The list of social media sites continues expanding as platforms adapt to changing user behaviours and business needs. From established networks like Facebook and Instagram to emerging platforms targeting niche audiences, understanding which social media apps serve specific purposes has become crucial for businesses, marketers, and content creators.
This comprehensive guide examines over 40 social media platforms, their unique features, and how businesses can effectively use them for marketing, customer engagement, and brand building. Whether you’re developing a digital marketing strategy or looking to expand your social media presence, this list of social media sites provides the insights needed to make informed platform choices.
Understanding different categories helps businesses select appropriate platforms for their marketing objectives and target audiences.
General Social Networking Sites
These platforms allow users to connect with friends, family, and communities, providing businesses extensive marketing opportunities through organic content and paid advertising.
Facebook remains the world’s largest social media platform with over 2.8 billion monthly active users. The platform offers sophisticated targeting options for businesses, including Facebook Business Manager, detailed analytics, and diverse content formats from text posts to live video streaming.
Instagram, owned by Meta, has evolved into a visual marketing powerhouse with over 1 billion monthly users. The platform’s focus on high-quality imagery and short-form video content makes it ideal for lifestyle brands, e-commerce businesses, and visual storytelling.
Professional Networking Platforms
Professional social media sites facilitate business connections, career development, and B2B marketing opportunities.
LinkedIn serves over 740 million professionals worldwide, making it the primary platform for B2B marketing, recruitment, and thought leadership. The platform’s publishing features and company pages provide excellent opportunities for establishing industry authority.
Creative and Visual Platforms
These social media apps focus on visual content sharing, making them valuable for businesses in creative industries, retail, and lifestyle sectors.
Pinterest operates as a visual discovery platform with over 400 million monthly users. Its unique “pinning” system is excellent for driving website traffic, particularly for retail, home improvement, and lifestyle businesses.
YouTube, the world’s second-largest search engine, provides immense opportunities for video marketing, tutorials, and brand storytelling through long-form and short-form content.
Messaging and Communication Apps
Modern messaging platforms have evolved beyond simple communication, including business features, payment systems, and marketing opportunities.
WhatsApp Business enables direct customer communication, automated responses, and catalogue sharing, making it valuable for customer service and local business marketing.
Recent statistics and facts about social media usage:
According to Hootsuite, there are over 5.2 billion social media users worldwide.
According to Sprout Social, 84% of consumers say social media plays a role in purchasing decisions.
According to HubSpot, 87% of B2B marketers say social media is integral to their marketing strategy.
According to Social Media Examiner, social media marketing’s ROI is increasing. In 2025, the average ROI is expected to be 42%.
The Comprehensive List of Social Media Sites and Apps
Here is a list of social media sites that help you grow your business:
Ask
Ask is a social media platform that asks questions and provides answers. Users can pose questions to the community and receive responses from other members, creating an interactive Q&A environment. The platform functions similarly to traditional question-and-answer forums but with social networking features that allow users to follow each other, build profiles, and engage in ongoing conversations.
Bambuser
Bambuser is an application that allows broadcasters to stream live video from a computer webcam or a smartphone. During the “Arab Spring” uprising, this application was used extensively to broadcast video captured by the protestors.
Blab
This live-streaming video system featured debates, interviews, and talk shows. Users interact with either a comment or by streaming live video themselves. Up to four simultaneous live video streams can appear on a split screen.
(Blab closed down on 12 August 2016)
Café Mom
Café Mom is a social media platform designed for mothers and parents to connect, share parenting experiences, and seek advice on childcare topics. The platform creates supportive communities where users can discuss pregnancy, child development, and family challenges with other parents facing similar situations.
Classmates
Café Mom is a social media platform designed for mothers and parents to connect, share parenting experiences, and seek advice on childcare topics. The platform creates supportive communities where users can discuss pregnancy, child development, and family challenges with other parents facing similar situations.
Facebook
Users: 2.8+ billion monthly active users
Best for: Community building, diverse demographics, comprehensive advertising options
Business applications: Brand awareness, customer service, event promotion, local business marketing
Unique features: Facebook Marketplace, Groups, Events, Live streaming
Flickr
Flickr is used by over 120 million people and about two million groups to share over 13 billion photos. Users can create photo albums to organise their photos in categories. With a free account, users can upload up to 1,000 GB of pictures.
