Social media can be overwhelming. There are dozens of platforms and hundreds of tools and tech for each of them. It’s easy to get lost and wonder, “What does this even do?”
But here’s what many don’t say: You don’t need to master every social media platform. The pragmatic approach is often trying out different platforms and doubling down on the ones that work.
Brands that truly crush it aren’t in-your-face about their products. They’re becoming excellent storytellers who listen just as much as they talk. This guide is here to help you take a good look at what you do and identify the must-have social media spots for your specific business.
eCommerce: Social Commerce & Discovery
Social commerce really hits the sweet spot in connecting businesses with customers in a more engaging way. Shoppers often look to their feeds for purchase inspiration and features that make buying easy. Here are some of the top social commerce platforms and how to make the most of each.
Facebook & Instagram: Social Shopping Powerhouse
Social commerce thrives on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. At either site, building a storefront no longer means concrete blocks, contractors, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It means your customers can tap on a photo of a new pair of shoes or a shiny barbecue grill and get all the product information they need.
Instagram, in particular, has taken the influencer bull by the horns. Businesses that know what they’re doing will make influencer partnerships a significant part of their return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) goals, taking advantage of the 32% of Gen Z-ers and 21% of Millennials who base purchasing decisions on what influencers have to say.
Stop focusing on getting followers to click back to your website. Make Facebook and Instagram direct shopping destinations with high-quality images, compelling copy, and all the product details a potential buyer needs.
Today, no one wants to play connect-the-dots. The goal is to make shopping easy and enticing, and utilizing every aspect of social commerce brings you one step closer to hitting that KPI. Instagram Stories, for example, feature tags and live shopping to provide the interactive twist an on-the-fence consumer might need.
TikTok: Viral Shoppertainment at Scale
The new word “shoppertainment” perfectly captures what TikTok stands for in 2026: an entertaining shopping experience. People come on to TikTok for mindless scrolling, then end up with a virtual shopping cart full of things they didn’t know they wanted (or needed).
On TikTok, any product or service can become a viral sensation. Scrub Daddy’s The Pink Stuff, a robust cleaning paste, did just that and is often repeatedly sold out in physical stores. It’s not just a fluke, either. It’s already home to over 35 million American shoppers, and brands are leveraging its exclusivity.
UK beauty brand Made by Mitchell is a prime example of how TikTok’s top-of-funnel driving algorithm works. MBM was the first UK brand to generate $1 million in just 24 hours, thanks to a combination of strategies, which included marathon live selling, product innovation, a community-first approach, and strategic flash sales. How’s that for viral growth?
TikTok is for the trendy. If you come across popular sounds, memes, and challenges, don’t shy away from them. Being early to a trend can make your reach skyrocket.
On that note, don’t overproduce your content. TikTok viewers love authentic content, so give your content a human touch by featuring people. It builds affinity.
Pinterest: High-Intent Inspiration
Pinterest is your modern-day visual search engine for consumers who know what they’re looking for. People on Pinterest (who are typically older and from more affluent demographics) are further along in the consideration funnel, so they’re only a light push away from purchase.
Brands are becoming more creative in how they present themselves on Pinterest, with big names like Patagonia using boards to mirror their product categories. Did we mention these boards are highly navigable? Patagonia organizes its boards by product type and creates new ones based on current lifestyle trends.
Pinterest is highly visual, yet many overlook the role of SEO for brands. Simple actions, such as using relevant keywords in Pin descriptions and image file names, can influence how often consumers save or repin your boards.
It should go without saying that your pins should be beautiful, but they should also be helpful. Think like a magazine editor more than a social media marketer and align your boards with your audience’s interests.
Running an eCommerce fashion brand? Create seasonal and evergreen boards with a mix of your own products and inspiration images.
SaaS & B2B Tech: Professional Engagement and Thought Leadership
In B2B, social media serves as a channel for lead generation, credibility, and thought leadership by delivering targeted value to niche audiences. B2B buyers conduct extensive research, relying on whitepapers and case studies to inform their decisions. Various platforms play a key role in this process, which we will explore below.
