As socially inclined creatures, human beings have embraced technology that connects us with others. Every year, there is an increasing number of people signing up for and using social media. While there weren’t even a billion people using social media back in 2010, the number exceeded more than 4 billion within just the last 14 years. Don’t believe us? Then check out the Influencer Marketing Hub Digital Marketing Benchmark Report for up to the minute information on user statistics, data and other insights around what happened in social media marketing in 2023.
As of August 2023, 4.89 billion people use social media . And, with smartphones and internet connectivity becoming cheaper and easier to access, we should expect to see these numbers grow even higher. Social media company revenues also reflect the rising popularity.
In this post, you’ll discover 111 social media sites that you can include in your social media marketing strategy for 2024. Some of these platforms could even help you build valuable connections in your areas of interest. Additionally, to streamline your social media efforts, consider incorporating Social Media Scheduling Tools to efficiently manage and organize your content across various platforms.
Media Sharing Platforms Comparison
As video content continues to dominate the digital landscape, various platforms offer unique spaces for creators to share their work. From TikTok’s vibrant short-form videos to YouTube’s vast video library, these platforms cater to diverse audiences and creative needs. Below, we’ve outlined some of the leading video and live streaming platforms, highlighting their types and associated costs, to help you choose the best fit for your content strategy.
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Short-form video platform |
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Free (with ads); premium option |
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Free; subscription options |
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Free with optional in-app purchases |
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Paid (starting at $12/month) |
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Free with optional in-app purchases |
Video and Media Sharing Platforms
1. TikTok
TikTok Stats
TikTok is a short-form video sharing platform that has become quite popular within a short span of time since its launch in 2016. It was created by the Chinese company, ByteDance, and has a Chinese version called Douyin. This app is famous for its lip-sync videos and has over 1.5 billion monthly users.
- Type: Short-form video platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Easy video creation with music overlays
- Audience: Predominantly younger users globally
- Niche: Entertaining short videos
2. YouTube
YouTube Statistics
YouTube is the largest video-sharing social media site in the world. It lets users upload videos on the platform, view videos from other users, and interact with them. In 2023, it had an average of 2.7 billion monthly active users. YouTube users spend an average of 23.2 hours per month on the Android app watching videos on the platform.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free (with ads); premium subscription available
- Key Feature: User-generated video content, live streaming, and monetization
- Audience: Nearly everyone, from creators to viewers
- Niche: Video content creation and discovery
3. Twitch
Twitch Growth
Twitch is a live-streaming platform, mostly used by gamers to stream their game play or watch other gamers. Users can interact with live streams from other gamers and comment on them or upload videos to Twitch for their audience. It has about 7.28 million monthly broadcasters.
- Type: Live streaming platform for gamers
- Cost: Free; subscription options available for certain channels
- Key Feature: Live game streaming and gamer interactions
- Audience: Gamers and live stream viewers
- Niche: Gaming content and live streaming
4. Triller
Triller’s hit more than over 250 million times worldwide and while it has a way to go to make TikTok shake in its trendy boots, Triller is definitely up and coming. This AI-driven music video app lets users create professional-level videos in seconds and offers features similar to what you’ll find on TikTok. Like TikTok, Triller users create music and lipsync videos they can share with their followers.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free with optional in-app purchases
- Key Feature: AI-driven video editing tools
- Audience: Young adults, content creators
- Niche: Short-form videos, especially music and dance challenges
5. Vimeo
This is a video-sharing social media platform like Twitch or YouTube. You can create and share videos or go live, just like you can on any other video platform. It is a paid platform and the plans start at $12 per month.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Plans start at $12/month
- Key Feature: Live streaming available
- Audience: Creative professionals
- Niche: Animation, documentaries, shorts, and professional video content
6. Likee
Likee, formerly marketed as LIKE, is a Singapore-based short video content platform like TikTok. The social app includes visual effects like 4D Magic and Dynamic Stickers, along with video recording and editing features.
- Type: Video creation and sharing platform
- Cost: Free with optional in-app purchases
- Key Feature: A vast array of video editing tools and special effects, including augmented reality effects.
- Audience: Primarily young adults and teenagers
- Niche: Short-form videos with a focus on creativity and special effects.
7. Rumble
Rumble is a video sharing and streaming platform whose goal is to help creators host, distribute, and monetize their content by connecting them with brands and publishers, aside from their subscribers. On Rumble, you can create a custom video player, conduct video exchanges with full transparency and analytics, and manage and monetize your content.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free to use; monetization options available for creators
- Key Feature: Promotes freedom of speech and diverse viewpoints
- Audience: Broad range, especially those seeking alternatives to mainstream platforms
- Niche: Video content creation and monetization
8. Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a humour-based social website that mainly focuses on video content. Users can view the latest trending videos and upload their own humour videos. In addition to videos, the website also publishes some humour articles and lists to entertain the community. It is frequented by several celebrities like Will Ferrell, Selena Gomez, and Jeff Goldblum.
