content, and giveaways
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Average time spent: 47 minutes per day
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Excellent for brand discovery and viral moments, but consistency and tone matter.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Despite heated debates about the future of X, around 48% of social media users still use it for fast, real-time updates, making it a popular choice for news. Others use it to follow influencers, stay entertained, or stay connected to friends. Regarding brand interaction, users favor educational content and promotions like contests and giveaways. About 35% engage with brand posts daily, and another 23% do so several times weekly.
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Monthly users: 611 million
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Most active users: Millennials and Gen X men
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Top content: Text posts, short videos, and images
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Average time spent: 30 minutes per day
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Known for news, updates, and real-time interactions.
Pinterest attracts about 43% of social media users. More than half of those users say Pinterest feels more positive than other social networks. This upbeat experience contributes to the growing demand for brand presence. 25% of users say they'd like to see more businesses on Pinterest.
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Monthly users: 553 million
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Most active users: Gen Z and Millennial women
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Top content: Visual inspiration and product ideas
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Average time spent: 14 minutes per day
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Often overlooked by brands
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A top platform for product discovery and purchase intent.
While job searching remains a top reason people visit LinkedIn, users also come to the platform for networking, industry insights, and skill development. When businesses post on LinkedIn, audiences expect content that informs and supports, such as product education, community building, and accessible customer service. Users aren’t looking for overly polished or jargon-heavy messaging; they want brands to be helpful and authentic. Around 25% of users engage with brand content daily, while many others check in weekly or biweekly.
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Users: 1 billion
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Most active users: Professionals ages 25–44
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Top content: Text posts, static images, and professional development
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Average visit: 11 minutes
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Best for B2B companies and professional engagement.
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Focus on helpful, professional content that builds trust.
Pro Tip
Prioritize the platforms that align with your business goals and where your audience is already active. Your main objective should be to connect with the people who value what your product or service offers. Managing too many channels at once can water down your message, reduce content quality, and strain your internal team. A focused approach leads to stronger results and a more sustainable strategy.
Build a Strategy That Encourages Engagement
Effective social media begins with understanding your audience and uncovering the best platforms to reach and interact with them. The next step is creating thoughtful content optimized for the channel and connected to what your audience cares about.
Content That Works
Creating content that feels real, useful, and engaging is vital to building and retaining a social media audience. Consumers are quick to scroll past content that feels impersonal or off-brand. Instead, they want to hear from brands that sound human, understand their needs, and offer value in exchange for their attention.
Authenticity and Relatability
According to the 2025 Sprout Social Index™, authentic and relatable content are the top two traits consumers look for in brand posts. Overly polished or sales-heavy messaging will fall flat, especially among younger audiences. Brands that succeed on social media show a more personal, behind-the-scenes view of their people, culture, and values.
Short-form Videos
Video remains the most engaging format across platforms. HubSpot's 2024 State of Marketing Report revealed that short-form video offers the highest ROI among social media marketing strategies. Your followers are more likely to view and share short videos (under 60 seconds) on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. Use short form clips to highlight product features, answer common questions, or share quick tips.
Partner with Creators Your Audience Trusts
Creating content with influencer partners can expand your reach quickly, especially with Gen Z and Millennials. Look for creators who align with your values and have active, loyal audiences. People often feel a stronger connection to influencers than celebrities, so these relationships can lead to higher trust and stronger ROI.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
When customers create and share content featuring your brand, it builds credibility. UGC serves as social proof, making potential buyers more confident in their decisions. UGC also tends to perform better in terms of engagement and click-through rates. Read more about the power of user-generated content on social media here.
Polls. Q&As, and Giveaways
Interactive features on social media increase follower engagement and provide you with direct feedback from your audience. Polls and Q&As on Instagram Stories, LinkedIn, or X help you learn about your audience's interests and needs in real time. Giveaways are highly effective for growing your audience and improving brand visibility. Brands that run giveaways see faster follower growth on average. Relationships are built around experiences and actions. Interactive content builds stronger relationships by encouraging two-way communication, helping your audience feel seen, heard, and involved.
Content to Avoid
Even well-intentioned posts can miss the mark if they don’t align with what your audience actually values. Here are the types of content that tend to underperform or even turn followers away:
Overly Polished or Staged Posts
Polish doesn't always equal performance. In most cases, production value and product-centricity are markedly less critical to consumers. It's okay for your posts to look real and spontaneous. It'll make your brand feel more approachable.
