Niche Platforms Thought Paper
While social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are buzzing with engagement, users and millions of brands trying to win their audiences’ attention and loyalty, niche platforms have become increasingly important for brands and influencers to utilize for their social media strategy.
According to Three Girls Media, a niche social network is “a social media platform that focuses on a specific interest group or demographic.” Examples of niche platforms include BlogHer, which is a social media platform for female content creators; Goodreads, a site to track, discover and rate books; and Meetup, which allows people to network, collaborate and meet up in person or online.
For brands and influencers, niche platforms can be extremely beneficial for a social strategy. To start, popular platforms such as Instagram or Facebook are flooded with brands and influencers, so a brand may not be reaching its target audience and therefore waste money on advertisements and other kinds of content. Niche platforms serve specific audiences, so using a niche platform that is geared towards a brand’s target audience allows for the brand to directly target and reach their intended audience; this is important because it ensures that a brand’s strategy will reach its audience and be effective in yielding results.
Additionally, because niche platforms don’t have as many users, there will be less competition among other brands and most likely lower costs for advertisements and organic content. This is especially beneficial for brands in a very saturated market because it can be difficult to stand out on social media platforms where other brands are marketing the same things. When using niche platforms, brands have a better chance to uniquely position themselves and stand out from the competition by focusing on their values, unique selling points and creating sustainable relationships with consumers.
Another benefit for a brand’s social strategy when using niche platforms is that a brand can make its strategy more personalized and focused since it is catering to a specific target audience. When a brand caters to its audience’s interests, this helps foster customer loyalty and create a following among people with similar interests and values.
Examples of Using Niche Platforms
According to D Custom, Old Spice utilized Twitch to promote its products among millennial males. Although Twitch is primarily used by gaming companies to target people who are interested in gaming, Old Spice found that the majority of users on Twitch are millennial males. Old Spice created a “wildly successful campaign where audiences controlled a “live human” for a three-day streaming event.”
The Verge further explained that the majority of traditional advertisements on Twitch are pre-roll video advertisements and banner ads, but Old Spice experimented with a live-stream event that better resonated with the target audience and platform. As a result, according to AList, the campaign received 2.65 million total views, and 57% of the total views came from unique visitors.
Another successful example of a brand using niche platforms to market its products is XboxOne. On a HubSpot article detailing ways to use Reddit for brands to promote themselves, author Pamela Bump said that XBoxOne leveraged a subreddit created for the brand to connect with its audience, answer questions, promote the products and foster customer loyalty. Because the subreddit was previously created for the brand, XBoxOne had a great opportunity to market directly to its target audience that already has an interest in XBoxOne and gaming.
XBoxOne game developers created an “Ask Me Anything” tab to the subreddit to answer questions and receive feedback. This is a very effective way to discuss products and provide customer service. Additionally, XBoxOne created buzz around the brand and products by rewarding loyal fans on Reddit with exclusive content. All in all, this was an extremely effective way to create an engaging and loyal community of fans and consumers for the brand.
