With over 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is still the biggest social media platform available today. Instagram, X, LinkedIn and TikTok are also popular options for marketing products and services online. However, with an ever-evolving landscape, it’s vital to assess all of your other options. We’ve compiled a list of the ‘best of the rest’, highlighting some of our other favourite platforms. Some of these networks serve as alternatives to the traditional platforms, whereas others provide unique formats unseen elsewhere.
Twitch
Monthly active users: 140 million (Demandsage)
Calling all gamers! Twitch is an interactive live-streaming platform, specialising in video game streaming. However, the fun doesn’t stop at gaming play-throughs! It also enables users to watch esports competitions, music broadcasts and live creative content, such as cooking shows. The streaming platform collides with the social media world by allowing users to chat and connect with creators on each stream, building an online network of people with the same general interests. The platform could be a good option if your brand is looking to leverage influencer marketing to target niche audiences.
Telegram Messenger
Monthly active users: 950 million (Demandsage)
Telegram Messenger, also known as Telegram, is a cloud-based instant messaging app that enables users to send messages, images, videos and files of any size to contacts across multiple devices. With a diverse user-base, the app could be useful for businesses looking to keep their audience informed of key information; you can share messages with Groups of up to 200,000 people, or use the Channels feature to broadcast messages to an unlimited sized audience. Businesses can also integrate AI to offer automated messages—a handy feature if you want to supply 24/7 customer support.
Monthly active users: 1.22 billion (Statista)
Reddit doesn’t naturally fall into the social media category as easy as some of the other platforms in this blog. Rather than being centred around individual accounts, Reddit emphasises communities, called 'subreddits,' with the option for members to stay anonymous within these groups. Serving as a news and media aggregator, the platform is presented in a forum-esque format, in which users can engage in conversations about culturally relevant topics, no matter how random they may be. Business are given the ability to target specific subreddits with their ads, and can also create their own subreddit to create open conversations with their customers.
Partiful
Monthly active users: 7.8 million (Semrush)
You can get all your guests on the same page with this exciting app. Set to rival Facebook events, Partiful allows you host a party, collect RSVPs, and send reminder messages about your party or event. Although this app is primarily targeted towards Gen Z and millennials, it can be a great tool for businesses looking to host events. Whether you’re planning a black tie event, a halloween party or a hosting a conference, you can customise your event page to match with occasion. Available to use on web and via the app, Partiful has built in images you can use to represent your event, or you can choose to upload your own custom graphic.
Snapchat
Monthly active users: 800 million (SocialFly)
Snapchat is a multimedia instant messaging app, in which users can share time-sensitive photos and videos to friends and subscribers; once opened, messages and Stories are only temporarily available unless they are manually saved. Famed for its comprehensive library of crazy filters and Lenses, the app is more popular with younger audiences. Marketing opportunities arise from its Discover page, where video ads appear alongside public stories, and its Snap Map feature, in which branded content is displayed on a map signposting local landmarks and businesses.
Viber
Monthly active users: 820 million (Earthweb)
With a variety of calling and messaging features, Viber helps to keep the conversation going. Features include voice and video calls, group chats, stickers and GIFs. Hugely popular in the Middle East and Asia, Viber has grown an incredibly large monthly user base. Often noted for its similarities to WhatsApp, Viber has many more options for users that prioritises group communication. Viber Communities is a feature that allows you to start conversations with unlimited members, moderate the discussion and grow your community. Viber is continuing to gain popularity all over the world, but is still a long way off WhatsApp’s 2 billion monthly users.
Threads
Monthly active users: 175 million (Statista)
Launched by Meta in July 2023 to rival Twitter, Threads became the fastest-growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users in its first five days. However this early success was not sustained with the user base plummeting more than 80% by the end of the month. One of Thread’s’ unique features is Auto Status which allows users status to automatically refresh based on location and activity. Posts can also be longer than Twitter’s free system with up to 500 characters available. Users can also include links, images and 5-minute long videos in their posts.
Bluesky
Monthly active users: 1.4 million (Creatosaurus)
Founded in 2021, Bluesky is a decentralised microblogging social platform that is mostly text-based. Conceptualised by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky has a notably similar user interface to Twitter. Each post can be up to 256 characters long and contain up to four images. Users can reply to, retweet and like posts. Bluesky aims to maintain a respectful and safe environment by consistently reviewing its content moderation systems. Although growth was initially slow, the introduction of paid features to Twitter may see Bluesky become a more realistic competitor.
Take the opportunity to get to know some of these platforms a little better to find out whether they would be a good fit for your social media mix. We can’t wait to see how some of the newer platforms develop and expand over the coming years.
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