20 Most Popular Social Media Platforms And Apps

Whether you are an experienced social media marketer, a marketer looking to try into social media marketing, or a company owner looking to leverage social media, it’s essential to know the most popular social media sites around. This will enable you to engage with the right people, maximize your brand reach on social media, and reach your social media goals.

 

Of course, it isn’t just about the size of the social media platforms. It’s also whether the social media site is the best fit for your business and you. Does it suit your brand image? How many social media sites can you handle at once?

 

Let’s dive into the 21 most popular social media sites.

 

1. Facebook 

Facebook is the largest social media site around, with more than 2 billion people using it every month. In addition, more than 65 million businesses use Facebook Pages and more than 6 million advertisers are actively advertising their business on Facebook, which makes it a completely safe bet if you want to have a presence on social media.

 

2. YouTube 

YouTube is a popular video-sharing platform where users watch a billion hours of videos daily. To get started, you can also create a YouTube channel for your brand to upload your videos for your subscribers to view, like, comment and share.

 

3. WhatsApp 

 

WhatsApp is a messaging app used by people in over 180 countries. Initially, WhatsApp was only used by people to interact with their friends and family. But, gradually, people started communicating with businesses via WhatsApp. 

 

4. Messenger 

Messenger is used for messaging features within Facebook, and since 2011, Facebook has presented Messenger as a standalone app by itself and hugely expanded on its features. Businesses can now advertise, send newsletters, create chatbots, and more on Messenger. These features have given companies a myriad of new ways to connect and engage with their customers.

 

5. WeChat 

WeChat started from a messaging app, just like Messenger and WhatsApp, into an all-in-one platform. Besides calling and messaging, users can now use WeChat to shop online and make the payment offline, make reservations, transfer money, book taxis, and more.

 

6. Instagram 

Instagram is an image and video-sharing social media app. It enables you to share a broad range of content such as photos, videos, live videos, and stories. 

As a brand, you can own an Instagram business profile, giving you rich analytics of your profile and posts.

 

7. QQ 

QQ is an immediate messaging platform that is very popular among young Chinese. Besides its quick messaging features, it also allows users to decorate their avatars, play online games, watch movies, shop online, blog, and make payments.

 

8. Tumblr

Tumblr is a social networking and microblogging site for sharing text, links, photos, audio, videos, and more. People share a broad range of things on Tumblr, from cat photos to art to fashion.

 

9. Qzone 

Qzone is another China based popular social networking platform, where users can write blogs, upload multimedia, play games, and enhance their own virtual spaces.

 

10. Tik Tok 

Tik Tok is a growing music video social network. It was the world’s most downloaded app in the initial quarter of 2018, beating Instagram, Facebook, and other social media apps.

Users can record videos for up to sixty seconds, edit them, and combine music and special effects.

 

 11. Twitter 

Twitter is a social media site for entertainment, news, politics, sports, and more. What makes Twitter different from many other social media sites is that it strongly indicates real-time information — things that are happening right now. 

 

12. Reddit 

Reddit, also known as the top page of the Internet, is a platform where users can submit links, questions, and images, review them, and vote them up or down. Besides submitting your content to Reddit and engaging in discussions, you can also get content ideas and post on Reddit.

 

13. Baidu Tieba 

Baidu Tieba is a Chinese online forum founded by Baidu, the biggest Chinese search engine in the world, where users can build a forum thread on any topic and communicate with one another.

 

14. LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is now more than just a job search and resumes site. It has also become a spot for businesses to build their thought leadership and influence in their industry and attract talent to their business. LinkedIn also provides advertising opportunities.

 

15. Viber 

On the surface, Viber is pretty similar to leading social messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger. It enables users to send multimedia and messages, call, share GIFs and stickers, and more.

 

16. Snapchat 

Snapchat is a social media app that concentrates on sharing short videos and photos between friends. It made the Stories format popular, which ultimately proliferated on other social media sites like Instagram. 

 

17. Pinterest 

Pinterest is a place where people find new things and be motivated, unlike most social media platforms where engagement is the main focus. This gives your brand a unique opportunity to shape its purchasing decisions.

 

18. Line 

Line is a multi-purpose social messaging app that enables users to message, play games, share stickers, make payments, shop online, and request taxis. 

 

19. Telegram 

Telegram is similar to most social messaging apps and is usually known for its security as a messaging app. There are many ways brands can make use of Telegram, besides giving one-on-one customer support. 

 

20. Medium 

Medium is an online publishing site with a social network element. It’s free to publish and free to read most articles on Medium. However, some articles are kept for only paying members.