Social media is huge, and it’s not just Facebook with its one billion user base. Just look at the most successful apps of the past years: Snapchat, Tumblr, Instagram, WhatsApp – all reaching 100+ million user bases and billion dollar valuations in record-setting times.
With the attractiveness of traditional social media like Facebook and Twitter in decline, the new opportunity to fill the growing void is here to be taken.
Users are more demanding than ever before, and 90% of apps get deleted only after they are used once or a couple times. What sets most popular social media sites apart is not the fact that they’re creative or different; it’s they way they’re designed to hook users and make them instantly engaged.
To make it in social media, you need a huge user base. Without a huge user base, you may struggle to make money and become a sustainable business. Traditional marketing is a way too expensive to reach 100+ million masses. What makes social apps grow is their ability to develop a viral growth engine that fuels itself.
Most social apps monetize data. However, there’s always a trade-off between providing a great user experience and making money. Without a great user experience, fast growth is difficult. Without a clear monetization strategy, you may struggle to make or raise money needed to sustain the early stage.
Developing the next generation social app isn’t just about coming up with something new and fun. It’s about carefully engineering all aspects of what makes social apps so addictive and fast-growing.
