Our Top 5 Alternative Social Platforms

by Ethan Loughrey

Name a social network. No, not that one. Or that one. Or that; those three are all too obvious. And while we are on the case, we already have an article on the Top 5 Social Platforms. This is the alternative ones (dude). 

Well, Startacus is here to help. There’s actually a massively open market of social media companies which you can tap into beyond the big two and a half. We’ve listed below what we consider to be 

six of the best for your pleasure. Some aren’t the conventional “post, share and like” that you may be used to, but they all have their own quirks and their own individual audiences.

Number 1: reddit. Reddit is divided up into thousands of mini websites (called sub-reddits) that cover just about every interest it’s possible to have. For start-ups and business managers this is no different. Shut up and take my money is a chance for people with original ideas and a physical design to link to their concept and gain feedback, purchasing offers and a wide audience. Then there are the more obvious ones such as that for entrepreneurs and those involved in business. These later two have over 170,000 subscribers between them and potentially as many other general viewers.

Number 2: Ideas Tap. Pitching itself as the “creative network”, Ideas Tap has a more than impressive customer base with over 85,000 members already. Tailored towards supporting people interested in creating and searching for jobs within the Arts, they offer opportunities for employer and employee alike, as well as various funding options and careers advice. A heavy weight already, despite the fact that you may not have heard of them.

Number 3: The third website on our list is the oddly named Squidoo. (We looked for a reason for the name but couldn’t find one. We like it though. Quirky.) As with reddit, it depends upon user generated content on the assumption that “Everyone’s an Expert”. Start-ups can write articles (known as lenses) and benefit from any traffic generated by ads on the website. This is where Squidoo sets itself aside from other such companies, giving 50% of its revenue to the people who write the lenses. As an aside, it should be noted Squidoo offers writers the option to donate these earnings to one of over 200 charities and for their 5th anniversary gave an additional $275,000.

Number 4: Pinterest. A highly stylish social network, you have the option of joining it as a business. The website provides “case studies” which it says illustrates the potential for growth. Its strengths lies in the ease with which people can view your wares or business idea. It is extremely easy to use and that’s what its users like about it – there is no need to spend hours cataloguing things in chronologically coloured order. It should be made clear this isn’t for everyone though. Entrepreneurs dealing in simple but attractive items will find the greatest gains.

Number 5: Generally considered the most time consuming, but also the most fun, Tumblr is our final recommendation on the list of social networks. Where Pinterest made it easy for users to admire your wares, Tumblr makes it simple for your company to share news and similarly have others share it on. It is an ideal platform for versatile and not yet big players to get themselves known and their name out there. It is best used in conjunction with your own website; just make sure you share more than non-descript and self promotional text notifications.

A final piece of advice. Before opening accounts on all of these, decide on whether or not a profile will have to be kept up to date, and whether you have the resources to maintain this. Few things look as bad when somebody stumbles across a barren and derelict website. Also, know their styles. Cross posting content might be alright for most networks, but some audiences prefer a certain approach and may be unhappy if you fail to take the time to check this.

Of course, it'd be more than remiss of us not to mention our own extremely attractive social platform for the self starter here at Startacus. It's free to join and you'll have the chance to chat to our lovely faces!

p.s Here's some rather handy tips on How to use Social Media to promote your startup.

• #social media

Published on: 6th March 2013