If you had told someone that TikTok would be among the top 5 apps in the world, they would have disagreed with you. This indicates that we might have new social media platforms becoming bigger than the likes of Facebook or Twitter. In this article, we will look at the emerging social media sites that marketers should note.
Our Review of Top 5 Emerging Social Media Sites
Already, there are 4.95 billion social media users. This has drawn new social media platforms coming up every day to get a share of the cake. If you are a social media marketer, you should watch these sites:
Discord
Discord is an app for community engagement and management. It works almost the same way as Zoom and has over 150 million members. The app can be used for meetings, communication, live chat, screen sharing, and more. While it started as a community for gamers, it has transitioned to serve business people and cna be helpful to social media marketers.
Pros
- Has specific channels for voice chat and texts
- Allows for custom sharing
- Ability to tag customers during char or events
- Enables first-party data tracking
Cons
- Small channel library
- Cluttered interface
- Higher video resolutions are only available on paid plans
As a sign of its growing popularity, Microsoft offered to buy Discord for billions of dollars. That means they have seen something in this app that most people do not know about. But once you sign up on Discord, you will probably understand why. The app makes it easy for anyone to establish chat servers and chat with friends and families through text, video, or audio.
Threads
Another social media site that makes it to our list is Thread. Started by Meta in July 2023, the site caused a buzz when it was launched, reaching 100 million users within ten days. While it didn’t maintain the same growth momentum, it still has a considerable user base, considering it is less than 6 months old. Since it is integrated with Instagram, you need to have an Instagram account to join threads.
Pros
- Ability to integrate it with Instagram
- Pretty easy to set up
Cons
- No performance data
- You need to delete your Instagram account to delete the thread account
Thread is a great place for brands to engage with their audiences due to its conversational nature. Since it’s still in its early stages, we can expect to see improvement in the future.
Twitch
Originally, Twitch was a platform dedicated to the gaming community, specializing in esports and video gaming. However, today, it’s a platform that provides all kinds of content. The brand owned by Amazon has 120 million users, making it among the top social media sites.
Today, brands collaborate with Twitch streamers to promote their products and provide helpful information. They also use the platform to share brand information through in-video ads and banners.
Pros
- Reaches a bigger live-streaming audiences
- Great opportunity for advertisers to promote themselves on live-stream
- Great audience analytic tools
- Has a monetization option
Cons
- Not as popular as Youtubers with non-gaming content
Clubhouse
After it was launched in 2020, Clubhouse reached 11 million downloads within one year. The app’s popularity reached new levels in 2021 when key personalities like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk admitted to using the app. The app is meant to work like a brick-and-mortar Clubhouse, where you can hang out with other people and share conversations.
Pros
- Has an informative and engaging way of learning
- Members can join the audio chat room free of charge
- Ability to teach and connect with others
Cons
- A lot of noise
- Not very credible
Chirp
This content-sharing app allows users to share content differently from traditional methods such as texts, Bluetooth, email, Dropbox, QR codes, and more. In fact, it’s faster than all these methods as no contact details are needed. To send content using Chirp, you only need to upload it to their server.
You can then change your server link into different transmitting channels. Devices near you will hear you chirp and, therefore, be able to receive your message. You can also share the content from a cheep to social media sites like Facebook or TikTok.
Pros
- A future network merged with blockchains
- Ability to text, photo, video, or voice
- Ability to also receive cheeps
Cons
- Not very popular
Final Thoughts
You are already late if you are trying to grow your audience on major social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. This is because these big platforms are already full of brands all trying to market themselves. On the other hand, emerging social media sites are a good alternative for growing your brand and staying ahead of the competition. You can expect growth in your social media account with one of the above options.