LinkedIn: The Go-To B2B Platform
If you’re in B2B, being active on LinkedIn is non-negotiable. LinkedIn reports that 4 out of 5 members drive business decisions, and 86% of B2B marketers use it as part of their social media strategy.
So, what exactly works on LinkedIn? Thought leadership and expertise significantly outdo marketing materials and product sheets.
Despite what B2B might occasionally dictate, insight, wisdom, and success are bigger drivers than hard sells on products and services. Features like Company Pages and LinkedIn Groups enhance a brand’s B2B presence and are key for lead generation. Ads also perform well, reaching 1.3 billion professionals.
Go hard on LinkedIn’s employee advocacy. Empower your team as advocates by encouraging experts to share their own insights. Have a data scientist? Encourage them to post takeaways from a recent conference. Ask your customer success lead to share a case study. Authentic voices built brand credibility.
Use LinkedIn’s advanced targeting features—they’re underrated. Ads can be pricey, but using them at the right time can capture high-value prospects, even if your posts only get a few likes.
Twitter (X): Real-Time Industry Buzz & Brand Personality
If LinkedIn hosts your business’s boardroom meeting, X acts as the hallway chatter at the conference. X is where B2B companies share product launches, event takeaways, and quick thoughts with the personality they can’t quite convey on LinkedIn.
You’ll see tech folks, media outlets, and thought leaders most active on X. It’s not uncommon to see your feed light up during a tech event.
X is also an unexpected channel for humanizing your brand. Character limits force brevity, often encouraging a more casual tone you wouldn’t typically see from a B2B brand.
Sure, X is for announcements, but don’t treat it like a megaphone. Engage in two-way discussions, especially if you have something valuable to add.
Be human. B2B brands don’t have to be dry, but keep your brand personality consistent. The goal is to get followers to say, “Oh, that company? They’re the most reliable with customer service on X.”
YouTube: Education & Demonstrations
YouTube is the unsung hero of B2B technology. It might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of social media, but every good business knows it’s the go-to platform for how-tos, product benefits, and visual demonstrations.
What you might not realize is how YouTube videos are excellent fodder for other channels—you can embed files on blogs, cross-share them on Instagram or Facebook, and make your overall marketing more multi-dimensional.
A good video is only as effective as you market it. Don’t abandon YouTube SEO. Detailed descriptions, timestamps for sections, tags, and a compelling thumbnail are all part of the equation that makes a successful YouTube video.
Remember to highlight outcomes and benefits—not just product features. For example, if you’re advertising an automated workflow tool, you might entitle your video “How to Cut Manual Workload by 50% Using [Feature].”
Healthcare: Trust, Education, & Community Building
Healthcare marketing isn’t typically associated with social media, but some platforms are useful for education and community building. Healthcare providers must share trustworthy information. Here’s how various platforms can support that.
Facebook: Community Outreach & Patient Education
Facebook is every healthcare brand’s digital town square. Here, the community is a little older and keen to receive information such as announcements about local health events, educational content, and posts that are often literally lifesaving.
Storytelling also keeps people going. Take the Mayo Clinic, which has nearly 2 million Facebook followers. You’ll see high engagement with patient success stories because they ease the sometimes-stressful experience of going to the hospital.
Focus on sharing actionable healthcare tips. You can do so in the form of bite-sized listicles illustrating the benefits of a daily 30-minute walk or an infographic on spotting early signs of a heart attack. They might seem repetitive, but there’s a reason behind it—this information matters, and you can’t assume your audience has medical training. Keep things simple and effective.
LinkedIn: Professional Networking & Employer Brand
While patients make up a significant share of the healthcare industry’s audience, it’s also a massive professional field spanning doctors, nurses, researchers, and administrators. A 2018 study found that 70% of healthcare recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates, highlighting its importance. It’s also a space for employer branding, giving potential hires a sense of the organization beyond just a job listing.
On LinkedIn, a research hospital might share highlights of groundbreaking medical projects or announce partnerships with local universities. These posts do several things: they establish credibility, keep the organization visible across multiple target audiences, and signal to potential hires that this is a place where they can experience cutting-edge work.
