Social networking sites are responsible for over 30% of all referral traffic on the internet, and there is no reason to expect that number to fall anytime soon. Your business needs an effective outreach strategy if you want to be successful, and this begins with determining which social media platforms to target.

This list contains the six sites that you should target first. These websites offer the best in terms of user base size, traffic generation and overall functionality. You may find that some are more effective than others at helping you achieve your specific goals, but it is worth your time to explore the potential with each.

1. Facebook

Number one may be obvious, but that doesn’t make it any less important. According to Facebook’s website, they averaged over a billion daily active users in June 2016. That’s billion with a B! The site has many ways to connect with your audience and is also incredibly effective at driving traffic. While some social networks are optional, a solid Facebook presence is pretty much mandatory.

2. Google+

Google+ may be the most undervalued social network on the internet when it comes to business. One major advantage of a complete Google+ profile is improved search rankings, especially when it comes to local search results. On top of this, a Google+ account comes with access to many other valuable tools, including Youtube, Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.

3. Twitter

You may not be able to say a lot in each tweet, but Twitter can still be a great tool for expanding the size of your audience. The public nature of the site makes it very easy to connect with other influencers in your industry, which can drive increased exposure and brand awareness. Be aware that success on twitter typically requires very active use, as individual tweets can get buried below hundreds of others in a matter of minutes.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s biggest professional social network and can be used to find top-tier talent, potential partners and even investors. You typically won’t be connecting directly with customers on this site, though certain businesses may find success with that as well (especially those that are B2B). If you ever plan on making professional connections to build your business, a LinkedIn profile should be on your radar.

5. Pinterest

If your target audience is active on Pinterest, the site can drive huge amounts of traffic. The site consists of ‘boards’, which are just collections of ‘pins’ relating to a specific topic. One great thing about Pinterest is that the location of a pin on a board isn’t time based, meaning it can continue to drive traffic months after it was originally posted.

6. Reddit

Reddit consists of thousands of individual subreddits, which are communities dedicated to a specific topic. There are subreddits for just about every subject imaginable. If you engage these communities and deliver helpful comments, you can develop a very active and appreciative audience. Reddit can be very difficult to use effectively as a business because the site heavily discourages self promotion, but when used strategically it can also be a huge source of traffic.

Honorable Mentions: While this list focused on the six most important social networking sites, there are many others that can also be extremely beneficial for businesses when used properly. The best of the rest include Instagram and Quora. Instagram can be great if your business involves anything visual (including physical products), and Quora is a great way to show expertise in your field.

If your business is held back by your ability to network effectively, check out our Accelerator Partnership. This program guarantees online marketing success for your business and will leave you wishing you had found it sooner. There are only a limited amount of spots available, so be sure to check it out today.