Niche Platforms Thought Paper
Niche platforms are (typically) smaller social media platforms that focus on a specific interest group. Some examples of niche platform interest groups include professional networks, traveling, musicians, food, art and even eating platforms. Niche platforms have a specific purpose in mind compared to the larger social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Niche platforms differ from the bigger platforms because if you are a part of a niche platform, you already have an interest in the topic of the platform (Rashid, 2017). You most likely aren’t there to mindlessly scroll when you are bored. For example, if I am a beer lover (which I am), the app Untappd may be the right choice for me. Untappd allows users to check-in beers as they drink them and even share the location of the bar or brewery that they are at. Users can also rate the beer, share pictures of their beers, review tao lists, and see what their friends are drinking. Kind of like a beer version of the popular Yelp app. Niche platforms allow other people with similar interests to connect in ways they can’t on other social media platforms. Some of the most popular niche apps include AllTrails, UnTappd, Houzz, ClubHouse, Quora, and MeetUp.
I briefly mentioned Untappd above, (the geo-spatial beer lovers’ dream niche platform) so I wanted to talk about how breweries can use this app to their advantage. Breweries have a golden opportunity to partner with this app. Breweries have the opportunity to encourage their customers to download the app and use it. Why? Let’s start with the stats: over 750 million beers have been shared on untapped, adding 15 million per month. These users are also fairly active using the app once a day on average (Bernot, 2021). So, a fairly large niche platform and a large audience that some breweries would otherwise not have. Other reasons breweries should utilize this app include:
- Visitors have the opportunity to rate breweries’ beer. If your beer is good, other people seeing the app could be more inclined to try your beer over competitors.
- App users can share their location with their friends which boosts the marketing reach of your brewery.
- Once the brewery is verified on the app, you can continue to build your brewery brand with a logo, tagline, and other important info about your business.
Breweries can also engage with your customers when they visit. There is an opportunity to comment or “toast” users’ activities in the app (Rulková, 2021). This opportunity can let breweries connect even further with their customers. When customers feel like they are connected or appreciated they are going to be more likely to either revisit that brewery and/or tell their friends about that brewery. If breweries simply added the QR code to download the app throughout their store, or offered a free beer if you downloaded the app — this could increase their success not only with the app but with their business.
Overall niche platforms are important because they reach a small target audience where the audience is passionate and highly engaged.
References
Bernot, K. (2021, February 26). Tyranny of the Tickers — How Untappd Ratings Became Craft Beer’s Most Fickle Prize. Good Beer Hunting. https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2021/2/23/how-untappd-ratings-became-craft-beers-most-fickle-prize.
Rashid, B. (2017, May 8). Are Niche Social Media Sites The Beginning Of A New Trend? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianrashid/2017/05/06/are-niche-social-media-sites-the-beginning-of-a-new-trend/?sh=73c85a713804.
Rulková, T. (2021, February 26). How Untappd Can Boost Beverage Sales at Your Bar. PourMyBeer. https://pourmybeer.com/how-untappd-can-drive-your-beverage-sales-to-the-next-level/.