The Middle East and Africa experienced a 33.9% increase in social network users in 2011, according to eMartketer.com, and both regions will continue to see double-digit percentage gains through 2014. Beyond Facebook, localised social networks like China's Sina Weibo microblogging platform are growing fast, but the truly explosive growth is happening in niche social networks like Instagram, Vimeo, and new kid on the block Vine, a six-second stop-motion animation video maker attracting huge interest.
Pinterest has an estimated 150 000 South Africans on the platform, while Mxit competitor 2Go has attracted 11 million African users, one million of them in SA. These spinoffs offer more in-depth, focused functionalities than their bigger counterparts. But what does this all mean for brands and businesses?
"Many brands haven't been able to figure out Facebook because it's so broad and has so many users," says Craig Rodney, MD of Cerebra Communications. "It's often tough to understand your place in such a big space. Niche networks help many brands find meaning, define their role, and thrive."
Mike Sharman, owner of Retroviral Digital Communications, says the growth of custom platforms is unstoppable. "Social networks are based on the premise that humans are voyeurs. They give us the opportunity to peep through the keyhole and see how successful we are compared to others. People flock to new networks to become early adopter power users with the most fans, friends, video views and connections. Digital fame is our generation's drug."
Added value
There's no question that niche social networks deliver better ways to engage customers. "By using relevant social networks, brands can have the right conversations with the right people," says Justin Spratt, CEO of digital marketing agency Quirk. Also, people like more select social groups. Vernacular and jargon become important social connectors. This can increase user engagement, but they require specific user engagement strategies. Cutting and pasting other business strategies will not work."
Sharman agrees: "Digital is not the answer to everything. For brands, the priority is to support business objectives to encourage sales and use of a service. Strategy development comes first, tactical considerations second."
Niche networks help many brands find meaning, define their role, and thrive.
Marketers ideally want to communicate directly with their target market as often as possible. Online communities that cater for niche interests enable exactly this. "There are communities for every taste - from fishing, to cars, to travel - which means it's easier for brands that appeal to particular interests to tap into a more quality audience," says Sharman.
"But it's important to realise that people don't want a hard sell in the digital world. Instead, it's important to spend time becoming part of the ecosystem or create your own network that adds value to consumers. Nike+ is a great example, enabling runners to compete against and connect with like-minded people from around the globe."
Sharman says brands must not only advertise on platforms that comprise their target audience, but also build their own 'webcity'. "Don't invest in borrowed land. Rather spend time building your own quality community that adds value, supports business objectives and does not rely solely on the likes of Facebook, Twitter, etc."
That's valuable advice considering the mass culling that has taken place on Facebook. "Being fed random content from 500 'friends' does little for the audience," says Cerebra's Rodney. "Less noise and more value are key. Niche networks promise to cut out everything except content pertaining to that niche, which means both the brand and the audience have a better and more profitable social experience."
Know your place
Rodney stresses the importance of authentic conversations. "Technology has enabled the most interesting conversations to happen between brands and customers. If you have an open mind and a willingness to learn, you can derive massive value from listening to customers and having conversations with those willing to tell you what they think."
There are communities for every taste - from fishing, to cars, to travel - which means it's easier for brands that appeal to particular interests to tap into a more quality audience.
He also offers a word of caution. "Know your place. There are few things worse than brands getting vocal about things that have nothing to do with them. Know which conversations you should be involved in and which ones to avoid. Focus on your industry and your customers."
First published in the April 2013 issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine.
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