A radio interview on 1460 KXNO on Tuesday morning caught my attention driving into work. A entrepreneur named Dana Dyksterhuis was talking about her new company, Fanzo.me. This is a pretty smart concept built on the power of social platforms and the passion and enthusiasm of sports fans. Dyksterhuis went on to discuss how on you can build your own Fan Zone and essentially start your own tailgate party based on your favorite sports teams. Doing so will lead to finding fans and potential new friends who share the same passion for your team. The concept in her words is in its infancy and I wish her luck.
HOW WE GOT HERE
This Fanzo.me platform got me thinking about the direction social media will most certainly take from here on out. Doesn’t it seem that everything digital seems to move towards a specific niche at some point?
- Google mastered search, but Kayak mastered searching for trips and vacations.
- WordPress mastered blogging, Twitter mastered micro-blogging and Yelp mastered private / internal micro-blogging.
- Facebook mastered social media, will Fanzo.me and other niche social platforms evolve from here?
Some already have. Some of the most notable include:
Pinterest: For your interests – visually, but as the 3rd most trafficked social platform, it has taken on a whole new life.
Instagram: Did for photos what Flickr wasn’t able to – make it ridiculously social, fun and for the masses.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
A recent article by The Next Web confirms that the niche social platforms are exploding with growth.
SO WHAT DOES THESE MEAN FOR MARKETERS?
1. Your strategy needs to look beyond the walls of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While still important, you may find better targeting opportunities elsewhere, and your audience may have more fun engaging with you there.
2. What does your company do? What social networks support that the best?
Sell pet products? Check out Dogster & Catster.
Sell beer? Check out Untappd.
Want to reach Moms? Check out Cafe Mom.
Targeting the Agriculture Community? Here’s a list of 100 agriculture based social networks compiled by our friends at Farmers for the Future.
SOCIAL MEDIA FATIGUE – DON’T BUY THAT ARGUMENT
I personally have had it with new social network sites. You probably have too. Not because their concepts or ideas aren’t worthy, but you can’t imagine trying to remember another password, and you “don’t have time” to check more sites than you already do. I get that. But that’s YOU. Not your audience. Most of the new emerging social platforms offer the ability to login in with Facebook, so the wheel doesn’t have to be re-invented. And even if you don’t want to be on a social media site for people who are really into mustaches, if you sell nose hair clippers and mustache trimming tools you better pay attention to these folks. Your best brand advocates are probably there.
Social Media Fatigue is not a term that marketers should consider unless they want to be called lazy. Are all social sites for you and your brand? Of course not. But finding the real brand advocates may be a simple Google search away. As always, do what makes sense and be where your customers are. Even if that is on StachePassions.com – real site – true story.
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