You can market your company in many different ways. You can promote your products and services through your website. You can use SEO best practices and lure more visitors there, and you might use offsite SEO as well.
2026 Update: What Has Changed Since I First Wrote This Post
I wrote the original version of this post back in 2023, and whilst the core argument still holds up, a lot has shifted in the past couple of years and I would be doing you a disservice if I did not address that honestly. Social media marketing has not just remained popular – it has become more complicated, more expensive in terms of time investment, and in several ways more powerful, all at once. That tension is worth talking about properly.
The biggest shift I have noticed working with clients in 2025 and into 2026 is the sheer dominance of short-form video across almost every platform. It is not just TikTok and Reels anymore. LinkedIn has leaned hard into video content, and brands that were resistant to showing faces on camera are now reconsidering that position because the reach difference is stark. If you are still relying primarily on static image posts and text updates, you are swimming against a very strong tide right now.
AI content tools have changed the production game considerably. I use several of them in my own workflow, and my clients do too. The honest truth is that they speed things up, but they have also raised the noise floor dramatically. Everyone can produce more content faster, which means standing out requires a clearer point of view and a more distinctive voice than it did even two years ago. Generic content gets buried instantly in 2026. Your personality and specific expertise are your actual competitive advantage now, more than ever.
Organic reach on Facebook has continued its long decline, and I would not sugar-coat that. For most businesses, Facebook without a paid budget is a tough conversation. However, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok still offer genuine organic opportunity if you are consistent and strategic. Pinterest has also quietly had a resurgence worth paying attention to depending on your niche.
The measurement side has matured too. Attribution is still messy and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something, but the platforms themselves have improved their native analytics considerably. My advice in 2026 is to stop chasing vanity metrics and focus on what actually drives enquiries or sales for your specific business. Social media marketing absolutely still works – but it rewards people who treat it seriously, stay current, and are willing to test and adapt. That has always been my position, and 2026 has only made it more true.
You can also create TV commercials and radio spots. You can advertise on podcasts and billboards. All these might go into a modern marketing strategy. However, you might put far more money into social media marketing. That might command your attention when you are developing your strategy.
Why does social media marketing remain so popular in 2023? We will explain this in the following article.
Many People Use Social Media
Most people experience negative experiences on social media sometimes. You might feel the sting of being blocked on Instagram, or perhaps someone posts some meme you don’t like, and you unfriend them. These experiences might sour you toward some platforms, but it seldom means you leave them entirely.
Billions of people use social media and more sign up on various platforms daily. As someone marketing your products or services, you can’t ignore social media for this reason. You can reach so many people, and if you do not create social media marketing content, you’re missing out.
Other Companies Do It
Aside from how many people use the various social media platforms out there, you should also understand that other companies do it. Companies in your niche certainly do it, and if you don’t keep up with them, they will take over your market.
If someone uses social media and they see a rival company advertising there, they’ll remember that company when they need products or services in your niche. You must seek that same visibility. If you don’t, you lose a significant market share, and that will hurt your bottom line.
You Can Partner with Influencers
Influencers use social media. Many of them start there at very young ages, and perhaps you don’t know their names unless you spend time on these platforms watching videos and creating content.
Even if you don’t know these influencers, though, you can partner with them and make money when you leverage their fanbases. You can research these influencers or have your marketing team do it. They can identify some influencers who they feel your target demographic admires or respects.
You can pay the influencer or give them free merch. In return, they can discuss your products, services, and company on their chosen platform. You can generate massive sales through the right influencer partnership. Just make sure you don’t pick someone with a controversial background or any questionable behavior, or your choice can backfire.
You Can Create Highly-Targeted Marketing to Reach Your Audience
With social media marketing, you can create content that you test market beforehand through focus groups. You can also have your whole social media marketing team workshop the content before you post it.
Once you have content you feel certain hits all the right notes, you can find the social media platforms where your target audience or demographic spends their time. By doing so, you make sure the right people see your messages.
You can research the various social media platforms and locate your audience. You can also post when they’re the most active. Social media analytic tools let you figure out the posting schedule so you get the most reaction from each message you create
You Can Establish Your Brand’s Identity There
You can also use your social media marketing when you establish your brand’s identity. You can workshop what identity you want before you create your content.
Will you have a lighthearted or playful mood when you post social media content? Do you want a more serious campaign? Do you play the nostalgia angle?
As you answer these questions, you take on an identity your customers will soon recognize. When they see your ads, they’ll know you created them, even before they see the handle that posted them. That’s the brand recognition you ultimately crave.
You Send the Signal that You Own a Modern Company
Earlier, we mentioned how you can rent a billboard, create TV commercials or radio spots, and sponsor podcasts. All those can work, especially if you have a specific geographic area you’re targeting and you own some brick-and-mortar store locations.
You need social media more than all those other marketing platforms and channels, though. More people spend time on social media than driving through your city and seeing those billboards. More individuals spend time perusing social media platforms and posting things there than watching your local TV channels or who listen to local radio stations.
Simply put, using social media and marketing your company and products there sends a strong message. It tells your audience and potential customers that you embrace the modern world and don’t shun it.
Some companies five or ten years ago felt they didn’t need social media. It seemed too new, and they thought it was just a fad.
Virtually no companies think that way now. Even if they have older adults who own them and they do not understand social media at all, they realize that they must use it or they’ll fall behind. They might hire much younger individuals for content creation, but they’ve embraced social media because they understand they have little choice in the matter.
Social media marketing isn’t stopping anytime soon. It’s big business, with millions more messages and sponsored content hitting Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Meta, Twitter, and many more every day. Any companies that don’t get on board won’t see their market share grow, and that should definitely command your attention.
You can hire a social media marketing team to handle your content. They might work for you directly, or else you can hire freelancers.
Either way, supervise the process and make sure you approve the marketing campaign’s direction before they start posting. Maybe they’re creating the content, but it’s still your company, and you want the right messaging.
Related reading: Most Popular TikTok Songs You Need to Know in 2026 and Social media marketing in 2017 – what you need to know.
