Are Niche Platforms Worth It?

Do you like photography? Do you use a Canon camera? Do you like taking pictures at tailgates on game days? Especially at colleges for fraternities and sororities?

Let me tell you this. I just described my niche to you. From photography as a broad-point of view to narrowing down to a specific group. What if I want to connect with individuals who share this unique hobby and criteria?

I can and so can you!

Niche platforms allow you to target a specific group of individuals, bring them together, and allow them to have a conversation about something they are both passionate about. Collaboration can be discussed in improving ideas or showcasing one’s work.

Let’s now see why niche platforms can be beneficial to you or for an organization.

Creating Relationships + Brand Loyalty

When was the last time you felt that a company truly cared about what you had to say? I would say Nike really does not care what I have to say but that family owned coffee shop down the street? They will care because as a smaller business, they get to know their customers on an individual level. This is more of the same with niche platforms. “A niche community builds stronger relationships with customers, leads, and people in your industry”.

When you have the ability to create a space where people can connect, you are creating a family. Friendships can be created and last a lifetime. The more passionate your customers feel, the better brand image you create. Plus, you become an expert in your field.

Precisely Target Your Audience

According to Red Crow Marketing, digital marketing experts estimate that most Americans see about 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day. If you are a company who is blindly targeting everyone on every social media platform, how are you supposed to break through this noise. You waste time and effort just to hit your precise audience. A niche platform allows you to save time and precisely reach your target audience.

I will use myself as an example? If I want to sell my photography skills the best way to do that is identifying who is my best audience. I have come to realize that my specific niche is college GameDays for fraternities and sororities. Instead of promoting that I photograph, I am introducing myself as someone who can interact within the Fraternity & Sorority Life Communicty and capture memories for football weekends. I can go on a niche platform and create a community where I can share my experiences and connect with others who may have the same passion.

Higher Engagement

45% of people unfollow brands on social media because content is irrelevant and 49% unfollow due to poor customer service.

Creating a niche platform will increase relevant content because you are targeting a specific group of individuals. Having less people will also enable faster customer service support. A quicker customer service may lead to higher brand appreciation while a higher engagement can lead to learning what your customers truly love and how to create services moving forward.

Bechance

One example of a niche platform is Behance. It is a social network where photographers, graphic designers, and illustrators can post their work. This is actually a niche platform that I use and post my photography content on.

The platform allows me to find individuals who have a similar taste in photography and the ability to follow them. Whenever that individual posts or adds an album, I can receive a notification and give them compliments on specific photography that they end up posting.

Sound famliar? If so that’s because it is just like Medium! Ability to follow people on work they have produced. Ability to leave comments.

Nextdoor

Did you just recently move to a new neighborhood and have no idea where anything is? Nextdoor allows you to connect with the community you are in.

You can interact with neighbors or anyone within your specific community. An example of using this platform is that my sister’s dog needed ACL surgery. She went to use Nextdoor to ask her peers for recommendations in the area since she was unfamiliar with this type of surgery for dogs. With the help of her community, she was able to get recommendations and find the correct veterinarian who could perform the job. If she went to search online for veterinarians who do ACL surgery, she would have gotten a big list and would not know how to narrow it down. Nextdoor allowed her to ask her peers and they narrowed down the choices immediately based on others’ past experiences.

Conclusion

Do not waste the precious time that you have. Once you are able to identify your audience and understand their specific niche, you should create a community to bring them together. If you have the ability to start a conversation and to make an impact, why not do it? There are many resources out there and different niche platforms to choose from. All you have to do is identify the correct one for your customer base and then let the creativity and collaboration begin.