I Tested 19+ Online Platforms And Here Are My Insights

Every business and person has to be on some online platform to get recognition in today’s era. Without a social presence, it is almost impossible to explore more opportunities.

But which platforms can provide you with the best return on investments (ROI)? I discuss that with my prospective clients and help them grow their business digitally.

It differs from business to business and it is important to understand the platforms to invest with your strategies. I literally tested out more than 19 platforms to understand them practically.

Now I stopped posting on most of the platforms and focused and scaled my content on a few.

But the experiences never die. I still didn’t stop using and monitoring those platforms. My first-hand experiences always helped my clients. I believe in thoroughly testing for myself before jumping to serve clients.

It’s simple. If you can’t bring results for yourself, how can you do that for someone who is trusting and paying you for it?

Today, I am sharing a few insights with you.

Which is the Best Online Platform For Your Business – You Decide

1] Website

A website is an important asset for every business these days. What do you do before purchasing or making a decision? You Google and search for the company or product.

This was my core focus – to learn Search Engine Optimization, earn results for my own website, and provide SEO services based on that learning & stats.

[Related: 6 Ways To Earn From A Website]

There has to be a core platform for your content and a website can be a good start. Website blogs need to be the most in-depth articles about your products.
You can’t use this strategy on any other social media platform because of 2 reasons –

• You can’t promote too much – Since you don’t own any of the social media platforms, they have their own policies that mostly prohibit you to promote your business. To an extent, it’s fine. But not more than that.
• The audience is using Social Media to pass their time – The audience on social media platforms has less retention time. They are not there to see your products and business. Avoid talking too much about yourself.

Conclusion? Build your website for serious business. It brings authority and branding. You get your control over the platform and you build your individual empire.

I started posting consistently for one year with a gap of 3 days between consecutive blogs. This helped me in several ways –

1. I learned every aspect of WordPress, Analytics, SEO, and several other techniques as well as marketing aspects.
2. Built a strong userbase of 500+ Whatsapp subscribers and 600+ email subscribers.
3. This website priteshpawar.com started ranking for more than 700 keywords within a span of 6-7 months. I used these stats to pitch my prospects with my SEO services.
4. Built a passive income generating machine with five-digit traffic per month.

There are several other advantages of building your own website. You don’t even need to enter the technicalities. I have already listed a few blogging platforms that you can use.

Check out | Professional Blogging Platforms

If you need help with your SEO and branding website – Let’s Connect!

2] Facebook

Let’s start with the oldest survivor and largest giant of the social media industry.

To be very honest, I rarely use Facebook.
Reason? The organic reach on Facebook is totally dead.

That doesn’t mean I am inactive on Facebook. I have automated my page and all the content keeps on uploading automatically.

It’s common to see Facebook pages with thousands of followers but hardly a dozen likes on their posts.

Remember the time when Facebook was all about your friends? It’s not anymore about friends. It’s about sponsored content and those videos you like the most!

Facebook pushes only 2 types of content in your feed – Ads and your most engaged pages.
Newer pages don’t really get the chance to build that connection due to the authority of old pages.

Earlier it was easier to get more reach due to lesser Ads and lesser competition.

So, is it a bad idea to take Facebook seriously now?

No. Facebook has the largest database and it makes it the best platform for Paid Ad campaigns. You can run FB ads to reach your audience in a targeted way.

If you are looking for completely organic reach then Facebook groups can be a better option. Join FB groups of your niche and build authority by providing immense value to the members.
Most freelancers get their projects from such Facebook groups.

Connect me on Facebook

3] Twitter

Leave aside the trolls and political goons who keep on trending silly things on the platform, there are amazing communities if you decide to play with your niche well. I found some of the best Digital Marketers and Tech Enthusiasts on Twitter.

Twitter is one of the rarest platforms that allows you to post your website links without limiting the reach.

You don’t need any followers or even likes on your posts. Using a trending and relevant hashtag can make your posts reach thousands of Twitter users within seconds. I am not even exaggerating.

Here’s an interesting video that I captured of a tweet that was gaining attention so rapidly that it managed to bring more than 50 visitors to my website within 5 minutes.

Unlike Instagram or other platforms with a high engagement ratio, Twitter has the lowest engagement ratio. However, it gives the highest reach and even visitors within a quick span.

Connect me on Twitter

4] Instagram

Being a child of a Facebook family, it brings no surprise that Instagram is following the footsteps of Facebook.