- Type: Comedy video platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: User-voted comedy content
- Audience: Comedy enthusiasts
- Niche: Original and user-generated comedy
9. Douban
This is a culture-oriented Chinese social media site with a focus on movies, music, and books. You can use it to create fan pages or review books, movies, etc. It also has the option to create groups to discuss specific topics. The average audience on Douban is more educated and culture-oriented than any other social media site in the country.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Book, movie, and music recommendations
- Audience: Chinese users interested in culture and lifestyle
- Niche: Cultural content sharing and reviews
10. Imgur
This is an American social media image-sharing site somewhat similar to Instagram, but not quite. It is mostly popular for sharing viral images and memes and is not as versatile as some other platforms. However, it does provide features like hashtags and topic-based content search.
- Type: Video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: User-generated content with memes and GIFs
- Audience: Broad internet audience
- Niche: Image sharing and discovery
11. 23snaps
23snaps is a private image sharing app for parents that gives parents a safe way to capture special moments. Users can then share the images with whomever they wish, keeping them away from prying eyes.
- Type: Private photo-sharing platform
- Cost: Free with optional in-app purchases
- Key Feature: Designed specifically for parents to share photos and updates of their children with a close-knit group of people.
- Audience: Parents and extended families
- Niche: Family photo and update sharing without the broader exposure of more public platforms.
12. Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is the go-to platform for anime enthusiasts to stream the latest anime shows and read popular mangas. It’s also a social media site where users can interact with each other and engage in anime-related discussions through the forums.
- Type: Anime streaming platform
- Cost: Free with ads; premium subscriptions available
- Key Feature: Extensive anime library with simulcasts
- Audience: Anime enthusiasts
- Niche: Anime streaming and community
13. YY
YY is one of the biggest social media sites in China, where users share video content with other users. It has more than 300 million users and allows group video chats. Like Twitch, users can watch a single video of someone engaging in an activity. These activities can range from tutorials to karaoke.
- Type: Live streaming platform
- Cost: Free; premium content available for purchase
- Key Feature: Real-time video streaming and interaction
- Audience: Chinese audience, varied age groups
- Niche: Live entertainment and social interaction
14. Flickr
Flickr is a photo-sharing social media site that’s a favourite among photographers and graphic designers. You can share original, high-quality images on the platform or discover relevant images from other users. You can also join groups and connect with new people with shared interests.
- Type: Photo sharing and hosting service
- Cost: Free with limitations; Pro subscription available
- Key Feature: High-resolution photo hosting and community features
- Audience: Photographers and photo enthusiasts
- Niche: Professional and amateur photography
15. Kuaishou
This is a Chinese video-sharing platform that has been active since 2011. It has over 654 million monthly users in over 9 countries.
- Type: Short video and live streaming platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: User-generated content and live streams
- Audience: Chinese audience with a broader demographic base
- Niche: Short video content and real-time engagement
16. Sina Weibo
This is a Chinese microblogging and social networking website with over 593 million monthly users. It is often called the Chinese version of Twitter because it is actually quite similar in the sense that people share short updates and posts just like a tweet.
- Type: Microblogging platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Sharing short posts with multimedia
- Audience: Chinese audience; similar to Twitter’s demographic
- Niche: News and entertainment updates
Professional and Networking Platforms
17. LinkedIn
Linkedin members statistic
LinkedIn is a social media site for professionals and is very popular among a B2B audience. The platform has grown rapidly over the years and currently has over 950 million members. Members can expand their professional connections on the platform, showcase their portfolios, and search and apply for jobs.
LinkedIn is also an excellent platform to share your professional expertise, as it allows members to publish blog posts that reside on the platform.
- Type: Professional networking platform
- Cost: Free with premium subscription options
- Key Feature: Professional profiles, job listings, and company pages
- Audience: Professionals, job seekers, and businesses
- Niche: Professional networking and career advancement
18. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams lets you connect easily with friends, family, classmates, and colleagues. With Microsoft Teams, you can call, chat, and share videos all in one place. It also lets you share documents and files, so you can share ideas and collaborate with your network.
