Finding Your Niche: How niche social media platforms changed the marketing game
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Youtube, and the new kid on the block TikTok make up the majority of social media users on the internet today. From our fingertips we are able to like, share, retweet, and comment on content in the blink of an eye from cooking videos to a viral video of a puppy wearing a funny hat.
But as social media establishes itself as our way to find a connection between us, our favorite influencers, and that kindergarten classmate from 17 years ago, brands are having to step up their game to further cater their marketing to a rapidly changing social media game.
So some brands have to “find their niche,”.
Niche marketing is defined as a way to specialize in a highly specific product, service, or population to get your business to stand out above the crowd. Niche marketing can help you to get more customers, not because you meet more needs, but because you meet a special need. To do this, brands have to cater their product to exactly who they need to.
In comes niche social media platforms.
Niche social media platforms consist of things like Reddit, Quora, and one of the newest and quickly growing platforms Twitch. Niche social media platforms allow users to have content catered directly to them and can be found for almost any interest group from football to trading stocks. There is, quite literally, a niche social media for everyone.
By utilizing these niche social media platforms, brands can use their specific target market to their advantage and reach exactly who they want to through directing content to these users that are already interested in a particular topic. On platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it can be hard for a brand to stick out and find its target market. Stephanie Frasco of Convert with Content puts this perfectly by saying They can attempt through paid ads, or targeted boosted posts, but those can be expensive and not always successful. “Your conversion rates will be higher, the more targeted your audience is… with all the other static and noise in these large networks, your message might get lost.” Niche platforms allow for the brand to cater directly to who they want to market to easily.
Let’s take a look at Twitch.
Twitch is a niche social media platform that allows users to stream content and has over 40 million users. Typically, the platform is used for streaming basically any video game someone may be interested in but you can also find channels that stream cooking shows, custom sneakers, how-to videos, as well as even live DJ sets. Users that view the videos can support creators or brands by making donations during streams. Some of social medias biggest names are turning to Twitch now to engage their fans in more engaging content with Youtube stars like David Dobrik joining the platform. Dobrik even gave away $1000 for every win he had in a video game courtesy of a brand sponsorship to kick off the launch of his channel. It is also said that 64% of viewers will make a purchase of a product that is recommended to them by a streamer, opening up the realms of further niche marketing through influencer marketing. By streaming unique content on Twitch to an already catered audience, brands are sure to find new customers ready to jump on their product.
As social media continues to grow rapidly, we are sure to see the rise of more and more niche social media platforms. With social media already being an essential aspect of marketing these days, brands will find it more important than ever to establish themselves and cater even more to their target market and demographic. By using niche social media platforms, they’ll be able to do just that.
