Lesser-known social media platforms for experimental marketers

The benefits of including a lesser-known platform in your marketing plan

Though it might seem as if there are fewer opportunities for marketing on a smaller or lesser-known platform, the opposite couldn’t be more true. Opting to build a presence on a lesser-known platform can mean:

• Access to a more niche audience: Smaller social media platforms often center their marketing around a smaller and more specific audience. For example, Discord is often very popular amongst the gaming community. If you can find a platform that aligns with your target audience, then you could find much greater engagement and success on a smaller platform versus one of the big six.
• Find your audience: Times change, trends come and go, and your audience is sure to begin exploring other platforms sooner or later. If you’ve noticed that your engagement levels on bigger platforms aren’t what they used to be, it could be possible that your audience is moving to smaller and more niche platforms.
• Less competition: Smaller platforms are naturally going to be less saturated with content which will give you less to compete with versus the immense amount of content on larger social platforms. This means that you will have a greater chance of your content getting seen and will reduce the cost of your overall marketing efforts.
• Unique features and functionality: Many of these smaller social media platforms offer something different from other platforms on the market. It could be the unique offering of a smaller platform that perfectly complements your brand or business.

Discord

Description: Discord is a community-centric social media app where users come together to discuss like-minded interests and hobbies within private or public “servers.” Users can communicate through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files.

Key audience: Gamers, Gen Z, and millennial users make up 42% of the platform.

Subscription info: Discord can be used for free, but additional features become available if you subscribe to Nitro Basic or Nitro.

USP: Discord is great for forming small and engaged communities around specific topics or interests.

Further reading: How to use Discord as a business

Are.na

Description: Are.na is an online network that functions as an archive for saving, curating, sharing, and organizing content.

Key audience: Designers, artists, architects

Subscription info: Users can create a free “Guest” account and get up to 200 Blocks. Those who want unlimited Blocks as well as additional features can pay a $7 monthly/$17 annual fee.

USP: Are.na is different from your typical social media platforms as it is without common functionality such as liking, sharing, or favoriting content. Additionally, Are.na comes with a minimalistic UI and isn’t reliant on visual content.

BeReal

Description: BeReal is a French photo-sharing app that encourages users to share a daily photo of their life with friends and followers when prompted during a random two-minute window each day.

Key audience: The majority of BeReal users are between 26 and 44.

Subscription info: BeReal is completely free to use and there are no subscription packages.

USP: BeReal insists that users upload a photo whenever they are randomly prompted, bringing a true sense of authenticity back to social media.

Lemon8

Description: Lemon8 is a lifestyle app similar to Instagram and Pinterest that features photo-heavy content.

Key audience: Lemon8 caters to a Gen Z audience.

Subscription info: Lemon8 is free to use with no subscription packages on offer.

USP: Lemon8 is great for inspiration and photo-sharing, but its uniqueness comes in its popularity with a younger base compared to similar platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest. It is also a big space for businesses as its content focuses heavily on products and promotions.

Twitch

Description: Twitch is a video live-streaming platform used heavily by gamers (although not exclusively) to chat, interact, and create entertainment.

Key audience: Popular amongst gamers and those aged 25-34

Subscription info: Twitch is free to use, and you can watch content on Twitch without an account. Subscriptions can be used to support creators with a one-off payment or on a monthly rolling basis as an act of good faith and to get access to “subscriber perks” as defined by the creator. Subscriptions are not compulsory.

USP: Twitch focuses heavily on live-streaming video content, more so than other social media platforms.

Clubhouse

Description: Clubhouse is a social audio app where users can listen or communicate using audio by entering “Rooms.”

Key audience: 56% of Clubhouse users are aged 18-34.

Subscription info: Clubhouse is free to join and use and there are no subscription packages on offer.

USP: Clubhouse stands out for its audio-centric nature as a combination of a conference call and a chat room.

Mastodon

Description: Mastodon is an open-source software for self-hosted social media networking.

Key audience: Adults 25-34 make up the biggest age group on the platform while two-thirds of users are male.

Subscription info: Mastodon is entirely free.

USP: Mastodon is decentralized, meaning that it’s made up of a network of servers that each function according to the dictates of the server owner, and is not in the hands of the platform itself.

Telegram

Description: Telegram is a cloud-based, cross-platform, instant messaging service.

Key audience: 53% of Telegram users are aged 18-34.

Subscription info: Telegram is free to use with no subscription packages on offer.

USP: Telegram is known for its end-to-end encryption chats and video phone calls. Unlike WhatsApp, it doesn’t require a phone number to use, and all message history, images, files, and documents can be saved to the cloud from Telegram.

BlueSky

Description: BlueSky is a decentralized social media app conceptualized by former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey.

Key audience: The largest group of visitors on BlueSky ages from 25-34, followed by 18-24. 30.4% of users are female, and 70% are male.

Subscription info: BlueSky is free with no subscription packages on offer.

USP: BlueSky is very similar to how Twitter was before Elon Musk acquired it. However, it has the added appeal of being decentralized (much like Mastodon), allowing users to remain in control of their own experience in the app.

RTRO

Description: RTRO is a social media app that allows you to toggle between viewing content from personal connections to brand and creator content.

Subscription info: RTRO is free to use.

USP: RTRO prides itself on being an algorithm-free social media app that allows you to separate friends-and-family content from brand and creator content.