7 Types of Social Media Channels & How You Can Use Them

If you are aware of the world of social media, then there is a chance that you are familiar with all the popular social networking sites that are available there. I mean, we understand social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, the world of types of social media is not limited up to these sites only. All the sites that enable us to share media are also included in the list.  In addition, there is so much more than the social network sites and other media sharing platforms.

You actually have to see past these social media stuff to see that people all over the world are using so many other platforms in social media to connect with everyone else for so many possible reasons.

The world of the network is increasing more and more by the day as more websites keep on coming into the surface. So, it is nothing less than a quest to educate people more about the types of social media platforms that they can use for their functions.

Gone are the days when you could just use Twitter for micro-blogs and YouTube for videos.

There is just so much more to see and experience in here. So, it is our esteemed pleasure to make you familiar with all the different types of social media channels that exist in our lives these days.

Let’s keep on reading ahead to find out exactly how big the world of social media can be with these channels to support us with our day to day work.

Table of Contents

7 Types of Social Media Channels & How You Can Use Them

We will not be wrong to think that by now you know that social media is just not about Facebook and YouTube and there are many other channels that can support you in your job. So, without wasting any more of your time, let us get down to these social media channels that you can use in your daily lives to connect more with people all around the world-

1) Social Networks

Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ come under the list of social networking sites. These are the sites that people use in order to communicate with people from all around the world.

• We do not have to educate you about Facebook since you are already aware of this platform and how you can use it to share posts, have online chats and video calls. LinkedIn and Google+ plus are also other platforms that can be used in order to have conversations with people in real-time. MySpace is again a social networking site that encourages individuals and businesses to interact online.
• Also, with the increase of the craze for mobile internet, these sites have been particularly famous for people who are currently following the mobile trends. With fantastic features and amazing functions, these sites help you in connecting with real people from almost everywhere.

2) Blogs And Micro-blogs

Sites such as Twitter, WordPress, Blogger, and many other similar options come under the list of blogging and micro-blogging websites. These networks are the best options for brands that want to publish their content online for people to see.

• Sharing, discovering, and commenting options are provided in these networks in order to increase communication between people. You can use these types of social media for productively engaging audiences via powerful content for generating more leads and conversions for your business.
• These networks comprise sites such as WordPress that can be used for blogging and other sites such as Twitter that can be used for micro-blogging purposes. If the promotional strategy of any particular brand is content marketing, then these are the sites that will put them on the map.

3) Media Sharing Sites or Content Communities

Most people use media sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest in order to find and share pictures, videos, and other forms of media. Some other platforms that can be included in such types of social media are SlideShare, Picasa, Vimeo, Flickr, etc.

• These sites are just like the other relationship networks that are invaluable for the customers as they help in creating brand awareness, audience engagement, lead generation and so much more. You can start utilizing these types of social media by posting an image or video on Snapchat, Instagram or YouTube.
• The media sharing channels are the best place for people to share media in an online environment. However, there is not much difference between the social networking sites and the media sharing sites as Facebook and Twitter have also come up with options to share media online.

4) Wikis or User-Generated Content

These types of content sharing sites include Wikipedia, Wikitravel, World66, and much more such interesting options. For people who want to have authentic information posted on sites, these platforms are the best way to do that.

• The whole world can profit from the information that is displayed on the pages of these sites which is just generated by another user. So, in a way, it is a great way of information sharing between two general users from different parts of the world.
• Some of the popular Wiki sites that you can consider for user-generated content types of Social Media are Wikitravel, WikiHow, Wikibooks, CookBookWiki, WikiMapia, Wiktionary, ProductWiki, and so on.

5) News Sites And Social Bookmarking Sites

Sites such as Digg, Diigo, Google Reader, Delicious, and Reddit come under the sites that can be classified as the social bookmarking or the news sites. These networks are the platforms that help people from all over the world to come under one roof in order to share and discuss the current trends and the hot topics that govern the internet.

The only difference between the user-generated content sites and the social bookmarking sites is that the user-generated content sites focus on the point of view of a single user but the news sites are all open for discussions from multiple points of views.

Popular News Sites-

• Yahoo! News
• Google News
• HuffingtonPost
• CNN
• New York Times
• Fox News
• NBC News
• BBC News

Popular Bookmarking Sites-

• StumbleUpon
• Dribble
• Pocket
• Digg
• Reddit
• Slashdot
• We Heart It
• it

6) Discussion Forums

It is for sure that we have seen many heated discussions happen in the sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However, sites such as Quora, Yahoo Groups, and Phorum, are dedicated and designed specifically for the intent of sparking a conversation between multiple people about a single topic.

• In these sites, anyone is allowed to ask a question or make statements or answer any question. These sites also help in attracting people that have similar curiosities and interests. However, unlike the sites such as Facebook or Instagram, the users in these sites tend to provide information that is less identifiable.
• Discussion forums enjoy a huge number of users and followers means you can also optimize the reach of your business if you are active on those types of social media. The business of any niche and domain can find discussion forums best fit to pull in number of audiences
• Some of the best Forum Software for you are-

1. phpBB
2. MyBB
3. WordPress
4. Joomla!
5. Drupal
6. Vanilla
7. Simple Machines Forum
8. FluxBB
9. Code forum

7) Social Events

Many times, it happens that there are events happening nearby and we don’t have any indication of these events. Also, brands and business need to market their events in order to have more following and customers for their brands. This is where the social event sites help us a lot.

• Sites such as Meetup, Eventbrite and Eventful are the channels where people can get information about the different events that are happening near them which might be of interest to them.
• With the help of such types of social media, you can create or discover events in the most result driven manner possible

Conclusion

The world of social media is definitely increasing with so many networks and channels coming into the limelight. With the help of these types of social media sites, people will have new and different ways of interacting and engaging with different communities of people from everywhere.

Paying proper attention to aforestated social channels along with some other channels like Sharing Economy Networks, Anonymous Social Networks, etc. will for sure supercharge Social Media Returns for your business.