Flixster
The social network focuses on sharing reviews and comments about movies. You can also buy, rent, and stream television shows and movies.
Foursquare
Foursquare is a location-based social media platform that provides local search for restaurants, nightclubs, and entertainment venues with user reviews. Users can “check in” at locations, share recommendations, and discover new places based on friends’ suggestions and community reviews. The platform bridges social networking with real-world location discovery, helping users find and share experiences about local businesses and attractions.
Google+
Google+ is for organisations, communities, and business professionals who want to network for business and increase their professional reputation.
(Google + Closed down in April 2019)
Go to Meeting
GoToMeeting is a popular video conferencing platform that allows multiple participants to join online meetings, webinars, and collaborative sessions. Users can share screens, present documents, and communicate through video and audio calls, making it valuable for business meetings, remote work, and virtual events.
Imgur
Imgur is an image hosting and sharing platform where users upload, share, and discover viral images, memes, and GIFs. The platform is a storage service for images shared across the internet and a community-driven site where users vote on content, creating popular image galleries and fostering internet culture.
Instagram (owned by Facebook)
Users: 1+ billion monthly active users
Best for: Visual brands, younger demographics, product showcasing
Business applications: Influencer marketing, product promotion, brand storytelling
Kik is a mobile messaging app that sends instant messages. If users have a smartphone with an Internet connection, they can send text messages over the Internet without paying any per-message fees to the mobile carrier. In addition to simple text, users can also send emoticons, animated GIFs, photos, and videos. Kik is very popular with teenagers.
Last.fm
This is a social media website for music lovers. It allows users to create their Internet radio station. An artificial intelligence feature suggests new music to enjoy based on previous selections. You can also listen to the radio stations created by your friends and follow global music trends.
LinkedIn
Users: 740+ million members
Best for: B2B marketing, professional networking, recruitment, industry leadership
Business applications: Lead generation, employee advocacy, content marketing
Unique features: LinkedIn Publisher, Sales Navigator, Company Pages
LiveRing
LiveRing is a mobile application that enables many-to-many live video chat with up to five people simultaneously. The platform allows users to create or join video conversations in real-time, making it useful for group discussions, social gatherings, and collaborative meetings through mobile devices.
Livestream
This application allows users with a WIFI connection to the Internet to broadcast live high-definition video. It is ideal for events, tutorials, announcements, or any real-time content sharing. Viewers can watch the stream in real time from any compatible device, enhancing audience engagement and reach.
Medium
Medium is a publishing platform where users can write, share, and discover long-form articles and stories. The platform serves as a space for thought leadership, professional insights, and creative writing, allowing writers to build audiences whilst readers access quality content across diverse topics from technology to personal development.
MySpace
Before Facebook existed, MySpace was the most popular social media system. Although Facebook seriously upstaged it, millions still have a MySpace page. MySpace was known for allowing extensive personalisation of user profiles and was especially popular among musicians and artists to showcase their work.
Musical.ly
This mobile app allows users to record themselves making music videos by lip-syncing to their favourite songs. The videos can be edited and posted to the user’s profile. Users can follow each other and see what is trending in popularity. Two users can lip-sync to the same music track and their performances can be edited into one video.
Ning
This website allows a person or an organisation to create a social network. This is great for those who want to build an online community for a specific reason or theme.
Peach
Peach came online in 2016. Users can share posts, photos, videos, links, animated GIFs, their location, and the weather. Interactive games are also available.
Periscope (owned by Twitter)
Periscope allows users to broadcast live video using a mobile smartphone. After starting a live video, users can send an instant message to others so that they can watch the video and interact by leaving comments. The videos can be watched live or replayed later. They can be privately restricted to certain users or made public for anyone to see. Users can browse through any of the live public broadcasts.
Pinterest
Pinterest allows users to create pinboards of related images to share with others. It is a great website to search for visual items such as foods, flowers, fashion, interior designs, and photos from worldwide locations. Pinterest has over ten million monthly users.