- Type: Collaboration platform with chat, video conferencing, and file storage
- Cost: Free for basic version; paid plans available with more features
- Key Feature: Team collaboration with integrated Office 365 apps
- Audience: Businesses and organizations
- Niche: Professional communication and collaboration
19. Elpha
Elpha is a social network for women looking to build their careers. Basically, it’s LinkedIn for women. Pretty rad. Elpha users can find both personal and professional support, find jobs and business opportunities, and expand their personal and professional networks.
- Type: Networking platform
- Cost: Free (with potential premium features)
- Key Feature: Women-led community with a focus on tech
- Audience: Women in tech, from entry-level to executives
- Niche: Professional networking, mentorship, and job opportunities for women in tech
20. beBee
beBee is a collaborative platform for professionals. It was created to help people market themselves to employers, clients, vendors, and the media, sharing their personal brand. Users can also network with one another through personal and professional interests.
- Type: Professional networking and personal branding platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Encourages personal branding by sharing content that reflects professional and personal interests
- Audience: Professionals, entrepreneurs, and job seekers
- Niche: Combines personal and professional networking to create more natural connections
21. Viadeo
Viadeo is another professional social networking site that connects business owners and entrepreneurs with one another. It is more popular in Europe than in the U.S. and is available in different languages ranging from English and French to German and Portuguese.
- Type: Professional social network
- Cost: Free; premium features for a fee
- Key Feature: Professional networking and job opportunities
- Audience: Professionals, especially in non-English speaking regions
- Niche: Professional networking outside of the US market
22. The Dots
This is a professional networking platform for people who are in creative fields. It is a good space to collaborate with others, find jobs or clients, and upskill yourself. You can also talk to other experts in your field and seek advice from them. Overall, it is a great platform to showcase your work and get discovered. You can check it out in your browser or download their iOS app.
- Type: Professional network for creatives
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Portfolio showcase and job opportunities
- Audience: Creative professionals
- Niche: Networking for the creative industry
23. Polywork
Polywork is a social network that’s dedicated to bringing professionals across various disciplines together. It lets you create your own personal web page (for free!) and talk about anything concerning your personal and professional life, giving you a space to carve your identity online. It also allows users to send collaboration requests to other Polywork members. The site currently has a waitlist, but you can follow Polywork on Twitter or request for an invite from an existing member.
- Type: Professional networking platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Non-linear professional profiles showcasing varied work
- Audience: Professionals, especially creatives and multi-disciplinarians
- Niche: Non-traditional professional networking
24. Law Link
Yes, lawyers have social networking sites too! Law Link is a niche site dedicated to the legal community. As a member, you get access to a network of professional lawyers who can answer queries, tackle more complex issues, and help you with legal advice.
- Type: Social network for lawyers
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Professional profiles and legal news
- Audience: Legal professionals
- Niche: Legal networking
25. blind
Blind is another professional network where verified professionals can come together to anonymously communicate in private company channels. More than 7 million professionals around the world are part of the platform, sharing advice and providing feedback to help improve company culture and uncover vital career information.
- Type: Anonymous professional networking platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Provides a confidential space for employees to discuss workplace matters
- Audience: Professionals across various industries
- Niche: Anonymous workplace discussions and company feedback
26. Stage 32
Stage 32 is dedicated to becoming a network for film, TV, and digital content creators and professionals. Its community currently has more than 1M creatives and professionals who are developing an online community that is focused on making connections and providing access to entertainment industry education. It also gives members access to a marketplace where they can work with top entertainment industry executives for mentoring, consultations, and more.
- Type: Social network and educational site for film, TV, and theater creatives
- Cost: Free for basic access; paid services and classes available
- Key Feature: Networking, job listings, and workshops for entertainment professionals
- Audience: Actors, directors, writers, and other entertainment professionals
- Niche: Film, TV, and theater industry
Social Networking and Community Platforms
Social media platforms continue to play a pivotal role in connecting people and fostering communities worldwide. From Facebook’s comprehensive social networking to Instagram’s visual storytelling, each platform offers unique features and opportunities. Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popular platforms, their primary functions, and associated costs, highlighting how brands can engage diverse audiences and maximize their reach.
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Social networking platform |
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Photo and video-sharing platform |
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Communication platform primarily for gamers |
Free; Nitro subscription for premium features |
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Social news aggregation, discussion, web content rating |
Free (with optional premium subscription) |
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Question-and-answer website |
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Microblogging and social networking platform |
27. Facebook
Facebook is currently the largest social media site in the world. With 3.03 billion monthly active users as of Q2 2023, it’s safe to say that nearly every social media user is on Facebook. So it’s an excellent platform for brands to market their products to a huge audience.
