Top 5 Emerging Social Platforms That You Need to Know About

Although you may be cringing at the thought of a new social media platform to manage, there are major benefits to being an early adopter. Many early adopters see a higher number of followers, more engagement, and the ability to deeply connect with others before the platform becomes large and overwhelmed with users.


As your source of all things social media, I thought it my duty to inform you of the top emerging platforms so that you can get in on the ground level. Here is my list for 5 of the top emerging social platforms that you can use to your advantage:

1. SNAPCHAT

Okay, so Snapchat isn’t exactly new but the reason I wanted to include it is because within the past month or so it has received quite a bit of attention. With 7-BILLION video views per day, even the White House has joined in. Really if you aren’t using it yet, it’s time to get snappy!


What is Snapchat:
With over 1-million users, Snapchat is a fun photo and video messaging app that you can add captions, edit or add filters. The thing that makes Snapchat so awesome is that once the video is watched it disappears forever (unless someone takes a screenshot, of course)! You can also watch live events, chat with people, and explore content from top publishers.  It has quickly become a fun way to keep up with your friends, favourite businesses and celebrities, and it’s a great way to market yourself and personal brand. If you want to learn how to use Snapchat this is a great post from Buffer!


Tip: Share your Snapcode (like mine below) to allow people to find and follow you easily. A user just have to screenshot and upload your Snapcode to Snapchat to add you. Easy! Learn other ways to use Snapchat for your business with this blog post.

 

2. ELLO

Ello is meant to be an alternative social platform that is based on the user. They promise that they will never use ads, because they believe that “mainstream networks manipulate what we see and try to control what we think”. Meaning, if you are planning to market yourself it must all be through organic reach.


What is Ello:
The best way to describe Ello is a mix of Tumblr and Twitter. Ello helps you to make new connections, share updates, photos, videos, links, or audio (really whatever you can think of sharing).


They believe that “this is a place where creativity triumphs over conformity, and success is measured in ideas shared, not ads served,”. And really, isn’t that the traditional use of social that we all know and love? (Sorry, Facebook)


Tip: Ello is much more artistic in nature than many of the other social media networks. Let your creativity flow with photography, animated gifs and even a bit of creative writing. 

 

3. PEACH

I’ve talked about Peach before (see below my Periscope broadcast). I think it’s a great app that’s worth your time to go check out and see if it’s right for you. It’s meant to be a fun way to keep up with your friends and a great place to just be yourself. I especially love how creative you can be with drawings, gifs and other types of actions to keep in contact with your network.


What is Peach:
Peach is a platform used for sharing updates with friends via mobile. There are a bunch of hidden features that aren’t apparent on the surface, but dig a little and you’ll find them. It can be a bit confusing at the start, but here is a great video to show you how it all works!


Tip: Use the Peach “magic words” to trigger a bunch of features including adding your location by typing “here”, or sharing the weather by writing “weather” (click here for a full list of “magic words”).

4. PERISCOPE

Okay, once again Periscope isn’t exactly new, but it has evolved and more and more people are taking notice. I’m a huge advocate for Periscope because it allows you to connect with people like never before, and organically. It’s one best ways I grown my audience. Want to learn how? Check out my Periscope course ScopeSuccess here, or read what a year of Periscope taught me.


What is Periscope: 
Periscope is a way to “discover the world through someone else’s eyes” through live video broadcasting simply with the use of a mobile device. Periscope has a global audience, allowing you to reach more people than ever before. It’s probably the easiest, most cost effective way to reach more people for promoting your business online. If you want to learn more about Periscope and how to use it to rock you check out my course, ScopeSuccess.


Tip: Don’t just scope and run! Stay a while and converse with others – that’s where the magic happens. Periscope is a fantastic community of all different walks of life. By participating in the community, you’ll get so much more out of the platform.

 

5. ANCHOR

I was one of the early users of Anchor after featuring it on Periscope, and really I just love it (a lot).


This brand new app has people buzzing and is a great way to grow your business! If you would like to read more about how to use Anchor, check out my blog post (plus get a free download on how to use it strategically for your business).


What is Anchor:
Anchor.fm is a free mobile app and markets themselves as “radio of the people”. Anchor makes it easy and fast broadcast short 2 minute recording to a global audience. Listeners can send recordings back to you, which creates instant group conversations- also known as crowdsourced podcasting.


 You can also see what is trending, share audio easily over social and join awesome conversations. To read my blog post on how to use Anchor, click here.


Tip: Welcome people as they join Anchor. You’ll know the newbies by their use of the hashtag #FirstWave. Give them a little hello and a follow and you’ll see your following increase quickly!