The emergence of new social media platforms
The emergence of new social media platforms
September 2, 2022
Intrigued by the latest trends in social media? Check out this article to discover the latest social media platforms which are becoming extremely popular amongst users, including everything from TikTok and Instagram’s Reels to lesser known platforms such as Caffeine and Twitch.
Social media platforms attract an extensive global audience, with users topping 4.65 billion as of April 2022, according to Datareportal’s Digital 2022 April Global Snapshot report.
Apps and platforms are constantly emerging and evolving, meaning that social media and content managers must stay up to date with new and upcoming trends in order to understand how to leverage these updates for brands’ organic and paid social media presence.
To help get to grips with the recent advances in social media, this article highlights the apps and platforms to have on your radar when looking to promote brand awareness and encourage customer engagement.
TikTok and Instagram Reels
Multi-video clip format social media has become incredibly popular in recent year for just about everyone, from established influencers to casual users and even brands. Being able to create a clip which contains multiple videos has proven to be highly engaging, and has become a unique way to market products and brands.
TikTok blew up during 2020 and 2021, and became the fastest growing social media platform in the US, largely a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the end of 2021, TikTok had a global audience of 1 billion monthly users, according to a study conducted by Business of Apps.
TikTok allows users to share video clips ranging from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, with viral content originating from the app becoming increasingly commonplace within internet culture. Therefore, this format is increasingly being used by marketers and social media managers as a means of promotion and brand awareness.
Instagram Reels provides a similar concept to TikTok, allowing users the opportunity to permanently feature multi-video clips on their profile, again popular amongst brands and social media managers, as the Reel format is an effective way of increasing reach on the platform solidifying its value in awareness building while also acting as a means of promoting a range of different things.
Live streaming services
Platforms such as Twitch and Caffeine are emerging live streaming apps which have become popular due to the accessibility and interactivity of this industry- it allows users to watch videos and programs in their own time, as opposed to being tied to a TV schedule.
Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, offers live streams on multiple different topics, such as sports, food and drink, travel and gaming to name a few, allowing users to come together and chat, interact, and make live entertainment together.
Caffeine works in a similar way to Twitch, also giving users the opportunity to watch and interact with live programs together, such as FOX Sports and ESPN. However, this platform is still in development after recently receiving $294 million in funding, so it is worth watching out for.
So, what do these live streaming platforms mean for brands and marketers?
Firstly, both platforms give marketers the opportunity to promote their products, through the likes of both banner and in-video ads, with the ultimate goal of raising brand awareness.
Additionally, the fact that both apps offer content on a range of different topics and industries creates multiple options for brands and marketers to target their desired audience.
The good news is, brands have already begun to collaborate with Twitch users, encouraging them to help raise awareness of their products during their live stream. This is only the beginning of marketing via these platforms, so be sure to keep these apps on your radar.
Spotify Greenroom and Twitter spaces
Aside from the popular social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube gaining an enormous number of users each year, audio-based social networking is beginning to gain popular attention.
Audio-based apps include the ability to share music, create playlists and discuss topics and ideas, one example being Spotify Greenroom; which came to life in 2021, and utilizes live audio to connect people. Virtual rooms can be used to chat about interests, and artists can connect with fans in a whole new way.
What does this mean for marketing?
Since Spotify Greenroom caters to listeners of various interests, ultimately there are possibilities for a wide selection of brands to utilise this app as a means of advertising.
Current advertisements on this platform are provided from the likes of Pizza Hut, LinkedIn and Samsung, emphasising the usefulness of Spotify for raising brand awareness.
Twitter Spaces is another audio-based platform, first launched in 2020, giving users the ability to have live audio conversations, whilst also giving brands the option of sharing live updates and interacting with their followers.
As well as this, Twitter Spaces allows for hosting live events with multiple speakers, providing a great platform for brands to inform followers of their new products and promotions.
Patreon
This platform has also recently become popular, giving brands and creators the opportunity to provide their followers with exclusive content.
Patreon works through providing monthly subscriptions for users, which gives them access to content and bonuses they wouldn’t normally be able to obtain.
Brands are increasingly using this platform to promote and manage their content and following, providing a new basis to market products.
Supernova
If your brand promotes being charitable and believes in giving back, then Supernova is a useful platform to have on your radar. This app works by giving 60% of its income to charities which users have selected to support.
When a user receives a like on this app, money is taken from the “Supernova Action Fund” and is donated to the user’s chosen charity.
This is a recent app, only launched in 2021, and is a step towards charitable forms of social media, and therefore is something to keep up to date with as this platform emerges.
Key takeaways
As this article has shown, the platforms mentioned above, such as TikTok, Spotify Greenroom and Twitch, are incredibly popular and are constantly developing, paving the way for multiple marketing and advertising opportunities.
Although established apps such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube provide excellent awareness-building opportunities, smaller platforms have highly engaged audiences. If brands have a clear understanding of their audience and how their audience use these platforms, this then presents an opportunity to cut through the noise which comes with marketing on larger platforms and allows brands to be more targeted in their digital media strategies.
Charlie Purdy is a 21-year-old final year student and currently studying history at Northumbria University, with a keen interest in interest in copywriting.