Users can share text posts, links, images, and videos with their Facebook friends. They can follow famous people and pages and react to people’s posts on the platform. Brands can also promote their products using paid ads on Facebook.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free (with ads)
- Key Feature: Diverse platform for personal, professional, and commercial activities
- Audience: General public; nearly everyone
- Niche: Comprehensive social networking
28. Instagram
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networking platforms. While it is mostly app-based, users can also access their feed through the website version. In June 2018, it finally reached 1 billion monthly active users.
Instagram is a highly visual platform, where users share videos and images. You can also use Instagram Stories and Live features. It is very popular among the younger generations. According to Statista, 30.8% of users are aged between 18 and 24 and 30.3% are aged between 25 and 34.
- Type: Photo and video-sharing platform
- Cost: Free (with ads)
- Key Feature: Visual content sharing with stories, reels, and IGTV
- Audience: Young adults, influencers, and brands
- Niche: Visual storytelling and influencer marketing
29. Twitter
𝕏 has 600 million monthly active users, about half of which use the platform every day
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2024
Twitter is a platform that lets users stay on top of trending topics and engage in relevant conversations. In 2024, the platform had over 600 million monthly active users. While it doesn’t have as many users as other top social media sites, it does have a highly engaged user base. Twitter users send out at least 500 million tweets per day on average.
- Type: Microblogging platform
- Cost: Free (with ads)
- Key Feature: Tweets with a 280-character limit, real-time updates
- Audience: News junkies, celebrities, professionals, and brands
- Niche: Real-time news and updates
30. Discord
Discord is the preferred instant messaging platform for gamers. A lot of gamers use it to create team channels and discuss game strategy. You can use it directly from your browser or download the app.
Even though it is popular for gaming groups, it can be used for creating practically any type of group and connect over a group chat. It can be a book club, a movie club, and even a study group. So, with Discord, the possibilities are endless.
- Type: Communication platform primarily for gamers
- Cost: Free; Nitro subscription for premium features
- Key Feature: Voice, video, and text channels
- Audience: Gamers and communities around shared interests
- Niche: Gaming communication and community chats
31. Reddit
Reddit is a social media site where users become part of subreddits and engage with other users on relevant topics. It is also somewhat of a news aggregator site since users share the latest news from different sources on the site. Other users will then interact with this news, upvote or downvote it, and comment on it.
It has a huge community and gets over 1.7 billion monthly visitors. It gets most of its traffic from the US, followed by the UK and Canada.
- Type: Social news aggregation, discussion, and web content rating
- Cost: Free (with optional premium subscription)
- Key Feature: User-generated content organized in “subreddits”
- Audience: Diverse, from tech enthusiasts to hobbyists
- Niche: Community discussions and content sharing
32. Quora
Quora is one of the largest social networks for people to ask and answer questions about hundreds of topics and categories. This includes everything from language and career to mythology and marketing. As of 2023, it had 400 million monthly active users.
If you have any question that internet results cannot answer, you can post it under a relevant category. You can even send answer requests to experts on the topic.
- Type: Question-and-answer website
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Community-driven Q&A with expert insights
- Audience: Professionals, experts, and the curious public
- Niche: Knowledge sharing and discovery
33. Tumblr
Tumblr is another leading social media site. Users can join communities and participate in cultural dialogues to expand their ideas. It’s one of the top social media sites for self-expression and is very popular among teens and fandoms.
In April 2023, there were a total of 222,7 million unique visitors to the website.
- Type: Microblogging and social networking platform
- Cost: Free (with ads)
- Key Feature: Multi-format content sharing from texts to GIFs
- Audience: Young adults, artists, and fandom communities
- Niche: Creative expression and niche communities
34. Clubhouse
Clubhouse is a social audio app that lets you discover conversations, listen in, and share your ideas. With Clubhouse, you can connect with other users and host your own room for conversations about anything under the sun. The Clubhouse app is available for download on the App Store and on Google Play.
- Type: Drop-in audio chat platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Live audio conversations in rooms
- Audience: Broad range, especially professionals and celebrities
- Niche: Audio conversations and networking
35. VK
VK is a Russian social media site. While it’s also available in other languages, it is mostly popular among Russian speakers. Users can create groups and public pages, organise events, and message other users. They can also share images, video, and audio or even play browser-based games.
- Type: Social media platform (similar to Facebook)
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Comprehensive social features including messaging, groups, and music streaming
- Audience: Primarily Russian-speaking users
- Niche: All-in-one social platform for Russian speakers
36. Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a private social network for dedicated neighbourhoods. You can enter your street address and find a community of people living in your area. While it was previously just for neighbourhoods in the U.S., it has now expanded to other parts of the world. You can now use it from the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Sweden, and Denmark.