Invite other departments from your company to make the most of LinkedIn recruitment. Partner your marketing and HR to do occasional hiring spotlights. Put real people online to signal that, even if your audience isn’t explicitly job-hunting, they can consider your organization as a potential place of work that values its people and their voices.
TikTok: Educating the Next Generation
Surprised to see TikTok mentioned in a healthcare context? Don’t be—it’s the new hip platform for healthcare communication. While TikTok opens the door to potentially harmful information, credible and established healthcare professionals have ample opportunity to debunk medical myths and provide tips that actually work.
@dermdoctor (also known as Dr. Muneeb Shah), for example, is doing just that by simplifying skincare science for his 8 million followers. His slightly humorous and laid-back attitude is also doing wonders for Gen Z viewers who want to encounter someone approachable and a little less traditional.
For medical professionals, it can be tempting to overload your content with as much information as possible, but TikTok is for storytelling and a little humor. Not everyone is going to absorb your content the way you want, but finding ways to keep things trendy and responsibly accurate can make a big impact on content interactions and engagement.
Education & Online Learning: Campus Spirit & Digital Engagement
Social media acts as an educational institution’s community. Through education marketing, schools, universities, and training programs can increase student engagement, provide better customer service, and even recruit hires. Here’s what else you can do.
Instagram: Campus Culture & Visual Storytelling
95% of American teens have smartphones now, so if your campus isn’t on Instagram, they might not be clamoring to enroll. Today’s successful universities rely heavily on slice-of-life content featuring football games, mathlete tournaments, study-abroad adventures, and anything that’ll make a potential student say, “I can totally see myself there!”
The Texas State University’s Instagram is a prime example of “fun, unexpected, and humanizing.” A particularly popular post featured its president, Dr. Kelly, riding a vintage motorcycle in a leather jacket across the football field—marketing on wheels, if you will.
Don’t limit your page to higher-ups and school administrators. Give your students a shot by scheduling occasional takeovers, whether for special events or weekly “day-in-the-life” content.
Be diverse—not just in your student body, but in showcasing their interests. On one day, post a photo of your performing arts center to appeal to theatre enthusiasts and musicians. On another day, publish a carousel of a recent research project in your science lab.
TikTok: Gen Z Recruitment Goldmine
If Instagram is your polished official yearbook, TikTok is an ongoing behind-the-scenes inside joke. Contrary to popular belief, though, TikTok being a goldmine for recruitment isn’t so much about numbers, but relatability.
Use TikTok to provide dorm hacks, campus traditions, or your mascot attending a Spanish class. At the same time, you don’t want to be too random about your content. Louisiana State University, for example, is known for using its TikTok account to push sports and school spirit, while the University of South Carolina has a knack for going viral—plus, they post daily.
While your school’s TikTok account shouldn’t border on inappropriate, it doesn’t need to be as sanitized as you think. You can uphold your school’s values while being silly or candid. If it’s good-natured, don’t shy away from it. Give prospective students (and parents) a dose of reality—laundry room chaos, late-night study sessions, and DIY dorm fixes.
LinkedIn & Facebook: For Parents & Professionals
Parents want to know their children are in good hands, and your university can offer that reassurance on LinkedIn or Facebook. Facebook, as we know it, is the go-to platform for Gen X and Boomers, which covers most parents of college-bound kids. Creating Facebook groups where you answer pressing questions and provide useful information can alleviate many parental woes and reduce the load on your call centers because parents often crowdsource answers.
Now, LinkedIn in education serves a multitude of purposes, including alumni relations, graduate program recruitments, and research updates. Here, tone matters more than it might on Facebook. Parents and professionals want to know your institution is well-run and respectable.
Don’t underestimate how Facebook and LinkedIn might differ from your student-facing channels. Tailor your content where necessary, especially for parents and professionals. A campus safety enhancement announcement might appeal to parents on Facebook, for instance, but it might not be something you’d publish on Instagram.
Real Estate: Visual Showcase & Local Targeting
For real estate businesses, social media is a reliable way to generate leads, build trust, and promote listings. It’s a digital open house where sellers can target home shoppers with immersive visuals. Here’s how else you can leverage social media for real estate.
