How to Grow Your Social Following as a Founder—and Which Platforms to Use

Here at Satty, many of our clients are business owners who are serial entrepreneurs or have children who are following in their parents footsteps and creating businesses themselves. Either way, there is no doubt that social media plays a great role in gaining recognition in the marketplace for these organizations. But the days of simply placing in Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin have given way to more target-specific social platforms that can be effective as an adjunct strategy. Here is a list of some with their associated audiences. If the shoe fits, wear it.

FROM INC MAGAZINE / BY ANNABEL BURBA

So you want to build in public—documenting the process of founding, launching, and growing your business online—but you’re not sure which platform to use. You could use Substack or Beehiiv to send newsletters, Medium to write blog posts, TikTok or YouTube to post videos, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky to share text-based posts, or Instagram to post photos. 

There’s no right answer. Founders of all kinds have grown their businesses by posting on each of these platforms—and many use more than one. Plus, there’s plenty of overlap: You can post TikTok-like videos on Instagram and share X-like text posts on Substack.

Still, if you’re at the very beginning of your building in public journey, it’s a good idea to focus your efforts on just one. Here’s a guide to help you pick between some of the most popular platforms right now: Substack, Beehiiv, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X.

Choose Substack if…

You’re a founder in the politics, media, fashion, or beauty space who enjoys storytelling. 

Substack, which launched as a newsletter platform in 2017 but now bills itself as a subscription network, reports hosting more than 50 million active subscriptions and 5 million paid subscriptions. The platform recently added video and livestream features in order to court creators who use other paid subscription platforms, but the majority of its content is still long-form and text-based. If you’re considering building in public on Substack, you need to have a love for writing—or at the very least, storytelling.

Newsletters on politics, fashion, and beauty seem to do especially well on Substack, which makes it a solid choice of platform if your company is in any of these industries. Many new-age media organizations including The Ankler and The Free Press publish on Substack, which means it’s also a great pick for media entrepreneurs and founders in adjacent industries like public relations.

“Substack is where founders can reach audiences who genuinely value a direct, personal connection,” Christina Loff, the platform’s head of lifestyle partnerships tells Inc. over email. “The publications that perform best all share a common thread: a strong, human voice.” Examples of founders whose publications do this well, she adds, include Rebecca Minkoff, who has more than 6,000 subscribers; Dianna Cohen of Crown Affair, who has more than 13,000; and Rachelle Hruska MacPherson of GuestofaGuest.com and Lingua Franca, who has more than 260,000.

Choose TikTok if…

Your business is targeting Gen Z. 

It’s no secret that TikTok dominates in attracting young users—and keeping them engaged. The video sharing app rose to fame in 2020 and now has an estimated 170 million American users, many of whom are 28 years old and under. In fact, according to TikTok, 91 percent of Gen Z internet users “have discovered something” on the platform in the past month. So if you’re a young founder, or if you’re starting a business that’s targeting Gen Z customers, TikTok is probably your best bet.

All you really need to get started on TikTok is a smartphone and basic video-editing skills. Nadya Okamoto, the co-founder of sustainable period care brand August, for one, has grown her audience to 4.4 million in just four years by filming her daily routine, answering product questions, and posting get-ready-with-me videos. Boutique candy brand Lil Sweet Treat’s founder Elly Ross has gained more than 36,300 followers by documenting her experience of opening four storefronts and launching a line of candy. 

Choose LinkedIn if…

You’re a founder in the business-to-business space. 

As a work-centric social media platform, LinkedIn is a great place for you to build in public if your company makes products for or provides services to other businesses. Still, there’s a lot of competition on the platform. More than 69 million companies and 243 million American professionals use LinkedIn, according to the company—and almost all of them are posting about their own careers. 

This makes it critical to use LinkedIn in creative ways that align with your business values. Founders Vin Matano and Jasmine Garnsworthy do this well, posting about the highs and lows of building their respective companies, business-to-business influencer marketing agency Creatorbuzz and networking platform Female Founder World, in engaging ways. Matano often posts vlog-style videos that show off his skills as a content creator while Garnsworthy shares photo carousels accompanied with text that are fun to click through.

Choose Beehiiv if…

You’re a founder who wants to generate extra revenue by building in public. 

Beehiiv’s best selling point for founders is its pricing model. The newsletter-building platform charges users a flat monthly fee which ranges from about $40 to $400, depending on how many subscribers you have and which features you want to use—and offers a free version for users with 2,500 subscribers or less. Paying members also get access to Beehiiv’s newly launched ad network, which they can reportedly use to land sponsorship deals from brands like Netflix and Nike. Substack, in comparison, takes 10 percent of your subscription revenue and charges processing fees on additional transactions. 

As of July 2025, the more than 110,000 publishers that use Beehiiv have earned upwards of $30 million through their newsletters, according to the company. So if you’re hoping to generate revenue by posting about your founder journey, Beehiiv is probably the right platform for the job.

Tyler Denk, the founder of Beehiiv, is easily one of its most prolific—and successful—build-in-public users. His weekly newsletter Big Desk Energy, which he kickstarted in January 2024, had more than 100,000 subscribers as of two months ago. “I had always wanted to launch a newsletter and share the behind-the-scenes stories and strategies we were leveraging at Beehiiv,”  he told Inc.’s editor-in-chief in January, “because I think there’s a lack of useful and transparent information for founders from founders who are actually in the trenches building.”

Choose X (formerly Twitter) if…

You’re a founder in the tech or finance spaces—or you’re funny. 

Beehiiv’s Denk doesn’t only use his own platform to build in public. He also uses X. Since launching Beehiiv in 2021, Denk has used the social media app to celebrate his company’s financial wins, share product updates, and highlight well-designed or high-earning Beehiiv newsletters. Denk now has more than 35,700 followers on X. Overall, the platform has about 1 billion total active users, according to a December 2024 post by its owner Elon Musk.

Short, snappy posts do well on X, as does tech and finance content, meaning if you’re in either industry—or if you’re just plain funny—the platform could be ideal for you.