Heavy or Salesy Product Pushes
If every post is a sales pitch, audiences will tune out. Social media users are more likely to follow and engage with brands that offer value before asking for a purchase. Educational, entertaining, or community-focused content builds trust over time, and trust is what drives conversions. For example, a skincare brand sharing tips for maintaining healthy skin will likely outperform one that only posts about product discounts.
Trends that Don't Match Your Brand
It's okay to skip a viral trend if it doesn't fit with your brand. Viral content can deliver reach, but not always for the right reasons. Jumping on trends that don't align with your brand's tone, values, or audience can feel forced and make your fans question your authenticity. Not every meme or challenge is worth participating in. If a trend naturally fits your message and tone, use it with intention. If not, focus on original content that reflects your brand's identity. For more information about building an impactful and consistent brand story, click here.
Inconsistent or Off-Brand Messaging
Always, always, always stay true to your brand. Audiences expect consistency from the brands they follow. Posting content that contradicts your values or feels out of character weakens trust and can lead to confusion. A consistent voice and message across platforms reinforce brand recognition and reliability.
Ignoring Cultural and Societal Context
It’s important to consider the broader social climate before sharing content, especially if it includes luxury, humor, or potentially sensitive cultural themes. Audiences are quick to call out brands that appear tone-deaf. An extreme example is the infamous Fyre Festival. Marketed as an ultra-luxurious music festival on a private Bahamian island, it was promoted by influencers like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, who failed to disclose they were paid. Ticket prices ranged from $1,200 to over $100,000, but attendees arrived to find disorganized logistics, poor accommodations, and a lack of basic necessities. The stark gap between the promotional content and the reality sparked widespread outrage and legal fallout.
Pro Tip
Create social media content with purpose and intention. Have a specific goal in mind. Listen to your audience and respond to their comments and questions. Create moments that feel personal. Also, stay informed about current events and cultural conversations. Thoughtful storytelling, timing, and sensitivity go a long way in maintaining audience trust.
Use the Right Tools
Managing social media effectively requires more than posting regularly. The right tools can help you stay organized, maintain consistency, and adapt quickly using analytics and data-informed insights.
Scheduling and Automation
Platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Later allow you to schedule posts in advance, keep a consistent publishing calendar, and manage multiple accounts in one place. This is especially useful if your team is small or handling several platforms at once.
For the best results, schedule posts at the times and on the days when your audience is most active. Each platform has peak engagement windows, and aligning your schedule with those habits can significantly boost visibility and interaction.
However, automation doesn't replace the need for real-time interaction. Audiences expect timely responses to comments and messages, especially on platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram, where consumers use these platforms for customer service inquiries. Being available to reply and interact at the moment is crucial to fostering deep customer-brand relationships.
Social Listening Tools
Tools like Brandwatch, Mention, and Sprinklr help track brand mentions, trending topics, competitor activity, and industry conversations across social platforms. Social listening allows you to keep a pulse on public sentiment. It helps you identify potential issues before they become problems. You may also discover opportunities to join relevant conversations. You'll stay informed about how the overall marketplace truly feels about your brand and products, which isn't always clear from fan likes and comments alone.
Analytics and Performance Tracking
To understand what resonates with your audience, use analytics tools beyond basic metrics. Many platforms have built-in insights, but tools like Sprout Social, Google Analytics, and Rival IQ provide deeper reporting on engagement, reach, clicks, and conversion. Monitoring these metrics regularly helps you refine your strategy and focus on what generates results.
According to Sprout Social, most marketing leaders will measure these social media metrics in 2025:
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Engagement rate (likes, shares, comments)
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Follower growth
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Website traffic from social
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Click-through rate
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Share of voice
We discuss the most critical metrics to track, including reach, engagement, and conversion, in a recent blog.
Stay Current, But Stay True to Your Brand
Your social media presence will significantly affect how your brand is seen, heard, and trusted. It helps you connect and engage with your customers in real time. When you share content that matters to them, you can influence their purchasing decisions and overall loyalty to your brand.
If you're starting a social media strategy from scratch, take it one step at a time. Choose the right platforms. Define your voice. Listen more than you talk. And above all, be consistent. We've outlined a detailed step-by-step process for building a social media strategy here.
When managed strategically, social media can become one of your most effective marketing tools. However, social media is just one part of a robust and integrated marketing strategy. Our expert team at Phase 3 can help you integrate a data-driven social media strategy into your public relations and brand-building strategy. Contact us today to learn more.