With the decreasing organic reach of the platform, I am still using it because it is visually appealing and beautifully crafted for users. Moreover, My target audience is present there.

Instagram started as an image-sharing platform and now it supports images, long videos like YouTube in the name of IGTV, short videos like TikTok in the name of Reels, and even stories like Snapchat.

I don’t think Instagram’s reach will fall as much as Facebook’s because content creation has a higher entry barrier without text-based content. Image-based and video-based content requires effort and time to create.

Without the ability to share clickable content links, Instagram is great for branding purposes.

However, the audience on Instagram is young with much lesser retention time. So as a content creator, you just have 2-3 seconds to make an impact otherwise you will be swiped up.

Connect me on Instagram

5] LinkedIn

LinkedIn started as a professional platform and now ended up being a professional version of Facebook. Thanks to every second automated message that asks you to join their scam business.

I have been active on this platform for a while and saw a drastic fall in the quality of the content as well as the audience. It’s no more a job searching website or a professional network.

The organic reach is very high on the platform. Irrespective of your number of followers, your posts can reach thousands of LinkedIn users at a time.

This is how it works – whenever someone likes your post, it automatically lands in the feed of that person’s followers. As a result, your content goes through a ripple effect.

The first hour after your posting is important. It will determine the reach and engagement you are going to receive.

Connect me on LinkedIn

6] Medium

Medium is one of the favorite places for writers as it has a completely unique business and working model. Unlike most of the platforms, it earns through a monthly subscription. Zero Ads.

Moreover, it shares the revenue with its writers. Yes, you can earn as a writer on Medium.

The company manually curates the content for its users. This ensures that the quality of posts in your feed is always high. Low-quality articles simply don’t get promoted.

To survive on Medium as a writer or even reader, users need to have high retention time.
Writers post long articles that take time to write as well as read.

If you don’t want to enter technical aspects of building a website then you can safely blog on Medium without any issues. I’d say it is the best platform for writers.

In fact, all those banned top writers of Quora flock to Medium.

Connect Me on Medium

7] Quora

Quora is another platform that I saw degrading right in front of my eyes. I am using Quora since 2015 and you can say that it turned me into a writer. It empowered me to become a freelance writer.

Quora is the strictest platform I have ever seen. It has ruthlessly banned top writers with massive popularity. It will edit-block you for your slightest mistakes.

Then how did it degrade over time? Ads and people.

There was a time when Quora had zero Ads. You could seamlessly scroll high-quality answers with in-depth information. There was a strong community. In fact, I met some of the best people in my life from Quora.

Now? Every 3rd answer is an Advertisement. Probably Quora got new investors and this might be their strategy to get profitable. After all, every company needs profits. So that is still tolerable.

The problem arises when policies change overnight. Earlier, Quora didn’t allow memes, emojis, or any insincere answer. Now it is openly allowing all of that. Answers are so short these days that some of them just consist of 2-3 plagiarised images. On top of that, such answers get thousands of upvotes.

This whole wave degraded the quality. Algorithms started preferring short plagiarized answers over detailed answers because that’s what goes viral. Who wants to read in-depth educational content?

Now I no more get answers of my favorite answers in my feed although I have been highly cautious in upvoting and following right from the beginning. I never followed or upvoted random things.

Connect me on Quora

8] ChAnQya

As Quora banned several popular writers from its platform, a bunch of Indians came together and formed an Indian version of Quora.

I personally saw this platform grow from scratch. I still remember the time when Dr. Ashok Dhamija (founder of ChAnQya) appealed to Quora users to join his platform and I was among the earliest users of this platform.

It’s a question and answer website like Quora where people ask questions and other users answer them.

Smaller communities have their own advantages. Content creators easily get popular and grow on such new platforms. This was the reason why I started using this website.

9] Reddit

Reddit is popular for its ruthless trolling. It’s still my favorite platform to spend time on. I’ll explain why.

Reddit has a strong community of the smartest brains all over the world. When someone posts mediocre content, it is bound to get backslash from the sharpest brains. Post highly valuable content and you will be highly applauded.

So it is clear that you need to be an expert in your industry. A teenager with high aspirations but a lack of experience cannot survive this audience.

Then why do I like Reddit when the community is so toxic?
That’s due to the high-quality content and value that I get to learn from this community.

There are several subreddits dedicated to every topic. Follow the subreddits related to your niche and industry if you want to seriously learn something out of this platform. Avoid following randomly.

