What social networks should a customer-facing startup focus on?

We should use most of the popular social network so we can reach all potential customers

It depends on the culture and the region where are you located, for example in Kuwait most citizens are using twitter and instagram, while in egypt twitter and facebook in the top

 

so you need to study the environment where you should focus on....

You should brainstorm on the following questions:

1. Who is your target audience?
2. What sort of content do you want people to share from your blog?
3. Do you want to generate revenue through advertising.

If your audiences are teenagers and pop culture then I would suggest the following:TumblrFacebook TwitterYoutubePinterestIf your audience consists of professionals then my recommendations are (e.g. trade based digital publication):LinkedinFacebookTwitterYoutubeVimeoIf your audience is women of all ages especially those interested in food, travel, fitness, art and jewelry:PinterestInstagramIf your audience is university students coming to your site for research an insight for their papers,collaboration and simple networking then opt for:SlideshareScribdFacebookTwitterWordpressYoutubeBlackboardIf your audience is all age groups and multiple topics then go for these. You can never go wrong with them. In this case I would suggest integrating a third party comment management system like Livefyre, Disqus orIntenseDebateFacebookTwitterYoutubeIf you are a creative professional and you want to promote showreels, articles and any other creative work you might want to consider have accounts on the following and adding these:DeviantArtFacebookVimeoYoutubeTwitterInstagramFlickrPressfolioSlideshareScribdPinterestThe best platforms for generating revenue through advertising are:Promoted tweets on TwitterAds (Facebook’s15 Ad Types) on Facebook (MUST READ)Pinterest for BusinessScribd

 

Speaking form my personal experience I started with Facebook Notes and today I use Medium and Quora although my self-hosted Wordpress blog is still active.You can always export content from one platform to the other. The best way to help your readers transition from one medium to the other is of course social networks and email newsletter.Here is what I believe you should do:

1. Pick the subjects you want to talk about. Keep the list short.
2. Break your subject into topics.
3. Treat your topics as hashtags (or metadata) and do a Google blog search.
4. See which blogs are used for your topic. Granted there are many platforms out there, but the popular ones are a few. Fact: About17-19% of the world's websites are hosted on Wordpress.
5. For a detailed list check out: 
6. Start with writing350 word length posts on Facebook and their summaries or photo-stories on Twitter
7. 
8. You will then learn the reading habits and the interests of your readers.
9. 

Otherwise: 

• If you are a professional use LinkedIn Blogs.
• If you feel you want control over your content and complete freedom for customization Wordpress is the way to go.
• If you are a heavy user on Twitter then, nothing beats the popularity ofMedium, but that's debatable too.
• CONTACT me for a list of the top plugins for WordPress based on my experience.

 

LinkedIn LinkedIn offers the opportunity to connect with customers, potential prospects, and others within professional circles. You can utilize LinkedIn to research a specific organization by pulling up their company LinkedIn page, examining their organization information, and viewing their connected employees. Data.com Data.com is a free and handy tool that can provide you with names and e - mail addresses. Setting up an account is quick , easy, and safe. With Data.com you will have access to an organization’s profile overviews, a list of known employees and their associated contact information. Data.com is a powerful tool that can make the prospecting process faster and easier.

Most Importantly  Twitter and Facebook as they are Live and you will have many people creating a Perception if they are not timely attended to

Social media is a powerful commercial tool nowadays so I would say all of them. The more you advertise on all social media outlets, the better exposure your company will get.

Social Media = if used right can be a very powerful marketing tool. instagram, facebook, twitter  is used by millions of people and there are always plenty of potential clients out there. if the message is delivered right and and to the point without fake promises then boom!! specially in the fields of real estate, media firms, retail, education and any other business providing services. the service industry out of the social media or any means of advertising doesnt have a face. so when you are out there you are actually being tangible to the customers. if done right you are talking money!! :)

This depends on your geographical location. Facebook and Twitter are used mostly in many countries. 

It is also depending on business type, whether B2C or B2B.

Just one advice to give you, don't be all over social media trying to open up pages and accounts on multiple platforms, select and focus on few platforms instead of many.