By now you know the benefits of social media. But tweeting, liking, sharing and pinning each day can be time consuming and exhausting.

Instead of working harder, work smarter. Stop trying to do it all, and focus on just the social media networks that are right for your business and your audience.

But how do you determine which platform that is?

If you know your target audience and your main goals, you have a pretty good idea of where to start. Let’s look at the unique attributes of the main social media networks and who seems to use them most.

Facebook

Facebook is a great platform for building brand recognition. It can help establish your business as an authority through shared content and engaging posts. It has the power to reach billions of people all over the world, and can help drive traffic back to your website.

As far as audience, Facebook is pretty wide open. With billions of users, it hits just about every demographic out there.

Twitter

This micropost network is fast paced and great for sharing the latest news, and it can be a “blink and you miss it” type of network. Like Facebook, its audience is wide and varied. However, it does cater to those who are in search of quick info and immediate responses.

Pinterest

A visual scrapbook of all things Internet, is great for product-based businesses. It is great for building a visual brand. And more and more people are using it as a search engine, so Pinterest is great for generating leads and driving traffic back to your website.

While interest is picking up with multiple demographics, Pinterest remains dominated by women.

Instagram

If your audience is very visual, then Instagram is a great platform for your business. Nothing but images and short videos, Instagram is another platform that works well for any retail or other product-based business, like clothing, jewelry and shoes. It’s a great place to show off your products or announce a sale with a high-quality image. Instagram does have millions of users, but it’s especially a great platform to reach a younger crowd.

LinkedIn

Created as the first social network for professionals, LinkedIn is perfect for any business that relates to, or targets, well … other businesses. With users that are predominantly 35 and older and professional, it works best for B2B companies.

Social media has become necessary for marketing a business online. But it’s not necessary to be on every single network. Instead, consider your target audience and your main goals, and pick one or two platforms and focus on them.