Connect me on Reddit

10] Pinterest

Pinterest is a better version of Instagram. It is less about flaunting and more about real creativity. Dominated by the female audience, you will find your feed full of infographics, artistic posts, and a tonne of graphics.

I observed that categories like Home & Garden, arts, paintings, architectures, and designs have a huge scope on this platform.

Even educational content is fun. After all, who doesn’t like to learn from beautiful graphics?

Most importantly, Pinterest helps you in SEO and Google rankings. I seriously don’t understand why this platform is so underrated in India.

Connect me on Pinterest

11] Whatsapp

As soon as I built my website, I started a Whatsapp subscription service. Most marketers approach email marketing. But I took Whatsapp marketing more seriously.

Reason? Whatsapp is the closest platform and almost everyone uses it. Emails might get ignored but Whatsapp messages are simply difficult to avoid. If played well, you can get instant traction from Whatsapp subscribers.

I started with a broadcast list but switched to closed groups as the numbers increased over time.

It’s important to give users a reason to join your Whatsapp list. Why would someone join your Whatsapp subscription?

Give something valuable and mix it with your consistency. I give Tech Updates on my Whatsapp groups. These consistent value bombs don’t allow users to leave.

The downside of using Whatsapp marketing is that users can leave you easily. It’s hardest to retain subscribers on this platform.
Again, the reason is simple. Whatsapp is a personal platform and users don’t want unwanted distractions. Make sure you don’t act as an unwanted distraction.

There are several reasons to opt for Whatsapp marketing but I never asked to ignore Email marketing.

Check out | My Insights on Whatsapp Marketing For Businesses Since 2019

12] Email Newsletters

Email Newsletters are said to be the best marketing channels in the marketing world. Your website can be crashed, social media accounts can get suspended but your email lists will never go away from you.

These are the most loyal followers or subscribers.

Honestly, I didn’t nurture my email subscribers with the content they deserved because I always focused on my Whatsapp subscribers.

In my peak times, I sent a weekly email to my subscribers and sent some automated emails based on various activities. I eventually stopped it as I was not satisfied with my own efforts. However, I learned a lot about email marketing strategies.

Email marketing has too many issues like bounce rate factors, emails landing in spam or promotions tab, automation not working properly, and several other issues.

Although these things can be easily fixed. If it is a serious channel for your marketing strategy, you should go for it.

Join my Email Subscription

13] TikTok [Banned in India]

TikTok had the highest organic reach. I was so impressed with the reach and results that I made two accounts for different audiences.

I consistently posted for 6 months after my office at 2 AM every night. It was fairly easy to make content on it. Shoot a video of 15-30 seconds, edit it, and post.

Giving 30 minutes to TikTok every night was challenging as well as worth the effort. I met and collaborated with some of the finest influencers in the Tech category.
Imagine collaborating with some influencers with 100k+ followers and they follow me back – gave me a tremendous boost.

Since TikTok was dominated by entertainers, our audience was very small in the educational category. Yet, we thrived there.

That experience of creating short videos on TikTok made it easy to create Reels on Instagram.

14] YouTube

YouTube seems to be the most genuine platform for every creator as well as user. It will be wrong to call YouTube a social media platform as it is a video hosting platform.

I had a channel before my current one but it got suspended due to copyright strikes from T-Series. We all have ways to learn new things.

I didn’t dedicate much time to my current YouTube channel but there is some serious potential for every creator. It demands much time from you but my first channel taught me that it is totally worth it.

YouTube is the one and only platform that shares its Ad revenue with its creators. You can earn money by uploading videos on YouTube.

Here’s a catch – you need 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch time hours on your channel in 12 months. This is the eligibility factor for channel monetization.
For that, you need to build a strong community of viewers who will keep coming back to your videos again and again.

Connect me on YouTube

15] Podcasts

A podcast is an audio format to convey your message and it is still in the growing stage.

I started Podcasting in October 2019 and completed more than 100 episodes by recording each and every day after my office. I used to record every night at around 3 AM after shooting TikTok videos. That was to get the learning and flow.

Finally, I started the second channel for Podcasts after checking my potential.

I’d suggest testing yourself with this content type because it is not easy to consistently hold a microphone and start recording yourself. Surely, not something for everyone.

Listen to My Podcasts
[Out Podcast is available on more than 15 major Podcast platforms including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, and others]

16] Tumblr

I was testing Tumblr because it was the best option as a blogging platform with great technical compatibility with WordPress.

