Are you new to the social media realm? While there are many social media platforms out there, it can sometimes get a bit overwhelming when you have absolutely no idea where to start.

It’s totally okay to freak out a little. Social media marketing is newly booming as the years pass by, and many businesses are just starting to learn more about it. You’re not the only one!

The most important thing before jumping the gun and creating social media profiles is figuring out where your niche is and which platforms you most definitely will benefit from. Once you have that figured out, then you can start creating your social media profiles.

1) Facebook: Facebook is a well-known platform we use to easily connect with people: friends, family and/or colleagues. Facebook has a feature for businesses called Facebook Page, and it’s a great tool to use for multiple things such as brand awareness, market research, relationship building, customer service, etc. What’s nice about Facebook is there is no limit to how many words you can write, it’s great for resharing related content, and you can create photo albums showcasing your business. You can also create Facebook Ads to promote your page or boost your posts in order to reach the right audience.

2) Instagram: Instagram has over 300 million active users daily; it’s an excellent platform to use for visual content. If you are a brand that sells products, Instagram is one of the social media platforms you should be using. When you use Instagram for your business, you want to create appealing and post high-quality content in order to catch people’s attention and reel in an audience. Instagram also released a feature called “Instastories,” similarly to Snapchat (another great marketing tool), where you can share behind-the-scenes or real-time videos/snaps for your audience to follow for 24 hours.

3) Twitter: Twitter is well-known for its short message limit. In a nutshell, Twitter is for those looking to update their status quite frequently. Businesses can benefit from Twitter because you can easily share quick promotions or offers to go on, while easily ‘tweeting’ with your audience. Try using hashtags related to your post in order to reach likeminded people. Like Facebook, Twitter is a great communication tool.

These are the top three social media platforms your business should be familiar with. All three are excellent marketing tools to connect with your audience. Before diving in, make sure you sit down and actually take time to figure out what your goals are and what each platform can do for you.