“It would be nice to be in control of how our audience chooses to spend their digital time, but that’s not reality,” John Lincoln, MBA, co-founder and CEO of Ignite Visibility, told Forbes Magazine. “The truth is that they pick the path, and we just follow. If we want to speak to our audience, we need to find them first.” With the social media landscape always evolving, it is difficult to keep your finger on the pulse of what content appeals to which audiences. What’s more, how marketers can use each platform to reach their targets. We’ve culled a lengthy list to highlight five of the platforms we think are worth marketers keeping an eye on the rest of this year and into next.

TikTok

If you have a teenager, you’ve probably heard countless times, “I saw this video on TikTok, and …” followed by any number of comments about everything from life hacks to fashion to health data. Such youthful endorsements – as well as the news media’s perspective – would lead you to believe that the social media platform is for Millennials or younger. However, the older folks are gaining on them.

Statista reports that 53% of TikTok users are age 30 or older. Across age groups, the audience is highly engaged and spends a lot of time on the app. As TikTok’s user demographics diversify, its appeal among marketers increases. Further, the app’s behavior-based data helps advertisers parse their target audiences into micro-targets. Be aware, though: the content is different in style and tone than what you’d share on Instagram or Facebook.

Twitch

Since roughly 68% of Gen Z males say gaming is a big part of who they are, it’s little wonder that a social media platform completely focused on gaming is attracting a ton of attention. The app delivers video game live streaming, including broadcasts of e-sports competitions, with some users becoming celebrities of sorts. Brands targeting Twitch’s audience are using the platform to increase awareness, produce branded streams and engage with influencers.

Caffeine

Built by ex-Apple designers, Caffeine enables users to create live broadcasts for friends and followers. They can then react with emojis or respond with comments. Caffeine is an investor’s darling. While Caffeine hasn’t publicly shared its user numbers, they’re carving out space in entertainment and sports content streams. As Hubspot shared, “If the app continues to gain interest, marketers might consider using it to show off their brand through a variety of strategies, like behind-the-scenes content, Q&As, or other live videos.”

Nextdoor

An introvert’s dream, the Nextdoor app connects neighbors to one another – and basically everything nearby – without anyone having to step outside or make eye contact. The app is a perfect platform for hyper-local marketing efforts. For small businesses, being a member of Nextdoor instantly connects them with an audience of real people who live near the business’s location. Uberall noted, “Members must verify their addresses, which allows people to be confident that they’re talking to their actual neighbors.” What’s more, the app helps nurture invaluable and lucrative word-of-mouth referrals. That only makes sense since the app’s interactions are based on trust.

Medium

While it is just one of many microblogging platforms. Medium stands out from the crowd purely based on its users. According to the company, nearly all of its users are college grads, and successful ones at that. It’s certainly a believable claim based on the caliber of content shared in nearly 1.5 million posts each month.

Medium’s users are a highly engaged group. Many become avid followers of some of the app’s content creators, from Megan Daum to Barack Obama. This is in part because unlike other platforms – where successful content comes in nibble-sized soundbites – Medium is a great choice for sharing long-form, complex, intellectual and even sponsored content meant to be thoughtfully consumed and considered.

Our Takeaway

As marketers, we unfortunately can’t always lead our audiences to the content we create. We can find our audiences in communications channels where they are inclined to be open to our messaging, and deliver our content up to them there. The beauty of emerging social media platforms, or existing ones coming out of the shadows, is the opportunity of delivering our content in a contextual way, and – if we’re ahead of the curve – long before our competitors can.

If you need some help figuring out which social platform is best for you and your business, contact us today. We’re here to help!