During my website’s recent restructuring, I was about to post my Daily Tech News on Tumblr. I even posted a few posts there but later found a better alternative. My website currently automatically fetches Tech News. 🙂

But that research made me explore Tumblr. It is a great platform for bloggers who want to use a simple blogging interface without any technical hassles.

By the way, Amitabh Bachchan blogs on Tumblr. He has been consistently blogging every day for around 10-12 years. I made my Tumblr account just to read his blogs.

On Tumblr, you can post images, videos, text, etc. It’s a proper blogging platform.

Connect me on Tumblr

Other Platforms

I am listing some more online platforms separately because they cannot be used for each and every business. I used it in my own way. For your business, the usage pattern and content might differ. In fact, everything can differ.

17] ECommerce Website

I built an easy Shopify eCommerce website where I listed my affiliate products to sell as gift items. I used to do this before my website was ranked on Google.

As soon as my website started ranking and I got more sales from it, I closed my eCommerce website. Honestly, it was not worth it.

The fees were high and I didn’t work on its SEO. We all make mistakes and that was one of my blunders that went wrong.

But here’s good news! I started that eCommerce store under this website and it’s called Shopping Tech. It’s a collection of cool tech gadgets.

18] YourQuote

YourQuote is a platform to share quotes, micro-blogs, poems, and other short text-based articles.

I used to post my quotes on YourQuote as it had a nice image editing tool. After posting there, I used to post the same quotes on my Instagram page. It gave me more exposure than YourQuote.

If you want to market your business then YourQuote can be an easy way to write about your business on an image. It gives a platform to easily edit images.

I learned copywriting by posting quotes on my Instagram page for almost 3 years. I even got to collaborate with some brands like Sundaram, UC, and several local companies.

Connect me on YourQuote

19] Google Maps + Google Local Guides

I am Google Local Guide on level 8 so I keep posting on regular basis. However, I don’t really want to disclose how I used Google Maps for my own business. Let’s keep this blog clean.

You can nicely churn out the competitor details and drive their customers to your business. That involves some serious research. It worked really well in my case.

Hint: You can grow your business exponentially at the local level using this strategy.

20] Mobile App

Unless a prospective client has thousands of regular visitors per month, I don’t recommend building an App.

I built a mobile app and I got some important lessons. Here are my experiences.

Building an app is fine but it requires much attention and time for maintenance. It is like maintaining a dedicated website but with much more effort. If you are using both the platforms iOS as well as Android then it is even more difficult.

It’s an era of Progressive Web Apps (PWA).

Read More | Progressive Web App – The Future of Mobile Web

Also, people don’t really like to keep mobile apps on their phones unless it is solving some huge problems.

Should you build your own App? Ask these questions to yourself –
1] Is there anything that a website cannot do?
2] How many active users will it get?

If you have a huge audience of thousands of monthly active users then it might be a good idea to build an App. Otherwise, it is not worth the effort.

Download Digital Terminus Android App
[Caution: It’s not updated for a long time]

21] Niche Based Platforms

I have not done this yet but I will be starting it soon. There are several niche-based forums and platforms where you can share some valuable information. In return, you will get brand awareness and a warm audience. The interests of your business and audience will match there.

For instance, if you are a WordPress developer then you can contribute to WordPress Community which is a highly engaging community.

Since it is a niche-based platform, people with WordPress as a common interest hang out there. No other person will even visit that platform.

Do you get the potential of such platforms? For each and every niche, there is a dedicated platform. It’s your job to find such platforms.

If you want me to do that for you, then you can Contact Me.

Platforms That I Never Tested But Good To Try Out

1. Text SMS
2. Snapchat
3. Telegram
4. Line
5. Viber

Overwhelmed? Read & Note This

I even had multiple accounts on the same platforms. For example, I have 2 pages on Instagram, 2 Podcasts, 2 TikTok accounts with linguistically separated content.

I didn’t even mention my clients yet.

That easily counts to more than 600 pieces of content per month.

As a beginner, should you do the same?

No! We gradually scale with time.

We all start from zero and so did I!

I used to write on Yahoo Answers (a forum similar to Quora now) and my account was suspended. The year was probably 2012.

After a break of 4 long years, I started writing again on Quora. I wrote my first answer on 9th April 2016.

I am openly sharing this poorly written answer here because many people care too much about their writing quality. Consistency is important. Nobody is an expert on day 1!

It’s not too difficult as it seems. I have mentioned how I write blog posts on my website. You can check it out here:
How I Write Blog Posts

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