It can seem as if some social media platforms, such as Facebook, have been around forever, and we seem to be unable to do without them. Add emerging social media platforms such as TikTok, Discord and Lemon8 to the mix, and it can be difficult to adjust to the fast-evolving landscape of social media.
Marketers can have their tasks cut out for them and this includes knowing what social media platforms can help them stay ahead of the curve and which ones they need to keep abreast of. If you need answers, then we’ve got ém laid out for you in our review of emerging social media platforms: What marketers need to know.
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How Emerging Social Media Platforms Can Help You Stay Relevant
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have long dominated the social media scene, but newer platforms are quickly carving out their space. Why should marketers care? Because adapting to these platforms can open doors to untapped opportunities. Here’s how:
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Addressing Market Gaps
Emerging platforms often cater to specific needs or demographics that mainstream platforms overlook or fail to cover. For instance, Lemon8 appeals to creative niche communities, while Discord thrives on fostering private, interactive group experiences.
Leveraging Innovative Features
You may be drawn to an emerging social media platform because of the features it offers or the ability to use interactive content formats. This can certainly be an edge that such social media platforms provide over other traditional platforms. TikTok’s short-form videos and Discord’s real-time community interactions are just a couple of examples.
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Being the Early Bird
There’s little doubt that you can stay ahead of your competition if you can spot and leverage relevant emerging social media platforms and master them before they can. In this way, you can establish authority and build a loyal audience before competitors flood the space. It’s about getting ahead of the curve and reaping the rewards of early visibility.
Top Emerging Social Media Platforms Every Marketer Should Use
Let’s dive into some of the top platforms reshaping the social media landscape and how you can use them for your marketing success.
1. TikTok
You can hardly talk about emerging social media platforms without discussing TikTok even though the platform may have current regulatory concerns. Indeed, TikTok has gone beyond being just a platform for sharing short music clips and videos. It’s become a rave not just with Gen Z and Millennials but older generations who have started showing interest.
Why TikTok Should Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy
TikTok is no longer just a platform for viral dance trends—it’s a global phenomenon with over 1 billion active users. Here’s why it matters:
- Viral Content for Large Audiences: TikTok’s algorithm is specially designed to promote viral content and reach large audiences. Marketers can create short-form video content that targets active global users.
- A Hub for Creative Content: the platform has user-friendly editing tools, and it provides brands with opportunities to key in and engage audiences using trendy, fun, and innovative content.
- Social Commerce Hub: TikTok offers social shopping features that make it a powerful tool for driving sales. Also, consumers are increasingly making use of the app for purchases.
- Leveraging Short-Form Videos: Many social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, now emphasise short-form video content. Indeed, short-form video has become increasingly popular in recent times, and you can perfectly use TikTok to provide and attract your audiences with enjoyable short-form videos.
- High ROI: Short-form videos are known to provide high ROI. Social media marketers who use TikTok for relevant campaigns are therefore more likely to generate higher ROIs for such campaigns.
Tips for Succeeding on TikTok
Use the following tips to make your marketing campaigns on TikTok a success:
- Authenticity: Stay authentic to your brand
- Trendy Content: A major key to success on TikTok is trendy content so leverage emerging trends in your content creation.
- Creativity: You need to be on your toes and create relevant and creative content that resonates with your target audience on TikTok.
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2. Discord
Social media is all about growing a loyal and vibrant online community and Discord is a community-based platform that can help you do that. While it was initially designed for gamers, many people including marketers have keyed into its advantages.
How Marketers Can Leverage Discord for Content Marketing
- Creating Exclusive Communities: You can use it to create exclusive and invite-only communities and servers where members can interact (using text, voice, or video) on multiple topics. This also means you can share exclusive content and support audiences in real-time.
- Building Loyal Client Bases: Discord is specially designed to facilitate direct user interactions, and you can use it to create and build loyal customer communities.
- Customer-Friendly Bots: Discord has supportive bots and features that enable you to automate tasks. You can also use them to improve user engagement.
Tips for Discord Success
- Provide Best Value: Your community members should be able to feel the impact of the community.
- Foster Engagement: apart from providing timely responses to the needs of the community, you should also foster engagement. Ways of fostering engagement include regular interactions, events, sessions, and exclusive content.
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3. Lemon8
What Makes Lemon8 Stand Out?