- Type: Hyperlocal social networking service
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Neighborhood-based discussions and alerts
- Audience: Local residents and community members
- Niche: Local community interactions and news
37. Medium
Medium is a content publishing site with some social network elements to it. Members can publish content on the site and share it with other users. They can “clap to” and comment on posts created by other members. While most articles are free to read, some of them are reserved for paying members.
- Type: Publishing platform
- Cost: Free to read limited articles; subscription for unlimited access
- Key Feature: Quality content from a diverse array of writers
- Audience: Readers and writers
- Niche: Thought leadership and quality content publishing
38. MeWe
MeWe is an alt-tech social media network that seeks to be an alternative to Facebook. It has a relatively “hands-off” approach to content moderation. This has made the site popular with anti-vaxxers, US conservatives, and conspiracy theorists.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free with premium features available
- Key Feature: Privacy-centric, no ads, and no tracking
- Audience: Privacy advocates and general social media users
- Niche: Ad-free social networking with an emphasis on user privacy
39. diaspora*
Diaspora is a nonprofit, user-owned, distributed social media network consisting of independently owned nodes (pods) that interoperate to form the network. Since the network isn’t owned by a single person or enterprise, it’s safe from advertising and corporate mergers or takeovers.
- Type: Decentralized social network
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: User-owned data with decentralized servers called “pods”
- Audience: Privacy advocates and tech-savvy users
- Niche: Privacy-centric social networking
40. TrustCafe
TrustCafe is a new social network created by Jimmy Wales (co-founder of Wikipedia). The site touts itself as the “non-toxic social network” and is trying to position itself as an alternative to large, established social networks like Facebook and Twitter. TrustCafe is ad-free and funded by donations from users. The network seeks to let members choose their own content, fostering a community with integrity.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free, with donation options
- Key Feature: Ad-free and user-driven content
- Audience: Individuals tired of traditional ad-driven platforms
- Niche: Community-driven content without ads
41. CloutHub
CloutHub is a social platform where you can connect with others to engage in meaningful discussions on some of the world’s most pressing issues and the campaigns you’re interested in. It’s a platform that lets you get involved with various topics you’re passionate about. Like any other social media platform, you can join groups and connect with new people.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Focus on freedom of speech and open dialogue
- Audience: Those seeking less moderated platforms
- Niche: Open political and social dialogue
42. Supernatural Connections
If you’re interested in the paranormal, then Supernatural Connections is a great resource for interdisciplinary dialogues, which cover a range of topics including supernaturalism and indigenous cultures and the commodification of the supernatural, among others. It also features a calendar of events for global conferences on the supernatural. Supernatural Connections is part of the Progressive Connexions network, a nonprofit organization based in the United Kingdom.
- Type: (Based on the name) Possibly related to fandom or spiritual community
- Cost: Varies
- Key Feature: Not widely known as of my last update
- Audience: Uncertain without more specifics
- Niche: Potentially supernatural or fandom
43. CouchSurfing
This social media site connects travellers with people from all over the world. They can discover locals in the destinations they’re visiting, request to stay with them, and meet other travellers.
- Type: Social travel platform
- Cost: Free; verification fee in some regions
- Key Feature: Connect travelers with hosts offering free lodging
- Audience: Travelers and hosts worldwide
- Niche: Travel and cultural exchange
44. Mixi
This is a Japanese social networking site that started as an invite-only service but can now be used by anyone. You can use it to find and connect with people who have similar interests. It has over 2.7 million community groups based on different hobbies and interests. The platform also provides you with the option to create and join events for people with specific interests.
- Type: Social networking service
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Diary platform and community groups
- Audience: Primarily Japanese users
- Niche: Personal blogging and community building
45. Yubo
Yubo is a newer social networking platform that has the lofty goal of reinventing online friendships by creating a safe environment for everyone online. Yubo users can create a profile, add friends, and chat in groups or one-on-one. You can use the platform to live stream and both friends and potential friends can comment.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free with optional in-app purchases and a premium “Power Pack”
- Key Feature: Live video streaming and chat rooms
- Audience: Primarily teenagers and young adults
- Niche: Making new friends online and live streaming
46. Baidu Tieba
Baidu Tieba (Postbar) is offered by China’s Baidu and is a social network based on keyword searches from the Baidu search engine. It’s a discussion forum format that lets users create a social network around a specific topic or join an existing group.
- Type: Internet forum
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Search-based forum where users can create a forum (or “Bar”) for any keyword
- Audience: Primarily Chinese-speaking users
- Niche: Topic-based community discussions based on user interest
47. Meetup
Meetup is a social media site that does exactly what its name says – it helps connect users with local groups to meet up with new people. Groups can organise events for like-minded people to get together.