Pinterest has over 400 million monthly active users. It’s commonly used for discovering and saving creative ideas and products through shared images and pins. It is valuable for visual inspiration and e-commerce.
Reddit
Reddit allows users to communicate about topics they are interested in discussing. Users can make comments, add photos, and add videos. Some Reddit threads are from famous people who interact with their fans. The comments can be voted up or down by the Reddit users, with the most popular comments appearing on the thread’s first page.
Reddit has over 430 million active users who engage in topic-specific communities and discussions monthly. It provides opportunities for niche engagement, AMAs, and brand mentions.
Slack
Slack is proper for group collaboration in the workplace. Users are kept up-to-date with a project and can add contributions to advance the collaborative efforts. It has real-time messaging, including the integration of video chat. It is good to use when the project’s team members work in separate locations.
SnapChat
Snapchat users can share photos and short videos with others using mobile devices. These are called snaps. Snaps automatically delete themselves a few seconds after being viewed. They can be shared with a single person or multiple people or offered publicly through a feature called stories.
Snapchat has over 265 million active users who create disappearing photos, videos, text, and drawing posts daily. It’s popular with teens and millennials and useful for fun, authentic behind-the-scenes content.
Style Hive
This system is used by those interested in fashion and sharing shopping tips. It functions as a social bookmarking platform where users can discover trends, save favourite products, and connect with others who share similar style preferences. StyleHive encourages community-driven fashion inspiration and shopping recommendations.
Swarm (owned by Foursquare)
With the Swarm mobile application, users can locate their friends, see where they are on a map, chat, and make plans to meet up. The application also includes a Swarm interactive game that allows users to win prizes.
Tinder
Tinder is an application for those seeking a date in the local area. People send a like to someone they are interested in meeting, and if that person returns the like, they can start a private chat.
Trello
Trello is great for collaboration. It allows users to create boards, cards, and lists to organise projects and easily prioritise items. The visual interface makes it ideal for teams managing tasks, workflows, and deadlines in both professional and personal settings. Trello also integrates with various productivity tools, enhancing team coordination.
Mint
This system is for those interested in sharing financial advice. It helps users manage budgets, track spending, and set financial goals in one convenient platform. Mint is especially useful for individuals looking to gain better control over their personal finances or provide guidance to others.
My Fitness Pal
This system is used by those interested in exercise, health, and fitness. It allows users to log meals, track calories, monitor physical activity, and set fitness goals. The platform is widely adopted by individuals aiming to maintain a healthier lifestyle through structured tracking and accountability.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a popular blogging system with lots of images. Users can follow each other, like blog posts, and reblog them. It supports multimedia content such as photos, GIFs, videos, and audio, making it especially appealing to creative communities. Tumblr blends blogging with social networking features for highly shareable, visual content.
Spark People
This system is used by those who want to help each other lose weight. It combines nutrition tracking, fitness plans, and an active support community to encourage healthy lifestyle changes. Users can join groups, share progress, and access expert advice to stay motivated on their weight loss journey.
SoundCloud
This social network is for those who want to share music, sounds, or podcasts they record. There are lots of remixes and covers available to share and listen to. SoundCloud tracks what is trending and allows users to create and share playlists of their favourite tracks.
TikTok
Users: 1+ billion monthly active users
Best for: Short-form video content, younger demographics, viral marketing
Business applications: Brand awareness, creative campaigns, influencer partnerships
Users can share photos and videos with followers and friends on Shots. The system does not allow comments or likes on the post, which makes it more comfortable for those who do not want to be rated by others. The most popular use of Shots by users is posting a talking selfie. There is also person-to-person chatting.
Stream
This mobile app allows users to broadcast live videos and watch the streaming videos of others in real time. Viewers can save short clips of 15 seconds each and edit them together to make a highlight composition video. These videos are available for replay for 24 hours.
