Think Before You Leap
New Social Media Apps Means Fun for Some, but Tough Decisions for Marketers
It seems that new social media platforms pop up every 5 minutes, so many, that I’m not even familiar with those that haven’t reached mainstream and been enthusiastically promoted by the masses. However, just as easily as new social media platforms are created, they can quickly be forgotten if they aren’t constantly improved with fun new features. Also, social platforms can simply be rejected due to some type of ethical or racial misstep. Hey Snapchat, that last misstep was a shoutout to you. Yes, I am one of probably a few hundred people who won’t download or will promptly delete an app for any of these reasons without much deliberation.
For brands, they must be even more thoughtful and strategic when just considering new apps to venture into. For them, it’s more than finding a new source of entertainment. Each platform has its particular set of users with their own quirks as to how they interact with content. Businesses need to be aware of these nuances when deciding to invest in social media marketing on a platform since it could impact how well their marketing efforts do.
The number one reason that brands don’t instantly invest in a new social media platform is because they are evaluating it to see if their target audience is consistently and actively using it. The whole point of forming a brand presence on any social media platform is because it allows companies to engage with their audience of fans and consumers. So, I agree that businesses shouldn’t make such decisions as quickly as the average consumer might. Whether the app is new or old, marketers should take the time needed to fully evaluate the new platform before diving in. It’s essential focus is to find the social network that presents the best return on your online marking investment.
Once a company has taken time to verify that a new to market app is successful, which in marketing means it has drawn the interest of a significant amount of their target audience and established consistent and active engagement from that audience, then I would suggest they proceed with a full marketing evaluation. Things to consider would be how the social platform will help them achieve their company goals or if the types of content expected there fits the brand’s established personality and voice. Speaking of content, their marketing team should explore the components of the app by creating personal accounts, finding out what content users are loving the most, then developing creative content and advertisement ideas that would benefit their brand. If the social media marketers feel the app is worth pursuing, they should then review their budget to ensure that investing in content and advertisements on the new platform is feasible.
I feel like I have to use TikTok as an example of a new platform that lots of brands have considered or are still considering adding to their social media presence portfolio. One brand that should seriously consider moving onto this platform if they haven’t already, is Hello Fresh, a meal kit delivery service. TikTok is filled with millions of their target consumers who are probably grown bored of eating fast food or restaurant cuisine and are looking for ways to create chef-level meals at home.
Before launching a profile or advertisements, their marketing team would have to decide how they would like to integrate their brand onto this platform. They could decide to pay influencers, who have already built an engaged following, to create comical TikTok cooking videos or try to create their own content (perhaps employees who don’t have much experience with cooking) that aligns with the app’s culture of humorous and entertaining video segments. Either way, they would also need to evaluate the budget for the content or ad ideas they decide upon. Once the profile is initiated, marketers would need to check the analytics monthly to see if the app is rewarding them with new website visitors in search of more information or new customers placing meal kit orders. There is no doubt that if thoroughly evaluated and planned, companies like Hello Fresh could greatly benefit from joining this new social media community.
There are a few other social media platforms that haven’t yet reached TikTok-level recognition but have introduced new concepts to the market. One app that I can think of is Quilt, a social networking tool that hosts virtual telephone-style gatherings to allow women of all ages, ethnicities, and stages of life to connect and provide support and advice to one another on issues that matter most to them. Of course, Quilt is no exception when it comes to advertisements and like most social platforms, it is funded by advertisers who they refer to as partners. These ad partners sponsor virtual gatherings held by Quilt app users. In this way women-centric brands who invest can promote their products directly to their target audience. So far the app has acquired 7 partners such as Thinx, a period underwear brand.
Although the social platform was developed in 2019, Quilt developers quickly altered the app to align with today’s social gathering restrictions. Since the shift to hosting only online gatherings, bookings have increased by 250% and continue to increase daily. Initially (pre-COVID), the idea behind the app was to encourage women to bring their online networking and support groups offline. Quilt developers wanted women to invite members of their virtual sister circle who lived locally into their homes, transferring the supportive atmosphere they developed online into real life networks and friendships.
I wanted to download the app to better explore its setup and features, however, there are no groups being formed here in Nebraska yet. From what I was able to read about the social platform online, I appreciate the idea behind the app and believe that a network like this would surely allow the women who utilize it to develop enriching long-lasting relationships with other women. This app has definitely arrived at a time when many women could use a listening ear or a kind word, however, I think the app should continue to promote virtual networking experiences only and allow women who meet on the platform to decide if they would like to meet up with certain women in-person.
These connections should be allowed to proceed as the user deems appropriate, whether its one-on-one or small group meetups at a coffee shop or local park. I know that women on dating apps, for example, are willing to take the risk and meet a stranger in the pursuit of love, but I doubt women will feel the same need or desire in order to network or build friendships. I think it would be different if, when the user numbers grow, the company themselves hosted networking events or meetups in certain major cities and encouraged their app users in those cities to attend. In the meantime, the app should seriously consider adding a video conferencing feature to their platform. Similar to Zoom, Quilt developers could allow the women to form groups based on topics of interest, career paths, or even age ranges and chat virtually face-to-face.
Should marketers invest in this new social app? I would recommend starting with a small investment if they feel this is where their brand should be. Quilt needs time to prove that it can be developed into more of a virtual networking meetup app as I’ve described and grow an engaged user audience. However, if developers revert to their initial strategy for this social media application, Quilt might join the other long forgotten apps in the graveyard of yesteryear.