You can find groups in a wide range of categories including outdoors and adventure, tech, photography, language and culture, music, and more. It is most popular in the U.S., which contributes to 59.54% of its traffic, followed by the U.K., which contributes to 8.34% of its traffic.
- Type: Social networking platform for offline group meetings
- Cost: Free for users; organizers pay a subscription fee
- Key Feature: Event organization for offline group activities
- Audience: Professionals, hobbyists, and community groups
- Niche: Offline group activities and community building
48. Vero
Vero is a social media site where users can share their favourite things with the community. They can share songs, photos, books, and movies. The platform markets itself as a social network that cares about building real connections between users and doesn’t use data mining and algorithms.
- Type: Social media platform
- Cost: Subscription-based
- Key Feature: Ad-free content sharing
- Audience: Users seeking ad-free social experiences
- Niche: Ad-free social networking
49. Myspace
Myspace is one of the older social networking platforms. In fact, it was the largest social platform almost a decade ago and was extremely popular in the US. The rise of other platforms like Facebook and Twitter eventually led to a decline in its popularity.
- Type: Social networking website
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Music-centric profiles and discovery
- Audience: Once broad, now more niche to artists and musicians
- Niche: Music discovery and artist promotion
50. Qzone
QZone is another app from the makers of QQ and WeChat—Tencent. This social media platform is very popular in China with as many as 600 million users currently. You can use it as a blog, an online diary, a platform to share photos, watch videos, listen to music, and more.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free; premium features available for a fee
- Key Feature: Personalized spaces with diaries, photos, and videos
- Audience: Chinese audience, varied age groups
- Niche: Personal blogging and sharing platform
Messaging and Communication Apps
51. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a messaging app that lets users share text messages, images, voice notes, audio files, documents, and videos. It has grown exponentially over the years and had about 2 billion monthly active users.
Along with its growing user base, the platform has also introduced many new features to make interactions easier among users.
While users could only make one-on-one calls before, it now has a group calling feature. They also introduced a WhatsApp Status feature that allowed users to update photo, video, and text statuses that disappeared after 24 hours.
- Type: Messaging and voice-over-IP service
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: End-to-end encrypted messaging
- Audience: General public; nearly everyone with a smartphone
- Niche: Secure text, voice, and video communication
52. Snapchat
Snapchat is another highly visual social media platform that’s popular among the younger generation. Users can send snaps to each other and update 24-hour Statuses just like on WhatsApp and Instagram. In Q2 of 2023, it had 397 million daily active users who are highly active on the platform.
- Type: Multimedia messaging app
- Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
- Key Feature: Ephemeral messages and stories, augmented reality lenses
- Audience: Primarily young adults and teenagers
- Niche: Disappearing content and interactive multimedia experiences
53. Telegram
This is an instant messaging platform that is somewhat similar to WhatsApp in that you can use it to send free messages. One unique benefit of Telegram is that all the messages shared on this platform are encrypted and can self-destruct. So, when it comes to security and privacy, it gets a big thumbs up.
Another great feature is that it allows you to create groups of as many as 200,000 members, which is more than what other messaging platforms offer. It is available for both iOS and Android devices, as well as desktops. It has over 55.2 million daily active users.
- Type: Messaging app
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: End-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages
- Audience: Users prioritizing privacy in communication
- Niche: Secure and fast messaging
54. Viber
Viber is an instant messaging platform from the Japanese company Rakuten. It can be used on both mobile devices and desktops. You can use it to make free voice or video calls and send messages. It had over 1.1 billion registered users in 2020, however, not all of these are active users.
- Type: Messaging and calling app
- Cost: Free; Viber Out feature at a cost
- Key Feature: Secure messaging and high-quality calls
- Audience: Global user base seeking alternative to traditional texting/calling
- Niche: Communication with added security
55. Skype
It is a communication-based social networking platform that is most popular for making video conference calls. It also provides instant messaging functionality and you can use it to share texts, images, videos, and audio files.
- Type: Video calling and instant messaging
- Cost: Free; charges for some features like calls to phones
- Key Feature: Video conferencing and calls
- Audience: Global audience for personal and business communication
- Niche: Online communication
56. WeChat
WeChat is a popular messaging app that allows you to connect with people using your app ID. This makes it possible to talk to strangers without divulging your phone number or other information. So, the unique selling point (USP) of this app is it helps maintain anonymity when connecting with strangers. You can use it to send text messages or share photos and videos. It also supports voice and video calls. It has 1.3 billion monthly users as of 2023.
