5 Up and Coming Social Networks to Keep Your Eyes On
Did anything eventful happen in your life in 2004? If nothing else, that little social network Facebook happened. In 2004, the launch of Facebook was the beginning of a revolution that would transform the way information spreads. With more than 500 social media sites in existence today, social networks now influence everything from politics to entertainment.
In terms of business, it’s no secret that social media has also revolutionized the way that brands communicate with the public, and companies are doing whatever they can to be heard on these platforms.
Excuse me, how many people are using social media these days?
According to Hootsuite, more than 1.7 billion people are using social media worldwide. With a number like that, it’s hard to believe that it all took off only 10 short years ago. This leads us to wonder… if so much can change in such a short period of time, what is the next big social media platform to make its move?
Somewhere out there, someone is working on a new social media technology or application that will give rise to new marketing opportunities and again transform the way we reach our target markets. We best be ahead of the game!
Here are five up and coming social networks to be on the lookout for in the coming years (in no particular order):
If you can picture a combination of Pinterest and Esty, you’re basically envisioning Wanelo. Derived from the phrase “Want, Need, Love”, Wanelo is a shopping app that allows people to see what items their friends are favoriting and add them to their own wish lists to keep track of the things they want. Although you may have never heard of this network, it already has more than 11 million users and we’re expecting to see its icon make more appearances on online shopping websites throughout the year.
While it still has quite a bit of development to undergo before it will go viral, Space Tag has huge potential. By utilizing the power of GPS functions on mobile phones, it allows users to take photos and leave notes for others that are triggered when someone’s phone gets to a certain location. Users also have the ability to view a map of where space tags were left so they know where to go for hidden messages.
Medium launched back in 2012, but was an invite-only platform for established writers and thought leaders, so the standard for the quality of content was set very high. The site, which was created by one of the founders of Twitter, opened to the public in 2013 and now has more than 652,000 users. On this microblogging platform, posts are organized into collections based on their theme. Users follow collections, rather than users, which opens them up to content published by a larger audience than just their friends or people they accept. It also means that the people seeing content are almost guaranteed to be interested in it because they chose to follow that subject matter. It’s definitely a strong platform for content marketers to consider for sharing blog posts or industry updates.
Thumb.it is all about getting information from the wide variety of people on social media. Users can gather dozens to thousands of opinions from others on the Internet about what to wear, what to buy, etc. So how does this relate to business? If Nike were to create a new shoe, they could potentially post photos and descriptions of two prototypes and get immediate feedback on the preferred one.
Chirp is not only a new social media channel, but could also be revolutionary to communication in general. The app allows you to share information with any other phone within “hearing” range. Once you’ve selected the information you want to send, you press a button that triggers a chirping noise. Any phone within range will then have the option to receive your data onto their phone. Why is this a big deal? Because the sound can also carry through a loudspeaker, radio, or television – multiplying the number of people who can receive your data by… well, a lot. Retail companies can “chirp” you coupons when you watch one of their ads, or restaurants can chirp you photos of their food as you walk by in order to lure you in.
Which of these networks do you see as having the greatest potential? Did we leave any out? Or, if you’re already a user of any of these networks, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Go on, share with us in the comments – and thanks for reading!
