Creating a social media app is all about brainstorming ideas and applying your concept. There are currently more than 7.5 billion people on the planet, of which over 50% use social media.
Social media is essential to us since it’s hard to imagine a life without it. With the increase in smartphone usage every year, the number of active social media users continues to grow.
However, this astonishing growth gives rise to many opportunities on social media platforms that entrepreneurs can’t afford to miss.
Each social media app created today is designed to make our life easier, and if it succeeds in its purpose, it becomes more prosperous in the market.
However, if you have an idea about creating a social media app but you are confused about how to get started, no worries, we’ve got you covered.
With the rapid progress in technology, videos have come a long way from TV shows and music videos, allowing every user to become their own publishing company.
The Benefits of Creating a Social Media App
Creating a social media network can provide its user with many benefits, such as;
A way of creating a safe community space that allows for more creativity and innovation
When building your social media app, you will be in charge of the design. So you don’t have to squish essential sentiments down into a 140 characters.
Creates more direct relationships and connections
When you make a social media app and own the platform that interacts with your community. You set the rules and limitations that align with your values.
However, if you want to make your subscribers see everything you post, create a social network that gives you the chance to reach your community quickly and directly.
It gives a deeper understanding of your community.
Many social networks only give their users access to a fraction of their communities’ data.
However, when you develop your app, you control the design and how much data you want to give to your users, allowing them to create a more profound sense of community.
In addition, you can fully access data about what individuals are most interested in and what you have to offer, which is perfect for marketing campaign activities.
Types of Social Media Apps
When some people hear about social media, the first thing that they think of is Facebook. However, Facebook is just one of many social networks available.
Technology has come a long way from contacting the newspaper to publish content to blogging and publishing platforms that upload content digitally.
These days, with just a tap, you can get anything you need fast. However, the following are different types of social networks that are available to users today;
Social Networking
A Social networking app allows users to connect with family, friends, and colleagues. The two most popular social network apps are Facebook and Twitter.
Social networking apps allow you to share information about yourself. They can also be used to post media files and updates.
People who use social networking apps to share thoughts and upload media like photos and videos can also use the platforms to form groups with people with the same interests. Therefore, social networking apps must have features like news feeds, content sharing, and easy networking.
However, the best feature these social networking apps have is that they can participate with others to share thoughts on a topic on a discussion or trend.
Social Review
Highly useful for when you are going on a trip or purchasing a product. You can read about customers’ feedback on which hotel to stay in or which particular brand has a good rating.
Social review apps such as TripAdvisor and Yelp are good apps for planning your next vacation or restaurant visit.
Image Sharing
Often coming with good visual imagery that allows users to catch the attention of their friends, family, or colleagues.
In addition, image-sharing apps come with good illustrations, photos, and infographics that captivate users’ attention. Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular media-sharing networks, and their primary purpose is to boost image-sharing capacity.
Also, users of these sharing networks can add text, face filters, and stickers to their posts.
Video Hosting
Video hosting social media networks are mainly used to watch videos. With smartphones, users can access different video hosting apps and websites, the most popular of which is YouTube.
After its founding in 2005, YouTube completely revolutionized how people watched and created videos, making video content more accessible.
However, with the rapid progress in technology, videos have come a long way from TV shows and music videos, allowing every user to become their own publishing company.
Forum
Sometimes you see posts on a social media app like Twitter or Instagram where the comments section is filled with many heated discussions.
However, where Twitter and Instagram serve a different purpose, forum apps such as Quora and Reddit were created to spark conversations.
People are free to ask questions in the community and discussion forums, which attract other users’ interests and likes. If you happen to come across users with a different take, you can also debate a particular topic.
The best part of this platform is that other users can’t see much personal information, unlike other apps like Instagram and Facebook.
Social Media App Features
Each social media app will have its specific features and branding. However, they all contain the following essential elements.
Before you decide on any social media feature, it is essential to determine a social media app that suits your business. Below are powerful basic features that can be incorporated into all social media apps to pave your way to success:
User Profile Customisation
On social networks, users are always keen to create an impressive profile that includes their basic information, interests, and status. Often users want to feel special and show the world how creative and they are.
So, allowing users to customise their profile with their preferred display picture, username, a short bio, phone number, and more is an essential feature for any social media app.
Easy Network Building
A social network app is of no use if it doesn’t have a feature to help users build a social network. Connecting and interacting with new or active users is the core concept of social media apps.
Allowing users to create a social network by following other users will quickly give them a reason to be active on your social media app.
Newsfeed and Content Sharing
Social media apps like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram managed to stand out from other social media apps because they can consistently update and show engaging content on the users’ news feed.
