Instead of juggling several social networks to keep up with the ‘trend”, it’s smarter and much more efficient to choose ones that are proven to be popular, effective and easy to use. Here are the five social networks where you can establish an effective inbound marketing strategy directed to teens.

1. Resources
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-Social-Media-And-Privacy/Main-
Report.aspx?view=all
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/11-sites-and-apps-kids-are-heading-to-after-facebook
http://www.policymic.com/articles/36951/5-social-networking-platforms-teens-like-more-than-
facebook
http://www.inc.com/carolyn-cutrone/cassandra-report-social-media-marketing.html
http://www.slideshare.net/CornerstoneSolutionsofNY/reaching-teens-through-social-media
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/reach-teenagers-social-media-vs-mass-media-40727.html
5 Social Networks to Use to Reach Teens
“The Youngand the Restless”isnotonlya popularAmericansoapopera,it’salsoan accurate description
of the teens today. AccordingtoForresterResearch, teenagersof today orthe “millennials”have astrong
needtobe connectedonthe internetmore thananyothergeneration.Teensare able tofulfill thisdesire
because they have the time and energy to be active online on a regular basis, compared to other age
groups.Thus, the bestway to gainthe attentionof millennials asyourtarget audience, istoreach out to
them via social networks. But with so many existing, not to mention up-and-coming social media
platforms, you can’t possiblydelve into all of them to meet marketing goals. Instead of juggling several
social networkstokeep upwiththe ‘trend”, it’ssmarterandmuchmore efficientto choose onesthat are
proventobe popular,effectiveandeasytouse. Here are the five social networkswhereyoucanestablish
an effective inbound marketing strategy directed to teens.
Facebook
If you‘re wonderingwhat’sthe bestsocial networkforreachingoutto teens;there isno definite answer
to that. Teensare notthe mostloyal whenitcomestoapps,toolsandsocialnetworks.Infact, itisintheir
nature tojumpfromone platformtoanother.Formanyyears,Facebookhasdemonstrateditsdominance
inthe social mediascene.Itwas evenresponsibleforousting MySpace fromitscovetedspotasthe social
networkkingfor teens. A researchconductedby PewReseachCenterrevealsthatFacebook’spopularity
is waning among the younger folks. However, a large number of teen out there still maintain their
Facebookaccount. Thus,whenit comes to reachingout to the youngergeneration,Facebookisstill one
of the top social networks. Butrememberthatthe keytousingFacebooktoencourage positiveresponse
amongyoungstersisparticipation. Your Facebookprofileshouldnotonlycontainphotos,videosandtext
appealing to teens, they should also encourage responses from them. After all, teens generally feel
gratification based on the number of likes, comments and followers they have on Facebook.
Twitter
Who knew that a microblogging site will become a phenomenon in the field of social networking? But
Twitter’s “tweets”- messagesthatare restrictedto only140 characters,became an instanthitespecially
among teenagers. This format is exactly what teens find appealing as they don’t have to come up with
coherent paragraphs like the ones required in their English class. Tweets are short to write and quick to
read,but theycan letyou in withwhat’snew and most talkedaboutin and around the world,especially
in the fieldof pop culture. Teensgravitate to Twitterbecause it’sa widelyknownpromotional platform
for celebrities. Youngsters absolutely cherish the idea of knowing little tidbits and insider information
about their favorite celebrity.

2. The popularityof a Twittertrendingtopicisnot on the numberof wordsper tweetbutin the numberof
userstweeting. Thisisan importantconceptto understandwhenusingTwitteras a marketingtool. The
shortened blogging format makes it tricky for any marketer to get the millennials’ attention. Don’t
blatantly push your product or serviceson Twitter. Instead, create a personalized profile to establish an
identitythatteenscanrelate to. To gainfollowers,follow otherprominentpeople,businessesorentity.
Participate in trending topics most relevant to teens and your marketing objectives.
Instagram
Teenslove takingand sharing photos,and that’s why Instagram is one of the most popularsocial media
platformsfor the young and trendy. On Instagram, users are not onlyallowedtoshare photosinstantly,
they can also edit these photos and write short descriptions about them. Editing can be in the form of
using artistic filtersand special effects enhancing their lookand message. Other Instagram staples that
neverfailsto woe teensare the “comment”and the “like”features.Thus,the successof yourInstagram
marketing campaign depends on the number of likes and comments you receive.
Celebrities also have a prominent presence on Instagram as they use it to connect with their fans. And
where youhave celebrities,amob of teenagerswill alwaysfollow suit.Thisisthe reasonwhyInstagram
is a “must” when it comes to marketing to teens. Instead of words, the challenge is to come up with
controversial, intriguing or fascinating photos that can captivate the hearts of the young. Aside from
photos,Instagramalsoletsuserspost15-secondvideostokeepthe sharingmore exciting. AnInstagram
profile can be made public or restricted to a group of followers.Hashtags is also a significant element if
you wantto make the photosmore visible tocommunities. Soif you still donot know the art of creating
hashtags; now is a good time to start.
Tumblr
Adults are not the only ones who would like to rant and rave about their everyday lives.Teens have
somethingtosay too.Infact,theyhave a loton theirmind.Andif there are bloggingplatformsforadults,
teensruntoTumblrtoexpressthemselves.ButTumblr’s formatisunlikeWordpressandBlogspot.Onthe
premise thatteenagers’attentionspanis normally notlongenoughto create comprehensiveblogentries,
this social mediaencourages the creationof short blogsor “tumblelogs”byusers for the publicto read.
These tumblelogsisfilledwithtext,photos,andvideos.Some of the onesthat go viral have memesand
gifs.
Because of Tumblr’s style and format, it has become a hit among the younger generation who love to
keeponlinediariesandatthe same time, share photos,musicvideosandfunnystorieswiththeirfriends.
Tumblrisalsoanimportantsource of informationabouttheyoungstersnowadays. Ittellsyou what’snew
and trending, and helps you understand millennials’ dreams and aspirations. Unlike Facebook that
reachesoutto a widerrange of age groups,Tumblrismostlya teenterritory. Businessesare expectedto
make theirpresence feltonFacebook;butnotso muchin Tumblr. If your targetaudience are teenagers,
this is the perfect avenue to get the teens’ attention and get ahead of your competitors.

3. SnapChat
Like Tumblr, SnapChat is mostly a teen populated social network. The key to SnapChat’s success is
freedom. Withoutthe presenceof theirparents andolderrelatives onthissocial platform,teenagers feel
more freedom to express themselves and share. SnapChat sets up a fast pace environment and is
equipped with visual tools that allow instant sharing and easy messaging responses. Users can also
customize photos and share them with friends. The catch is, shared photos are automatically deleted
from the page after seconds of viewingit. Thisdistinctand“controversial”feature allowsteenstoshare
‘stuff’totheirfriendsthatare notmeantfor the pryingeyesof adults. Since SnapChatissucha dynamic
platform, remember to use highly creative photos that spark curiosity and intrigue among your teen
audience.
Another social network that has a similar setup with SnapChat is Vine. Instead of photos, Vine is mainly
focusedonhavingusersgenerate andpostsix-secondvideosto gainfollowers. Creativityandimagination
are important elements in making Vine videos for marketing purposes.