- Type: Multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Integrated ecosystem from chatting to shopping
- Audience: Predominantly Chinese users but expanding globally
- Niche: All-in-one social and commerce platform
57. LINE
LINE is a popular Japanese social network that also attracts users from other countries like Thailand. You can use it to send messages and make free voice or video calls. It also allows photo and video sharing options.
- Type: Messaging and social media app
- Cost: Free; in-app purchases available
- Key Feature: Stickers and characters for expressive messaging
- Audience: Predominantly in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia
- Niche: Chatting with integrated social features
58. Tencent QQ
This is a Chinese instant messaging platform that was initially launched only in China but later expanded to 80+ countries. It supports text messages, voice calls, and video calls. It also has a built-in language translator to help you communicate with people who speak a different language. It had 571 million users in China, in Q2 2023.
- Type: Instant messaging software service
- Cost: Free; premium features available for a fee
- Key Feature: Text chats, video calls, and online games
- Audience: Mainly Chinese users across age groups
- Niche: Comprehensive social and entertainment platform in China
Creative and Artistic Communities
59. Pinterest
Pinterest stats
Pinterest is a virtual scrapbooking social media site and is therefore, highly visual. Users can create themed boards and add images and products to the board. Brands can even create Shoppable Pins through which users can directly make purchases.
As of Q1 2023, there were 465 million monthly active users on the platform. These users have created more than 240 billion pins, which is an average of 600 pins per user.
- Type: Social media and visual discovery engine
- Cost: Free (with ads and promoted pins)
- Key Feature: Visual boards for bookmarking and inspiration
- Audience: DIY enthusiasts, planners, and shoppers
- Niche: Visual inspiration and idea discovery
60. Behance
Behance is a platform that’s a part of Adobe and is especially designed for creatives around the world. The site lets them showcase their work while allowing them to discover other talents through features like Search (Discover), Live, and Jobs. On Behance, creative professionals from various disciplines can create and curate their portfolio. You can create a profile for free. Other Behance members can follow your profile, as well as the profiles of other Behance users. The great thing about Behance, aside from the free participation, is you can create practically an unlimited number of projects—there’s no limit to how many images or media you can upload.
- Type: Platform for showcasing and discovering creative work
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Professional portfolio creation
- Audience: Designers, artists, and other creatives
- Niche: Creative portfolios
61. Dribbble
Dribbble—with three Bs—is a platform that lets design professionals showcase their work. It covers various design practices, including animation, branding, illustration, typography, and web design. As of writing, this creative community has over 18 million “shots dribbbled” and over one trillion pixels shared. It was founded in 2009 and has since become one of the top places for design professionals to share their talent and get hired by over 40,000 of the top global brands like Apple, Google, and Slack.
- Type: Digital portfolio platform for designers
- Cost: Free; Pro memberships available
- Key Feature: Design showcases and job listings
- Audience: Graphic designers, illustrators, and creative professionals
- Niche: Design and illustration
62. DeviantArt
Deviantart calls itself the world’s largest social media community for artists and art enthusiasts. Users can share photos of their artwork, discover the work of other artists, and interact with other members of the community. According to the platform, it currently has more than 75 million registered users.
- Type: Online social community for artists and art enthusiasts
- Cost: Free; premium subscription available
- Key Feature: Artwork sharing and discovery
- Audience: Artists, designers, and art enthusiasts
- Niche: Artistic expression and community
63. Wattpad
Wattpad is a social media community of readers and writers. The platform sees a ton of user-generated stories across various genres including fiction, poetry, humour, and even fanfiction. It currently has about 85 million readers worldwide.
- Type: Platform for writers and readers
- Cost: Free; premium subscription available
- Key Feature: User-generated stories across various genres
- Audience: Writers and readers
- Niche: Community-driven literature and storytelling
64. Instructables
If you love DIY projects and making handmade things, then this one’s for you. Instructables is an online community where DIY and craft enthusiasts come together to share their knowledge in the form of easy-to-follow instructions. The site’s scope covers an assortment of projects ranging from circuits and workshop projects to cooking and crafting outdoor gear.
- Type: Community for sharing DIY projects and instructions
- Cost: Free; Premium memberships available
- Key Feature: Step-by-step DIY guides
- Audience: DIY enthusiasts, crafters, and makers
- Niche: Do-it-yourself projects and crafts
65. Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is a global hub for developers where they can share technical and non-technical know-how. This community-based platform lets users ask coding questions and find the best answers from a pool of global coding experts and enthusiasts. It serves over 100 million monthly visitors and has been helping developers get the answers they need since 2008.