Twitter (X)
Users: 450+ million monthly active users
Best for: Real-time updates, news sharing, customer service, thought leadership
Business applications: Customer support, trend monitoring, crisis management
Viber is a cross-platform messaging application that enables users to send text messages, voice messages, photos, and videos over an internet connection. The app includes video calling features and works across mobile devices and desktop computers, allowing users to communicate without SMS charges when connected to WiFi or mobile data.
Vine (Mobile App Owned by X/Twitter)
Vine is for sharing short videos using mobile devices that can also be embedded on websites or shared as a tweet on X/Twitter. Vine is very popular with teenagers.
WhatsApp (Owned by Facebook)
WhatsApp is a cross-platform application for sending and receiving instant messages, voice messages, photos, and videos. The application uses an Internet connection, which means users avoid SMS text message charges from their mobile phone service. Messages can be sent to individuals or groups.
Yik Yak
Yik Yak focuses on creating local community interactions, emphasising high schools and university campuses. The mobile app allowed users in a regional area to make anonymous posts and reply anonymously. Posts are voted on for popularity.
(YikYak closed down on the 28 April 2017)
YouNow
YouNow is a live streaming platform that allows users to broadcast live video content, join communities, and interact with audiences in real-time through chat. The platform enables creators to build followings through spontaneous live broadcasts, making it popular for entertainment, music performances, and direct audience engagement.
YouTube
YouTube is the second most popular website after Google. It offers films, television shows, and video blogs (vlogs). Users’ views track popularity, and they can usually leave comments about the video content.
YouTube has over 2 billion monthly logged-in users and people watch over 1 billion hours of video daily. It’s highly engaging for video content and advertising, which is the key to brand awareness and subscriptions.
Popular Social Media in Different Languages/Countries
Understanding emerging trends helps businesses prepare for evolving social media landscapes, but adapting to these changes requires strategic guidance and often new technical capabilities.
Video Content Dominance and AI Integration
Short-form video content continues gaining prominence across platforms, but creating effective video content requires professional production skills and strategic planning. AI-powered tools now assist with video editing, automatic captioning, and even content ideation, but implementing these technologies effectively requires proper training and integration with existing workflows.
Social Commerce Integration
Platforms increasingly integrate shopping features, but maximising e-commerce potential requires professionally designed product pages, optimised checkout processes, and strategic SEO to capture product-related searches beyond social platforms.
Audio Content Growth and Podcast Integration
Following Clubhouse’s popularity, audio features create new opportunities for thought leadership, but success requires understanding podcast production techniques, audio quality standards, and how audio content integrates with broader content marketing strategies.
AI-Powered Personalisation and Automation
Artificial intelligence increasingly powers content recommendations, customer service chatbots, and automated posting schedules. However, implementing AI effectively requires understanding how these tools integrate with existing websites, customer management systems, and overall digital strategies. Training becomes crucial as teams need to understand both the capabilities and limitations of AI-powered social media tools.
Privacy and Data Protection Considerations
Increasing privacy regulations affect targeting options and data collection, requiring businesses to adapt their digital strategies. This often necessitates improved website analytics, better customer relationship management, and more sophisticated content strategies that attract audiences organically rather than relying solely on paid targeting.
Choosing Platforms for Business
Selecting appropriate social media platforms requires careful consideration of business objectives, target audiences, and available resources.
Business Size Considerations
Small Businesses should focus on 2-3 platforms where their target audience is most active, rather than attempting to maintain a presence across all networks. Quality content on fewer platforms typically yields better results than sporadic posting across many channels.
Medium-sized enterprises can often effectively manage 4-5 platforms, allowing for more comprehensive social media strategies while maintaining content quality and engagement levels.
Large Corporations may maintain a presence across numerous platforms, but should assign dedicated resources to each to ensure consistent brand messaging and community management.
Industry-Specific Platform Selection
B2B Companies should prioritise LinkedIn for professional networking, lead generation, and thought leadership content. Twitter also provides valuable opportunities for industry participation and customer service.
E-commerce Businesses benefit significantly from visual platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, which offer integrated shopping features and product catalogue functionality.
Service-based businesses can effectively use platforms that showcase expertise and build trust, including LinkedIn for professional services, YouTube for educational content, and Facebook for community building.