However, people also use social media apps to express their thoughts, feelings, and views while showcasing their talents and achievements.
When you build a social media app, it’s essential to add a news feed and content sharing features to allow your app’s users to share content in the form of photos and videos, audio, and stories.
This will help them enhance interaction with other users through the app design and their comments, likes, or shares and grow their network.
However, some other features to consider when you want to build a social network app are: in-app chat and calling, live video streaming, push notifications, privacy and security, and more.
Find Your Niche
So you want to make a social media app but holding you back is choosing the particular market niche. Unfortunately, finding a niche can be somewhat tricky when it comes to creating a social media app.
You could list all your interests and passions and still find it challenging to get started in the development process.
Indeed, you want to do your due diligence in finding a viable niche when creating a social media app, but it’s better to start with an MVP than to wait around.
That way, you can test out your ideas and enter the market. However, if you struggle to decide how to find your niche before creating a social media app, or perhaps you need more data to work with, you can use the following five steps to find your market niche:
- Identify your interests and passions
- Identify problems you can solve
- Research your competition
- Determine the profitability of the social media app you are about to create
- Test your idea
Even if you think perhaps you have your tech team and tooling in good order, it only takes adding a few extra talented people or developing one new feature before plans are knocked out of place and need rethinking
Develop Your MVP
Developing a minimum viable product (MVP) gives you and your team the chance to test an app design (business idea) and get user feedback before rolling out a full version of the social media app.
It is perfect for checking your idea and determines what works best for you without spending too much on development costs or time on the process.
In addition, it is a process a team goes through to check the minimum set of core functionalities that can allow MVPS to be developed fast and cost-effectively.
The following are the steps involved in developing an MVP:
- Research your market
- Define your idea
- Think about the process design
- List the project features
- Build your MVP
- Analyse and repeat
However, once you’ve validated the idea behind your social media app with an MVP, then your team can start adding features, design elements, build the UI/UX design, and other essential features to the social media app.
Soon after your social media app is done, you will have the updated version of your app ready to launch in the marketplace, such as google play or the Apple app store.
Building Your Tech Team
Building a social media app development team is the start of bringing your idea to life. To develop a quality assurance social app that performs well, you need a social media development team of skilled IT professionals.
One of the most challenging parts of growing a business is having the right project management team. Even if you think perhaps you have your tech team and tooling in good order, it only takes adding a few extra talented people or developing one new feature before plans are knocked out of place and need rethinking.
The following are the processes you should know to design, develop, empower, retain, and build a productive tech team:
- Solve one problem at a time
- Get yourself a CTO
- Involve your development team
- Build up your development team
- Experienced tech leads are worth the money
- Communication is the key
- Don’t be stingy with tech tools and updates
- Think hard about tech talent career development
Monetization Models
Most businesses have one primary motive; to make money. Thus, it would be best to conclude the monetization model you want to implement in your social media app to ensure sustainable growth.
The monetization models and strategies continue to diversify as technological improvements are made every day. As a result, new monetization models are being generated by different apps prevailing in the marketplace.
You have many goals for the app you are about to create:
- Create a social media app that helps individuals
- Offer an impressive and appealing user experience
- Attract millions of happy, active users, and of course to make money
You to decide which monetization models suit you the most:
Freemium
These are free-to-use mobile apps. Users can access the app’s basic functionality. However, certain features can be only be unlocked by making a purchase.
The Freemium model is an effective strategy to make money since people are more likely to download the app for free. If they are convinced well enough that the premium model is worth the extra cash, they can upgrade and pay for other features.
Premium
Should you charge before the users can have access to the app? Upfront revenue earned with every download can result in faster profit-making and can therefore be a compelling reason to choose a premium strategy.
People are more likely to value what they’ve paid for. But you need to check your competitors to determine if this is a good monetization model for your app.
One of the primary keys to achieving success with this premium model approach is establishing the app’s value.
This means you must have as many five-star ratings as possible, a compelling description, rich UI, and a comprehensive set of features for your app.
Ads
Displaying ads on your app is the most effective way of making money, and it is widely used by many existing platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
You may decide to work with different brands related to the interest of your users and display them in your app and charge your price. Their ads can be displayed between the news feed as posts, stories, or some other section of your app.
Final Word
Social media is an essential part of digital marketing. Individuals spend countless hours making sure they are up to date with the latest trends, communicating with friends, and searching for reviews online.
However, regardless of your company or business’s size, you can create a social media strategy that will help grow your business. Take advantage of media marketing and the resources available to create a social app and share content that tells your brand’s story. The next billion-dollar idea is out there.
