By Cassy van Eeden

Facebook and Twitter are considered to be traditional forms of social media. However, marketers that are bold enough to explore alternative platforms could be met with even greater success.

Why should I use alternative social media?

Charlie Stewart, CEO of Rogerwilco, notes that: “We are extremely fortunate that so many new apps and platforms are emerging, because that gives us many more options as marketers.”

Having more options means having more ways to connect with your audience, but it also means that you can connect with new audiences that you may not have reached elsewhere.

Growth hacker and social media specialist Brett Relander, writes: “While there are certainly advantages with limiting your social media marketing to those sites where you know your audience tends to spend time, you should also consider that you could be missing potential business if you are not willing to consider alternative social media networks."

CEO of Just Perfect, Thomas Pays, says, “Ultimately you want to try every platform and gather sufficient data to see which platform provides you with the best suitable results.”

What alternatives are there?

There are literally thousands of social media platforms to choose from, with new websites and applications being created every day. You do not need to be on all of them, but it is important to be aware of the potential that is out there. Once you have explored what is available, it is important to be selective in choosing platforms that suit your brand.

LinkedIn

Both Pays and Stewart recommend LinkedIn as an effective alternative to traditional social media. “Because 50% of LinkedIn users have decision-making authority at their companies, the platform represents an ideal B2B networking opportunity and is a great way to promote thought leadership content,” says Stewart.

WeChat

Free messaging and calling app WeChat is also a powerful app that Rogerwilco believes is worth investigating. “It has enormous capabilities for video and audio,” says Stewart.

He explains that WeChat allows marketers to overcome the chance of being excluded or hidden from newsfeeds. Platforms like WeChat restrict the way in which brands can communicate with non-engaged audiences, he says. “They offer the end user a safe haven while presenting brands who are able to engage with a better opportunity of making their message resonate.”

Pinterest and Tumblr

“Consumers love visual content,” writes Relander, “This is precisely why Pinterest is such a successful social media site.”

The reason why Tumblr – an often forgotten-about marketing tool – is so successful, writes managing director of Perceptive Flow, Mark Mars, is its functionality. “You can literally post any form of media you want, from plain text to audio, video and photos,” he says.

“If you write something compelling for your followers, they may repurpose it or reference it in their own Tumblr blog, increasing the longevity of the post and the engagement with it, thus making it both a content marketing tool and a listening and interaction tool,” he adds.

Have you ever investigated using social media platforms other than Facebook and Twitter? Are there any you can recommend? Let us know in the comments below.