Some people may still think social media is irrelevant when it comes to marketing, but they would be wrong. Others might just focus on the big guys because they don’t know any better. The obvious, most popular networks to use in your marketing efforts are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, but there are a couple missing that can be just as relevant and useful. If you ask me, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube are three of the most powerful platforms available. Why? Let’s examine, shall we?

1) Pinterest

Because Pinterest is such a visual tool, and you can create countless “boards” I feel that many ideas can come from it. For example, if you’re an interior designer, you can post your great ideas on one board for a client and share it, or you can create a secret board that you, as the designer, want to start trying out without anyone really knowing.

You can also use Pinterest within your agency. Once, when I needed a logo designed for one of my clients, my graphic designer shared a secret board with me where we could pin our ideas and talk about what I envisioned. You can collaborate on ideas for months without anyone outside your company seeing what’s going on “behind the scenes.”

Another example would be for a real estate agent to pin his or her homes on a board, or maybe pin “dream home” ideas on another board. Boutiques can start a board for their own clothing and another for inspiring styles. It’s important to share the love, too. If you just pin items from your own company, users will get bored. Instead, use Pinterest to show followers how well you know your industry, even if it means sharing images from competitors.

2) Instagram

Instagram is also a wonderful visual tool and is meant just for photos. You can build your own community of followers and follow whomever you like, whether that’s an artist, musician, political figure, or your friend’s dog. With Instagram, you really get to know a person through his or her photos, and a big part of marketing is relationships, right? Hate to say it, but Taylor Swift does a pretty nice job with this one (Sorry, Taylor).

Because there are few restrictions on commercial use of Instagram, many companies have found the platform to be a great way to reach out to their specific buyer personas. After getting to “know” a person through Instagram—learning who they follow, what they like, where they live, etc.—you can craft posts that reach those potential buyers right where they are. Put the images out there for the whole world to see and cross your fingers that the target audience sees the message, or just send to your favorite followers directly.

3) YouTube

I really love YouTube because there are so many different things you can do with it. Sure, plenty of brands now use YouTube to share commercials on yet another platform, but that’s not all this network is good for. Instead of just throwing marketing at your followers, YouTube gives them the chance to come inside and really meet you.

Your clients, followers, etc. love to see your beautiful faces and personalities, so that’s just one more reason YouTube should be used for your marketing efforts. Show what goes on in your office so your customers can “meet” everyone. Share tutorials and how-to videos for your products.

Agencies can really put YouTube to work, too. Social media gurus, post a short webinar on how to create engaging content. Content writers, make a video about how to write for any industry. You get the idea.

So, there you have it, y’all. The three social media networks you should be using. I hope I convinced you. If you are convinced but just don’t have the time or know-how to run three new social media platforms, we can help. It’s what we do.

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