Instagram: Curb Appeal for the Digital Window-Shopper
Real estate and Instagram are a match made in heaven. IG is every potential homeowner’s catalog of aspirations and every real estate agent’s portfolio. It’s no secret that your feed should look magazine-worthy, but real marketers know you’re selling the neighborhood and lifestyle—not just the property.
Huff Vaugh Sassi is a stellar example of Instagram real estate done right. This realtor sells an entire locale, sharing photos of homes in scenic mountains and peppering his feed with community experiences.
SERHANT CEO Ryan Serhant provides another stellar example of social media done right. The multidimensional brokerage tycoon treats marketing as a product, advertising his in-house film studio as a go-to for producing high-quality property tours.
Contrary to popular belief, top-performing Instagram agents often get highly personal. Potential homeowners love seeing the faces behind the “For Sale” sign, and weaving in personal touches, such as glimpses into family life or behind-the-scenes shenanigans, reminds buyers that choosing a realtor matters just as much as choosing a property.
Find more interactive ways to get your followers involved. Selling is great—it’s the point—but it isn’t everything. Use Stories to engage with your audience. Poll them, quiz them, or just document your day.
Make use of Highlights, too. Save useful buyer tips and renovation ideas so visitors get value from your profile right from the first visit.
Facebook: Local Reach & Community Connections
Facebook may not have the glitz, glam, and flashiness of Instagram, but it’s the best place for community engagement. Here, you’ll find higher-intent buyers looking for properties in specific locations, which is where targeting tools come in handy.
Facebook boasts sophisticated targeting for real estate companies, with UK brands cutting print spending and seeing a 10% CTR on social ads. Have a list of contacts who’ve already interacted with your ads? Facebook lets you upload them for retargeting.
Shy away from turning your Facebook Page into a local listings dump. It’s helpful, but it isn’t engaging. Get balanced. Intersperse listings with blog posts or carousels about the local real estate market. Upload social tips for first-time homebuyers or share interesting neighborhood hotspots.
TikTok: New Frontiers for Real Estate Content
TikTok may seem a little unconventional for real estate, but it’s already proven itself in other industries. This platform provides the perfect format for home tours and can hook viewers more dynamically than a static slideshow.
That humanizing strategy we talked about? Works here! Real estate group fäm Properties uses TikTok to demystify complex investment laws, posting educational content to position itself as a transparent partner to future buyers.
Show off more than just the property. Incorporate the neighborhood and environment to truly sell the lifestyle. Include some B-roll driving through the local park or shopping in the local district. Give viewers additional context they might not get from a static format.
Beauty & Wellness: Influence, Inspiration, & Community
The beauty sector relies heavily on social influence, with beauty companies seeing an average of up to 3.6x return on influencer spend. Thus, a strong presence on social media is a must for any beauty brand. Here’s what you should know.
Instagram: The Heart of Beauty Influencer Marketing
Instagram is central to beauty marketing, with brands featuring quick tutorials, product releases, and occasional influencer takeovers. Engagements result from showing tangible results and asking users to share their own looks.
It’s clear influencer marketing in the beauty sphere isn’t going anywhere, either. In 2025, the global influencer market officially surpassed $22 billion—a clear indication that brands are increasingly investing there.
But community building is just as central. Glossier makes a standout example of Instagram as a beauty platform that involves its buyers. By using Instagram to co-create, the beauty giant took 400 customer comments to formulate their best-selling Milk Jelly Cleanser.
Embrace influencer collaborations—even, and especially, the up-and-coming ones. Don’t shoot for numbers. Find an influencer who embodies what your brand is about—you’ll come across as more authentic.
Keep your audience talking. It’s not about showing off your products anymore. Beauty lovers want to show off how they use your products. So ask them to! Encourage them to try a #LipColorEveryDay or share how they create a day-to-night look.
