FIND YOUR NICHE
Advertising is key to social media success for a brand in this social media phenomenon age. When you think of social media, most think of Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook……the main platforms. But, there are platforms that fit your specific needs and audience. This is your niche platform.
It’s easy to get lost in the big, fun, star gazing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and more, but finding your smaller, more engaging platform is important; your niche.
This niche platform “is a specialized subset of a larger set, so a niche social network is one that targets a select segment of the general population. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have grown so large that some users feel a bit lost in the shuffle. That’s where niche social networks step in”.
Niche Platforms connect audiences of special interests such as video games, neighborhoods, design, architect, and more. Some of these platforms include Nextdoor, Reddit, Meetup, Twitch, Untappd, Wayn, and many more. Utilizing a niche platform is key to getting a smaller, targeted audience interested in a message or ad for a brand.
Niche platforms are perfect for advertisers as they already have their audience ready for them on the narrow platform, all that’s left is getting their products on the platform through an influencer or ad. Entrepreneur.com says that niche platforms are so important for brands because of the tight-knit community already formed, group chats formed within the communities, and access to highly target audiences. If there is a niche platform that aligns with your business goals, then you won’t have to waste the time finding the right audience. This allows knowledge of an existing platform that already has this audience ready and waiting for the launch of this ad or product to them; it will be easier to convert this audience to customers. A niche platform is useful alongside an already established social media plan; it can complement these bigger, established platforms.
So why should brands use a niche platform like Twitch?
Twitch has been significant for the brand and influencers to make an impact. Twitch is an online gaming streaming service that has made an everlasting impact on the gaming world. Mediakix says, “Twitch, once an unassuming live-streaming service for gamers, has grown to become the most dominant broadcasting platform for video games in the world over the last seven years. With 15 million daily active users, Twitch’s audience watches an average of 95 minutes of live broadcasts a day — fertile ground for companies seeking to expand their marketing strategies away from the other major social media platforms.” Although the site is easy to use for brands launching new games and products, recently, larger brands have reached out to the Twitch influencers to help their products with shoutouts and pictures in their merchandise. The audience on Twitch is enormous and they have raised $30 million for charity and more than half of their users are between the ages of 18–24, so their audience is truly targeted.
In one of their biggest collaborations in 2018, Hershey’s and Reese’s Pieces teamed up with two Twitch influencers, Ninja and DrLupo. Hershey’s was launching their Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces mashup bar and teamed up with two big Twitch influencers to live stream the event. Hershey chose Twitch because of its biggest consumers of candy; the gaming industry which makes up a large part of the younger community. Because of their shift to the younger audience, they are using industries like gaming and esports. Hershey’s head of media said, “While we’re not endemic — we’re not making games or hardware — we fit into the culture”. Hershey is finding its niche.
Hershey teamed up with two of the largest Twitch influencers, Ninja and DrLupo. They have 21 million subscribers combined with easy-going, funny personalities making the collaboration fun and smooth to incorporate in their daily twitch gaming activities rather than seem like a paid ad. This was a major success for Hershey as they reached a huge crowd of Twitch users who most likely knew what Hershey was but it raised awareness to the new product and if these cool Twitch influencers are eating the Hershey x Reese’s Pieces mashup bar, then their fans may, too. This was their hope for the collaboration with the two most popular Twitch influencers. The new Hershey’s bar gained some major publicity from the two influencers who have a loyal, trusted following from their fans. Big brands like Hershey’s and Reese’s have to constantly stay relevant and using a smaller, niche platform is a great way for their brand to trend again. Not only would the Hershey logo be shown on Ninja and DrLupo’s pages but they would give reviews and shoutouts constantly to the new candy bar, so their loyal followers will hopefully rave about the candy, too.
Since Twitch is a gaming site, some of the games that credit their sales to Twitch include The Culling and Punch Club. These games actually credited Twitch for 25% of their sales… twenty-five percent! This is a large percentage of sales and shows how powerful influencers on these platforms can significantly affect sales. Twitch gamers use their chat bars to shoutout brands and games live during their streams. Gamers interact with their audience while streaming the games and talk through their headsets as well. Some ways influencers help brands is by using their products like games or headsets, shouting them out during a stream or in their chat box to their followers, channel branding adding giveaways. Obviously, Twitch is the perfect place for new games to be launched and tested, but most importantly they must get into the right hands of popular gamers on the site.
Niche platforms can be even more beneficial than mainstream large platforms as some brands can get lost. These smaller, niche platforms provide a safe space for people who are genuinely wanting toga knowledge of new information, apps, or products specific to their interests. The followers on these platforms want to know about new products, but getting the products in the right hands and marketing it in the right way is the key to success. Find your niche, find your people, and you will get real results.
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