What is the best social media to use for business?
Simple: the one where your target market hangs out.
Your target market isn’t as narrowly defined as those to whom you want to sell something. Expand it to include those with whom you’d like to network, develop a friendship, or learn from.
For most business people, it is important to think clearly about whom you’re trying to attract. Are you looking for people to sell to directly? If this is the case, then direct marketing or advertising might be a better option than social media, because social media is about building rapport, conversing, listening, and is not about the hard sell.
When it comes to social networking, think about the people who have traditionally offered the best referrals. For example, wedding planners may be a good referral source for wedding photographers. Accountants can be an excellent source of referrals as well because they interact with a wide variety of businesses. No matter the target, the key is to be a resource who gives and engages as much as possible and avoids acting like a door-to-door salesperson.
If you are trying to connect with musicians, then the best social media site for you may be MySpace. Twitter is the best if you enjoy sharing information, original thoughts, and links to resources that your target market desires. If you are looking for professionals just a few introductions away from you, then maybe the best place is LinkedIn. Facebook is growing by leaps and bounds and offers a large demographic pool within which you can target, and because of it's growing use, the Fan Pages they offer are great tools to keep "top of mind" with potential clients and to build a communication base. As well, YouTube could be a great place for you if your product needs simple "how-to" videos that you could put together and post.
So in the end, it's not a cut and dried answer as to which is the best. It depends on your industry, your target demographic and the means/tools with which you want to engage them. As well, remember it is called "social media" with an emphasis on social! To use social media, you have to make the commitment to engage and use the platform. It is not a once and done thing.
For more information and resources on Social Media, visit: http://www.digitalhill.com/page/60/Social-Media