TikTok: Where Small Brands Become Big & Wellness Goes Viral
Rich editing tools on TikTok help new and small brands create standout content, like quick transformations and participation in viral challenges, to skyrocket awareness. Topicals is one such brand that achieved massive growth on TikTok by publishing skin neutrality content—a tactic that explains the science of ingredients without shaming users who are unfamiliar with it. It also hooks its audience through trendy Y2K aesthetics. Bright colors, ephemera for that scrapbook feel, and playful graphics that stand out against a sea of white.
But not everything on TikTok is outlandish or comical. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find how many people relate to a user casually talking to the camera about how a $7 acne cream eliminated their pesky pimple overnight. So engage with these users—let them know you hear them.
TikTok is often overtaken by trends, so you’ll want to hop on the bandwagon. Smartly. Find ways to incorporate your products and services into trends, but don’t overdo it. Color within the lines of relevancy.
For example, many TikTok users use the “Oh no, oh no” sound to play on mistakes. If you run a skincare brand, you might use it to tell users what often-overlooked skincare no-nos they might be committing.
YouTube: Long-Form Tutorials & Deep Dives
YouTube is the OG of online beauty tutorials, so there’s no sense in leaving it. In 2018 alone, there were 169 billion views of beauty-related YouTube content.
An underrated strength of YouTube is its searchability. Yes, YouTube is a search engine, and it was probably staring your brand in the face for quite some time! If someone is typing “10-minute morning yoga routines” and you own a yoga brand, you’ll want your video to show up on the first page.
Consider breaking your content into a series. It’s engaging, it’s practical, and it does wonders for longevity. You might consider a Beginner’s Guide series or a Trend Watch playlist, putting various cult-following products to the test. A series encourages subscriptions and helps you plan content systematically.
AI-Driven Services: Tech Thought Leadership & Humanizing AI
It’s a new era of marketing, and everyone is feeling it. But what is your brand doing about it? Is it embracing AI? If it isn’t, it might be time to. AI-driven services are everywhere. In software, consulting, and other products with AI integrations.
Brands using AI face a unique challenge: building trust and feeling real. Here’s how you can use AI on social media without being intimidated or concerned.
LinkedIn: Showcasing Innovation & Building Credibility
For AI companies, LinkedIn is the prime stage for innovation credibility. Here, you’ll reach decision-makers open to collaborating on a safer, more impactful AI environment.
This is a great place to share success stories and case studies. For example, you might put out a whitepaper with the title” How [Client] Increased Efficiency by 60% Using our AI Tools.” It’s the perfect way to gather feedback and attract peers who want to achieve the same results.
Use LinkedIn as a credibility marker, especially if you’re already using it as a thought leader. While it’s a bit self-promotional, successes can encourage responsible AI use and give skeptics a bit more peace of mind.
Don’t just share a link with a one-liner, either. Go all out. Publish entire articles about your wins and progress, and treat them like mini blogs immortalized on your page.
Twitter (X): Tech Community Engagement & Real-Time Updates
X has been the watering hole for tech companies since it was Twitter. Now, that also covers AI companies. X is a great place to discuss AI ethics and trends. Use your company voice to contribute thoughtfully. Walked straight into a debate about AI transparency? Take the bull by the horns and start an #AITransparency thread.
But how do you even begin to engage? X’s list feature is an underrated way to create a private list of influencers, policymakers, and VIPs to engage. Engage meaningfully. See an interesting take on AI ethics? Quote-tweet it with your perspective. Over time, the big players will start noticing your input. That’s how you build relationships.
YouTube: Demystifying AI with Visual Explanations
AI is undeniably complex and intangible. It’s going to take more than a few discussions to get to the bottom of any topic. But you can do that with YouTube and showcase your tech in action.
YouTube is a godsend for explainer videos, demos, walkthroughs, and leadership talks. It’s the ideal platform for replacing whitepapers you don’t want to write. You can replace them with an informative and entertaining mini-series instead.
The Bottom Line
Across industries, social media has become an indispensable tool for connecting with audiences. The key is to ensure each platform shines in its own way, whether through LinkedIn’s professionalism or TikTok’s playfulness.
Need help considering where your business can double down? Our social media team can help you meet your audience where they are and engage them creatively and authentically.
