In this article, you’ll know about the top 10 best Facebook Alternative
Social Media has taken the world by a storm. The very meaning of marketing and connecting has been changed, thanks to the onslaught of various social media platforms that have come into being over the past many years. And each year, there are also newer platforms being introduced to cater to the changing needs of people. After all, change is the new constant in this world.
But none could beat the popularity of Facebook. The Zuckerberg-led Facebook paved the way for many things, including the marketing of companies and brands in the digital world, apart from being a medium of connecting people. Every company would vie for its share of attention on Facebook, be it a small scale business or even large corporations. In fact many first timers and home business owners, bloggers have found marketing and advertising through Facebook very productive, increasing their client base and helping them reach their pinnacles of business success. However, the sheen of Facebook slowly started disappearing with the rising costs and a saturated market, which sparked the need for other social media platforms.
Alternative social media marketing platforms
The increased advertising costs and decreased ad impressions coupled with the entry of many other social media channels/platforms started the waning of the popularity of Facebook. The newer ones have slowly begun to establish themselves, and some are specifically designed to cater to specific industries, taking customization to an entirely different level. And so, businesses and individual business owners have more alternatives than before. They need not necessarily stick to Facebook to market or brand their companies. It is already a very saturated place out there, with every single business entity vying for the customer’s attention.
Therefore, it is indeed a prudent decision on the part of the owners of businesses, and others including bloggers influences to start looking for an alternative to Facebook. Here are some of the options that can be used to make your brand presence felt. Take a look and start exploring!
Alternatives to Facebook for Branding
There are many alternatives to Facebook for branding. Some of them are quite popular and include social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Stumble Upon, Pinterest etc. Before delving into it, let us look at the importance of branding.
Why Branding?
Branding is crucial for anyone, especially more so in this digital era. Any successful business, be it big or small is built on the firm foundations of branding. Brand building is not so easy but is undoubtedly the most critical aspect of a business. It involves everything ranging from social media, customer experience, website, content, and everything related to the company/business. Therefore, branding is an essential tool in marketing. With so many choices that people have and most of the offering that is similar in quality, it is branding that helps in differentiating one business from the other.
Another aspect that should not be forgotten is the trust factor. People buy and make choices, also based on trust. When companies involved in a proper branding plan and marketing plan, they should consider this Trust aspect and how they can build their brand on trust.
Often, many small businesses do not make an effort for branding their product or company. But, if their business has to grow, then they should invest in branding, and using the right platform. When a firm invests in branding, they are not only taking a step towards establishing their presence, but also signifying their stable presence, along with increasing their credibility.
Creative and alternative methods for branding
There are many more creative ways in which businesses, small and big alike can start branding or even re-branding, to make it a useful marketing and branding plan that works. Here is a list of some top alternatives to Facebook.
Facebook Alternative 1: Reddit
Even though Reddit is viewed as a news and social media platform, it is a very popular forum which has a good number of community members and some seventeen million users monthly. So, one can imagine the magnitude of people who can be reached out to. The advertising options on Reddit too are quite cost friendly. So, even a small-scale business can quickly reach out to many people, branding their product or business. Reddit also has many specialized sub-communities which makes it an ideal way to target the ideal clientele.
Facebook Alternative 2: LinkedIn
Many businesses and B2B providers have been using LinkedIn quite efficiently. Even recruiters and Job seekers have their presence on LinkedIn. And so it goes without saying that LinkedIn can also be an excellent platform for branding company specific products.
Facebook Alternative 3: Twitter
Everyone is on Twitter, right from multinational corporations to small businesses to individuals. It has many useful tools that can be used to take branding of a company or a business a whole new level. Posting round the clock with the help of tools helps make the brand presence felt. Everyone must be a part of Twitter and use this platform in a much better way.
Facebook Alternative 4: Pinterest
Stunning visual content is a plus point that attracts many possible customers. Pinterest is one such platform, which also has a good user base. Small businesses should take advantage of this situation and boost their brand presence through Pinterest. The promoted pins of Pinterest are a great tool, which are just like regular .pins but are seen by more number of people. Many users have shopped through the pins on Pinterest.
Facebook Alternative 5: Product Hunt
It is a website for some savvy shoppers and enthusiasts. It is also an online community where people can discuss the new products that are to come up or to be launched. The community is very large, and so the target reach is also quite high. When a business is advertising or marketing, trying to position its brand, it has to leverage on the users of the social media platform. It enhances the chances of better branding, as there are more people to reach out to. Product hunt is one such platform. It is also a platform for technology products, gaming products. So, this is more of a specialized branding that occurs here, and caters to branding, targeting the specific clientele.
Facebook Alternative 6: Snapchat
From the time of its inception, Snapchat has evolved truly and concisely, catering to the needs of its ever-growing users. Now, small businesses also can make use of Snapchat as it provides a multitude of creative solutions for business branding, without it taking a hit in the pocket. It depends on brands as to how they market their product. A sneak-peek or coming-up products with some promotional and exclusive coupons available to users helps a great deal in promoting the products. It is an incentive that works wonders because users would always like to perform repetitive actions.
Facebook Alternative 7: Stumble Upon
It has a great advertising tool which most of the businesses can make use of. This feature is indeed value for money. When any brand is looking at increasing their website traffic, t can use this feature effectively. Brands and businesses can showcase their content to prospective users, and users find anything that is relevant to them, useful. Content can also get discovered organically when users stumble upon content from the branding business which useful and upvote it. This platform has to be utilized correctly so that one can see astonishing results.
Facebook Alternative 8: Instagram
Many luxury brands have used Instagram for their branding purpose. That shows that even though Instagram, branding can be achieved, reaching the right customer base. Some of the niche areas that Instagram can target are Food, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personalities etc.
Facebook Alternative 9: Vine
Many small businesses are turning to this option, to run their promotions and also educate the customers. In the process, they can create and establish a brand image. The user base of this social media platform is also enormous with around 200 million monthly users, who are mostly millennials.
Facebook Alternative 10: YouTube
Some products or businesses have used YouTube to make their branding more effective. It is especially useful when there is video content that can be shared. Most tutorials, DIY’s etc. of many brands have found a prosperous footing through YouTube.
