Finding Your Niche

Brands nowadays recognize the necessity to be on social media — it is essential for any inbound marketing strategy. Being able to reach your audience and connect with them makes all the difference. But with large social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, it has become very easy for content to become lost amongst the complicated algorithms. This is where niche social media platforms can benefit a brand’s social media strategy.

As many brands have learned, “…trying to be on every channel under the sun can be taxing on your resources and ultimately negatively impact your brand.” (Brandt & Crouse, 2018) This is also especially true when dealing with algorithms working against your favor. In addition, trying to reach a wider audience on large platforms may do more harm to things like ROI when brands know exactly who their target audience is. Niche social media platforms can be beneficial to brands for a number of reasons.

Niche social media platforms cater to more specific interests. “While Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat can feel directionless, smaller apps have purpose.” (McHugh, 2018) According to Michaela Brandt & Kate Crouse, users on niche social media platforms tend to engage more due to being on a platform specified for their interests. Albizu Garcia writes,

“More than ever, people are looking for a sense of belonging where they can express, collaborate and learn. They want to connect with a specific type of social community. As a result, niche, closed social groups are gaining more appeal versus public feeds on popular networks like Facebook.”

These platforms are used for specific reasons, and according to Molly McHugh, users can immediately benefit from the time spent on the app, rather than passively scrolling through random feeds. Because of this, brands on niche social media platforms have the opportunity to engage directly with loyal fans. Not only will this engagement help increase consumer trust, it can also be ideal for customer service. Additionally, being active on a niche platform can increase local brand awareness.

It does have to be noted that niche social media platforms tend to only work really well if there is a platform that currently already aligns with your brand so that you are able to create a strong following with those who already share your brand’s interests, according to Roxanne Simonnet. “The key to making a decision in regards to whether or not a niche platform is right for your brand revolves around finding your audience. Your effectiveness on social media is largely determined by the ability to locate your audience and then tailor your communication to fit their needs.” (Simonnet, 2017) Albizu Garcia writes, “…brands that zero in on niche social networks can increase their odds of reaching their target audience significantly and connecting with group members that much more effectively.” If your brand has influential leaders, passionate fan bases, hyper-local offerings, or vocal customers, then a niche platform may be very beneficial. (Brandt & Crouse, 2018)

Many fashion and lifestyle influencers on Instagram use niche platforms very well, LIKEtoKNOW.it in particular. “LIKEtoKNOW.it is a social shopping service that creates custom affiliate “shoppable” links to specific product pages on various ecommerce sites. Essentially, it makes shopping on Instagram and other social networks a whole lot easier by providing detailed where-to-shop information.” (Rivera, 2017) Influencers partner with rewardStyle, which powers LIKEtoKNOW.it. Influencers then can generate their affiliate link to items they are wearing or using in posts, and then are able to make a 5–15% commission from the items sold through their affiliate links, with no additional cost to the consumer. According to John E Lincoln, there are currently 3.4 million+ followers on @LIKEtoKNOW.it, with 75% of their consumers being women between the ages of 18–35. LIKEtoKNOW.it focuses on fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home, and travel influencers, so brands who fall under any of these industries with similar target audiences may benefit heavily from this niche platform and influencer marketing.

Josi Pellicano is an Instagram influencer who benefits from using LIKEtoKNOW.it. She uses it strategically — many of her followers ask about her clothes and where they can buy them too. Instead of just simply tagging the brand, she links and urges her followers to visit her LIKEtoKNOW.it page, thus benefitting from the niche platform’s purpose. Josi has 4.3k followers on her LIKEtoKNOW.it page, thus being able to reach a more specific audience than she would on Instagram.

Niche platforms are the perfect way for brands and influencers to reach a specific audience they may have trouble connecting with on larger platforms. These specific, loyal communities provide an opportunity for brands to build loyalty, higher and stronger engagement, as well as gain brand awareness — all things most brands strive for in their modern marketing strategies.

References

Brandt, M., & Crouse, K. (2018, February 7). Consider Niche Social Networks in Your Social Media Strategy. D Custom. https://dcustom.com/blog/amplification/2018/02/consider-niche-social-networks/.

Garcia, A. (2019, September 23). 3 Reasons to Pay Attention to Niche Social Networks. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/339532.

Lincoln, J. E. (2020, January 15). What Are Like To Know It and Reward Style (Why They Matter). Ignite Visibility. https://ignitevisibility.com/like-to-know-it-and-reward-style/.

McHugh, M. (2018, July 16). Will Niche Social Networks Save Us From Facebook? The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/tech/2018/7/16/17576802/niche-social-networks-alltrails-untappd-runkeeper.

Rivera, M. (2017, June 16). A Brand’s Guide to Instagram & LIKEtoKNOW.it: Volusion. Volusion Ecommerce Blog | SMB Marketing, Design, & Strategy. https://www.volusion.com/blog/a-brands-guide-to-instagram/.

Simonnet, R. (2017, December 27). The Importance of Niche Social Media Channels. Envano. https://www.envano.com/2017/12/importance-of-niche-social-media-channels/.