Social network marketing is any form of marketing that takes place on social media platforms. This marketing strategy can play out in many different ways, from formal advertising campaigns to informal customer engagement.

Given the popularity of social media, social network marketing is a broad category of marketing. Anytime a business uses social media, it could be considered a form of social network marketing. This form of outreach could take place on any social media platform, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or anything else.

Social network marketing is also varied due to the varied nature of marketing. Marketing outreach can take many different shapes—from outright advertisements to more subtle ways of building a relationship with potential customers. Social network marketing can similarly be straightforward ads for products or services, or it can be a means for a business to develop relationships.

When successful, social network marketing helps a business:

• Increase referrals or sales leads
• Build word-of-mouth reputation
• Increase sales of products or services
• Provide a means of feedback
• Develop a reputation as an expert or thought-leader
• Drive traffic to a business website or blog
• Develop new products or services
• Keep people informed about special events, sales, and other newsworthy events
• Provide customer service

Social media is a relatively new technology, so platforms and popularity are constantly in flux. However, it is possible to gauge the popularity of platforms as a point-in-time measurement.

According to a Pew Research survey in 2019, the most popular platform was YouTube, which was used by 73% of U.S. adults. These are the adult usage stats for the other eight platforms included in the survey:

• Facebook: 69%
• Instagram: 37%
• Pinterest: 28%
• LinkedIn: 27%
• Snapchat: 24%
• Twitter: 22%
• WhatsApp: 20%
• Reddit: 11%

• Social network marketing is the use of social media platforms to conduct business marketing.
• Given the diverse nature of social media platforms, social network marketing can refer to a wide range of strategies.
• The best social network marketing comes across as organic, and it effectively targets the customer base on the platform they use most often.