The social media landscape is changing every day, with new platforms becoming increasingly relevant as audiences and marketers begin to shift their attention away from the big three: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Here we discover four platforms that every social media marketer should master in 2022.
1. Twitch
Twitch is a real-time live streaming platform that allows creators to communicate with their audience. Video game fans are the site’s primary source of traffic. While the audience observes and engages, players can record themselves playing popular games like Fortnite and Minecraft. Some creators may provide exclusive content to subscribers who pay for a membership. You may find movies and live streams on cuisine, music, and just about everything on this social network in addition to game material. Twitch also provides interactive live entertainment to its 30 million daily viewers, ranging from esports events to festivals.
According to HubSpot Blog Research from 2021, 75% of B2B social media marketers plan to expand their investment in Twitch, while just 28% of B2C marketers plan to do so. Streamers can make money on Twitch through subscriptions, adverts, and contributions, just like influencers on other social networks. Advertisers can choose from a number of ad locations, including the site carousel and connections with live broadcasts. They can also sponsor certain streamers with a large following. Twitch’s audience is diversifying and expanding outside gaming, making it easier for marketers to break into the platform. Furthermore, brands are not restricted to collaborating with streamers on the site. They can establish their own identity with a branded account and features such as emote, which are emoticons that can be used on the platform.
2. Discord
What was once a game platform has now become a comprehensive communication app. The following is how it works: The platform is powered by servers, which are community groups that facilitate video, audio, and text chat. Every user has the option of creating their own server or joining one that has already been created by another user. When it initially came out, Discord was a hit with gamers looking for a way to stream games and communicate with others in the gaming community. Discord revealed aspirations to expand beyond this group after receiving $100 million in investment in 2020.
Discord does not yet run advertisements on the platform, so brands must rely on organic growth. Otis, a startup investment platform, has had a lot of success in this area. Otis’ head of marketing, Cam Lay, said in a Digiday story that they’ve developed a solid community of 600+ members by providing insights and connecting with consumers on a regular basis. They also use their community to gather feedback and learn how their customers feel about their goods and services. Discord provides a wonderful chance for businesses to increase brand loyalty and trust. Brands must be invested in their audience and willing to play the long game to be successful on a platform like this.
3. TikTok
Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app, combined with TikTok, a comparable one-year-old app, in 2018. It is presently more popular in app stores than other well-known social networking networks, with 1.5 billion users predicted by 2022. Like Vine, the app allows you to create short movies that play in a loop. However, just like Musical.ly or Snapchat, you can spice things up with amusing effects, AR filters, text, and musical overlays. Users under the age of 30 have mostly adopted it, as have other video sites. After you’ve created a video, the software helps you to optimise it by adding hashtags to make it more searchable.
Tiktok ranks third after Instagram and YouTube in terms of ROI, according to 46 percent of social media marketers polled in a HubSpot Blog Research research from 2021. As a result, 93 percent of marketers who use TikTok aim to grow their investment or maintain their current level of investment in 2022. While you may not want to devote all of your social media efforts to TikTok just yet, now is a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the app and try out a few entertaining videos. You might also come up with a few challenges or video ideas that fit your business and the platform’s young demographic. Follow any brands that are in a comparable space to you for some added value.
4. Clubhouse
Clubhouse uses synchronous, audio-only connectivity between the audience and the speakers, unlike standard social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, which provide an asynchronous platform for chatting and sharing material. It’s not quite a podcast, but it’s a more intimate manner of sharing information with an audience that can interact with you in real time. “What truly happens in Clubhouse?” you might wonder. And the truth is that it’s a mix of everything. Topics such as how to start a business from top venture capitalists, celebrity-sponsored relationship conversations, and even comedy clubs hosted by up-and-coming comedians all make their way in front of live audiences.
The fact that it contradicted every other social platform accessible today contributed to the sudden controversy regarding this new social media network. It was by invitation only, which is the polar opposite of how we’ve grown to interpret and use social media. The app’s creators claimed they wanted to make sure Clubhouse was perfect before exposing it to the public, yet members of the in-group acted as gatekeepers to hundreds of daily chats.
What are the benefits of Clubhouse for marketers and brands? That has yet to be determined, but experts are already testing. Content providers are expanding their audiences quickly in the hopes of getting income options when they become available, thus the race to crack the Clubhouse code is on. Not sure how to make the most of it? Consider holding an informal focus group, beginning a discussion around a popular blog item your company has written, or participating in a discussion moderated by an industry thought leader.