Creative Industries should focus on visual platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Behance, where portfolio work and creative processes can be effectively showcased.
Resource Allocation
Effective social media management requires understanding that different platforms demand different content types, posting frequencies, and engagement strategies. Businesses should allocate resources based on the importance of each platform to their overall marketing objectives.
“Many businesses make the mistake of trying to be active on every social platform without understanding where their customers engage,” explains Ciaran Connolly, Director of ProfileTree. “We’ve seen companies transform their results by focusing their efforts on just 2-3 platforms where they can consistently deliver value, rather than spreading themselves thin across a dozen networks.”
How ProfileTree Can Transform Your Social Media Strategy
The extensive list of social media sites and apps available today provides unprecedented opportunities, but success requires more than just posting content – it demands professional execution across multiple disciplines.
Integrated Digital Solutions
Web Design That Converts: Your social media efforts need to drive traffic to websites that convert visitors into customers. ProfileTree creates user-focused websites that seamlessly integrate with your social media strategy, providing clear conversion pathways from every platform.
Professional Video Production: With video content dominating social media engagement, amateur footage won’t cut through the noise. Our video production services create professional content for YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and LinkedIn that builds authority and drives meaningful engagement.
Strategic Content Creation: Effective social media requires consistent, valuable content across multiple platforms. Our content marketing specialists create platform-specific content that aligns with your SEO strategy, ensuring your social media efforts support your search rankings while engaging your audience.
SEO Integration: Social media and search engine optimisation work hand-in-hand. We ensure your social media profiles, content, and strategies support your website’s search rankings whilst capturing social search traffic on platforms like YouTube and Pinterest.
AI Implementation and Training: From automated posting schedules to AI-powered content creation tools, we help businesses implement artificial intelligence solutions that streamline social media management whilst maintaining authentic engagement. Our training programmes ensure your team can effectively use these tools.
Digital Training Programmes: Social media platforms constantly evolve and require ongoing education. Our digital training workshops help teams understand platform best practices, content creation techniques, analytics interpretation, and strategic planning.
Strategic Approach for Northern Ireland, Ireland, and UK Businesses
“Most businesses approach social media tactically rather than strategically,” explains Ciaran Connolly, Director of ProfileTree. “They post content hoping for engagement but haven’t connected their social media efforts to their website optimisation, content strategy, or broader business objectives. We help businesses create integrated digital strategies where every social media post supports larger goals.”
Why Choose ProfileTree for Social Media Strategy
Comprehensive Integration: Unlike agencies that only handle social media posting, we integrate your social presence with professional web design, SEO strategy, video production, and content marketing for maximum impact.
Local Expertise: Based in Belfast and having a deep understanding of Northern Ireland, Irish, and UK markets, we know how to adapt global social media strategies for local business success.
Technical Excellence: Our team combines creative content creation with technical expertise in web development, SEO, and AI implementation, ensuring your social media strategy is supported by a robust digital infrastructure.
Measurable Results: We don’t just create content – we develop strategies that drive website traffic, generate leads, and support your overall business growth through integrated digital marketing.
Ongoing Support: Social media success requires consistent effort and adaptation. Our digital training programmes ensure your team stays current with platform changes, while our ongoing support optimises your strategy.
Ready to transform your social media presence into a powerful business growth engine? Contact ProfileTree to discuss how our integrated approach to web design, video production, content creation, SEO, and AI implementation can create a social media strategy that drives results for your business.
Ready to Turn Social Media Into Your Most Powerful Marketing Channel?
Stop wasting time posting into the void. While your competitors struggle with scattered social media efforts that lead nowhere, you could build an integrated digital presence that grows your business.
Here’s what happens when you work with ProfileTree:
✅ Week 1-2: We audit your current social media presence and website to identify missed opportunities ✅ Week 3-4: Create a tailored strategy connecting your social platforms to conversion-optimised landing pages ✅ Month 2: Launch professional video content and SEO-optimised posts that build authority ✅ Month 3+: Watch as integrated social media, web design, and SEO efforts compound to drive real business growth
Don’t just take our word for it – businesses across Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK have transformed their digital presence using our proven integrated approach.
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