by Brittany McSorley
Though the old standards like Facebook and Instagram are definitely here to stay, newcomers to the social media scene are always popping up. There are a variety of platforms out there that haven’t achieved must-participate status (yet).
While some are destined to be just a flash in the pan, it’s worth staying in the know when it comes to up-and-coming social platforms, even if just to investigate what the experts believe could be the next big thing in social. So far in 2019, these six platforms have come to stand out from the crowd. We think they’re worth keeping an eye on:
Anchor
Anchor is a platform built for recording, editing, and distributing podcasts. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but a podcast is now roughly as necessary as a passport—not quite obligatory, but if you don’t have one, it’s probably for a weird reason.
The social marketing lesson: Intimacy and immediacy are very important right now. For many, podcasts create a sense of community and belonging that can be tapped into whenever the need arises. That’s always a worthy goal when it comes to marketing.
Caffeine
Similar to its popular peer Twitch, Caffeine is a broadcasting platform built for live sharing. Using Caffeine, you can launch a broadcast of pretty much anything, but the live streaming movement gained most of its momentum thanks to gaming. That’s right: there are several people out there who make money by simply playing video games and streaming the experience. It’s fine. I’m not mad. Good for them.
The social marketing lesson: Your social media following will take notice if you allow them an inside look into how your business works. Inviting people into the fold of what you do fosters engagement and collaboration. If you’ve been reluctant to go live on Facebook or share videos as part of your marketing strategy, it’s time to reconsider.
Vero
Vero is an interesting experiment: a social network with no advertisements, no algorithm, and no data mining. And it’s free. (For now.) Vero is a sharing platform similar to Instagram, but with a chronological feed free of distracting ads. Intriguing, right?
The social marketing lesson: Sometimes the best thing you can do from a marketing standpoint is cut out the noise. You could use Vero as an Instagram alternative or rely on it for research. At the very least, it’s good to know there’s somewhere you can post where a fussy algorithm won’t bury your content.
Houseparty
Like an actual house party, this app allows like six hundred people to talk at the same time. It’s a live video chat tool that’s mainly been marketing to teenagers who may not be ready for a deep dive into the murky waters of social media, but it could be useful for professional teams and other groups who use collaborative tools.
The social marketing lesson: If your customer base includes younger people, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the social tools they’re using. Gen Z is all about constantly being tuned in with one another. Those pesky kids. Always nose-deep in their phones and demanding answers for environmental catastrophes they did nothing to create, am I right? Disgusting.
Kik
Kik is a free messaging app, offering features similar to those found in WhatsApp, but without requiring a phone number to create an account. An email and password are all that’s required to use Kik.
The social marketing lesson: Instant gratification is the name of the game. Kik and other messenger apps like it could be used to automate your customer service or market on an individual level. But more importantly than all that, someday the phone call is going to be extinct. And that day, the introverts will finally rise.
TikTok
TikTok is a video platform that allows users to share videos with a maximum runtime of 60 seconds. You may have seen examples of TikTok in the form of lip-syncing videos, because music is fun. TikTok is likely a descendant of Vine, which allowed users a mere six seconds per video. Sometimes 54 seconds makes all the difference, I guess.
The social marketing lesson: Visuals are always going to make a marketing attempt more compelling. It’s a truth universally acknowledged, like the unquestioned power of those checkout dividers at the grocery store. Slamming one of those down at the right moment could stop a homicide.
Whether you can use them for marketing or not, and whether they fade into obscurity or end up as major players, it’s important to stay in the know when it comes to new social climbers. (Sorry.) You never know which unsuspecting app will become the next big thing.
All photos via respective websites.