Think of Lemon8 as a cross between Instagram and Pinterest. It’s a photo-sharing app owned by ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) and is rapidly gaining traction. A Consumer Trends Survey revealed that Lemon8 had a YoY growth in consumer usage of over 200% in 2024. Users can generally share ideas and content such as pictures and videos. They can also use it to gain inspiration.
Why Marketers Should Hop on Lemon8
- Designed For Consumers: The platform is designed for consumers and gives them a welcoming feel. You can therefore leverage user-generated content and organic content for your marketing.
- Greater Authenticity: The platform is community-based, and consumers get to share and interact with content that speaks directly to them. Lemon8 therefore provides a more relatable and authentic feel.
Success Tips for Marketers On Lemon8
- Leverage Trending Content: You can leverage Lemon8 to get a grasp of trending content to optimize your content strategy for niche audiences.
- Partner With Relevant Influencers: You can improve your influencer marketing and partner with relevant popular influencers and creators. This can be an excellent way of building brand awareness for niche audiences.
4. Clubhouse
Clubhouse is another invite-only social media platform, but this social network is audio-based and has increasingly gained popularity since its launch date in 2020. It’s a great platform for influencers and celebrities. You too can use it to build your brand as a thought leader. You and your target audience can have live, voice-only conversations in designated virtual rooms.
How Marketers Can Use Clubhouse
- Host Live Events: You your audience with panel discussions or Q&A sessions.
- Building Communities: For a start, you can create branded virtual rooms and start building a dedicated online community.
- Participate in Industry Conversations: It is possible for you to represent your brand and participate in conversations related to your industry. More pertinently, you can connect with audiences in a more personal and engaging way using your actual voice.
Success Tip for Using Clubhouse
Focus on multi-channel marketing by promoting your Clubhouse sessions on other platforms to maximize reach.
5. BeReal
Prioritising Authenticity with BeReal
BeReal is all about being real and unfiltered. Online audiences today place a high premium on authenticity, and BeReal is an app that prioritises authenticity. Users receive a daily notification to post a photo of what they’re doing at that moment.
Online audiences today place a high premium on authenticity and BeReal is an app that prioritises authenticity. On it, you receive a daily prompt to post an unfiltered real-time photo of what you are currently doing.
How Marketers Can Leverage BeReal
- Telling Your Brand Story: As a marketer, you can use BeReal to reveal the originality and spontaneity of your brand using raw and unfiltered storytelling. For example, you can showcase behind-the-scenes content, day-to-day operations, or unedited moments.
- Transparency: Build trust with unfiltered content.
Success Tip When Using BeReal
- Prioritize Transparency: Fulfil the expectations of your audience by prioritizing honesty and transparency in your content. You may not do so well if you keep on posting scripted content.
- Humanise Your Brand: Audiences will want to see the actual faces behind the brand. So, be sure to showcase the people behind your brand, products, or services.
6. Tumblr
Looking at the growth rate of social media platforms since 2023, Tumblr (+20%) along with Lemon8 (+200%), and TikTok (+9%) recorded the most growth. Talking about niche marketing, Tumblr is a microblogging site that helps you go the long distance in engaging with your target audiences using texts and multimedia posts.
The community-based platform is known for trendy and entertaining content. You can customize your feed so that you only receive content that suits your interests. Moreover, you can join communities that contain members of like interests and personalities.
Why Tumblr Still Matters
- Niche Content Marketing: Engage specific audiences with multimedia posts.
- Customization: Tailor your feed to align with your brand’s aesthetic.
Traditional Platforms That Still Pack a Punch
While exploring emerging platforms is essential, don’t overlook the giants:
You have several reasons to market on Facebook and one of them is that it remains a popular social network especially for people who are over 28 years old. For instance, Facebook recorded a +4% YoY growth and usage among consumers as of April 2024. You will therefore do well to create and implement a social media marketing strategy on Facebook.
Multiple generations find reasons to be on Instagram and this includes Gen Z and Boomer generations. Together with Facebook and YouTube, Instagram remains one of the most popular social media apps among US adults. However, the platform may already be losing some members in the Millennial generation. Nevertheless, Instagram remains a solid image-based platform that you can leverage as a marketer.
Embracing the Future of Social Media Marketing
The social media world isn’t static—it’s a dynamic landscape that requires adaptability and foresight. By exploring emerging platforms like TikTok, Discord, and Lemon8, and leveraging their unique features, you can position your brand for long-term success. Staying informed and embracing new trends will keep your marketing strategy fresh, engaging, and competitive.
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