Ever since the inception of Facebook in the year 2004, the social media scene is abuzz with excitement and innovations. Initiation by Mark has proved to be a driving force behind the countless designers and entrepreneurs who have set out to chase the social media dream.
Are you willing to dig deep on how to create a social media platform? If your answer is yes, then through the medium of this article, we will be sharing the ways to turn it into reality.
So, how to initiate the process? What are the required resources? All this and much more will be explored in a step by step process as under.
Define the target audience
It is important to direct all your energies towards the development of the core. The brainstorming done initially is sure to pay off high dividends during the later stages. It is crucial to define your niche audience based upon the parameters like people’s interests, demographics etc. Ask yourself, why would anyone want to use your social network? Is there something unique which you have to offer? Directing yourself onto the path of in-depth research for understanding the market demands and expectations, will ultimately be instrumental in the project success.
There are broadly two ways through which you can achieve this.
Online research
There can be no better place than the internet to get access to qualitative data. Use the services of Google to start with and continue to dig deeper. Soon, you’ll have access to the crucial information like demographics, behavioural patterns, psychographics etc. of the people residing in a particular geography. Later, you can draw an in-depth analysis to reach a definite conclusion. The process can be strenuous to exercise but the effort is truly worth it.
Release a demo version
After the online research is complete, you can use the data to create a demo version of your social media platform to test the waters. You’ll be required to create a few test forms. You’ll also need a few people who are ready to volunteer and be part of your test cycle.
The procedure is highly successful with 100 percent accuracy and real-time results. However, there is probably only one downside to it and i.e. the cost attached.
It’s purely your call on how you want the development process to proceed. With limited resources, the choices should be made wisely for the greater good.
User-based growth strategy
In order for you to succeed, your growth strategies need to be in-line with your niche audience. The market, which is already overtaken by the big players, needs something extra to make a shift.
Hence, when you are building a social network from scratch, your focus should remain upon the growth strategy. You have the data and the audience defined, however, the challenge is how to make your target audience aware of it?
Again, there is a two-step process to achieve this.
Begin with what you have
You can’t expect to go all out, right from the start. Go slow and take baby steps towards the growth. Remember the Facebook story? It all started with a high school Year Book before it went global.
Being an entrepreneur, you should be taking a calculated risk. Mark has been exceptionally good and focused on strategizing and the final result is there for all to see. Facebook wasn’t built in a day, it took time, effort and a well-calculated risk to surge at the level where it is today.
Market it to the bigger demography
Your marketing efforts should be focused on big, from the word go. Cover as much larger demography as you possibly can. Twitter used the same strategy to expand.
Development Checklist
A Social network is complex software, which requires a team for the proper implementation. Once your research and data collection work are complete, next you should focus on the development part by organizing a checklist.
Budget
An application is built on money. Your budget should be set in the beginning depending upon the complexity of software and the features that you intend to incorporate.
Platform
The platform should also be decided early on i.e. are you creating only a web-based application or there is going to be a mobile app as well?
Expected hits
This particular parameter cannot be calculated with the utmost accuracy, however, you can draw a nearby estimation.
Your website should have enough bandwidth to manage the expected traffic without causing upload or crashing issues.
Simple Graphical User Interface
The social media platform should be highly intuitive and simple to use. HI5 and Myspace had highly intrinsic and complex designs and yet they failed to make a cut.
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook all have one thing in common and that is simple and user-friendly designs.
Promotion
Lastly, nothing works better than good and interactive marketing of your product. Create banners, be a sponsorer, take the help of affiliate marketing, blog posts etc. to spread the word, far and wide.
It can take anywhere from 6 months to one year for the process to complete. Follow the above-mentioned steps diligently in order to come up with the right kind of social networking service.