- Type: Platform for developers to learn and share knowledge
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Q&A format for programming topics
- Audience: Developers, programmers, and tech professionals
- Niche: Programming and coding support
Music and Audio Platforms
66. Spotify Live
Spotify Live is a space for live audio conversations. You can access live audio content from your favorite creators and athletes via virtual rooms where you can listen to and interact with creators. The best part is, you don’t need to have a Premium account to enjoy this feature. Simply download the Spotify Live app, create an account, and start listening.
- Type: Music, podcast, and audio content platform
- Cost: Free with ads; Premium plans available
- Key Feature: Extensive library of music and podcasts
- Audience: General public; especially music and podcast enthusiasts
- Niche: Audio streaming
67. SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a music-sharing social media platform where users can upload their original tracks or listen to tracks from other artists. They can add music to their playlists and comment on parts of a track that they like for other users to see.
- Type: Music streaming and sharing platform
- Cost: Free; premium tiers available for creators
- Key Feature: Discovering and promoting indie music
- Audience: Independent musicians, podcasters, and fans
- Niche: Independent music and audio content
68. ReverbNation
ReverbNation is one of the most reputable social media sites dedicated to musicians. They can promote their music through the platform and reach a bigger audience. They can even make money off of their tracks by selling them to fans or distributing them to major digital platforms. Besides these basics, ReverbNation also offers a host of tools and features to help musicians build their careers.
- Type: Music-focused platform for artists and fans
- Cost: Free; premium features available for a fee
- Key Feature: Artist promotion and music discovery
- Audience: Musicians, bands, and music enthusiasts
- Niche: Independent music promotion and discovery
Special Interest and Niche Platforms
69. Patreon
Patreon Statistics
Patreon is a social network that lets content creators showcase their abilities and enables fans to support their work through monthly memberships. Unlike other social networks, Patreon gives creators more control over the ownership of their work and the revenue they generate from it. Founded in 2013, it has since grown to house over 250,000 creators and more than eight million patrons.
- Type: Crowdfunding platform for creators
- Cost: Free to join; Patreon takes a percentage of earnings
- Key Feature: Recurring financial support from patrons
- Audience: Creators (artists, writers, musicians, podcasters, etc.) and their supporters
- Niche: Content creation and monetization
70. Untappd
Untappd gives beer drinkers a platform where they can rate beer, share pictures of beer, earn badges, review tap lists from venues nearby, and see what beers their friends on drinking. They can also comment on logged beers and even ask the app to suggest similar beers. With Untappd, users can share check-ins on Twitter and Facebook and get locations from Foursquare.
- Type: Social networking platform for beer enthusiasts
- Cost: Free with a premium version called “Untappd for Business”
- Key Feature: Beer check-ins and reviews
- Audience: Beer enthusiasts and brewers
- Niche: Craft beer discovery, ratings, and local brewery exploration
71. Peanut
Peanut is a social network for mothers and potential mothers that is meant to help them make friends and establish strong networks to support them from fertility through motherhood. There are tons of useful resources, forums, and groups. They now offer a new community area for people who are trying to conceive.
- Type: Social networking platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Connects mothers based on interests and challenges
- Audience: Mothers and expecting mothers
- Niche: Motherhood and women’s topics
72. Academia
Academia is a platform for academics and researchers to share academic research. Users have uploaded more than 40 million papers and the platform has 204 million active users every month. It started as a free and open repository of academic journal articles but now charges fees to get authors in contact with those who want to read their research.
- Type: Academic paper sharing platform
- Cost: Basic usage is free; premium features available for a subscription fee.
- Key Feature: Allows researchers to share their papers and monitor their impact.
- Audience: Academics, researchers, and students
- Niche: Scholarly work sharing and discovery.
73. Amikumu
Amikumu is a cross-platform app that can be used to find people nearby who speak or are learning certain languages. The app was originally created for Esperanto speakers but quickly expanded to include speakers of all languages. The app has members in more than 136 countries speaking nearly 500 languages. Amikumu’s purpose is to create a social network where speakers and signers can find and share relevant information locally.
- Type: Language and location-based social networking
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Connects speakers of a particular language, especially lesser-known and endangered languages, in close physical proximity.
- Audience: Polyglots, language learners, and speakers of less common languages
- Niche: Language-based networking for real-world interactions.
74. aNobii
aNobii is a social networking site like Goodreads that has users in more than 20 countries but is most popular in Italy. The site launched in 2006 but was acquired by Mondadori in 2014 in a purchase backed by HMV Group, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House. Users can add their books as well as rate, review, and discuss them with other readers.
- Type: Social networking site for book lovers
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Allows users to catalog books, share reviews, and connect with other readers
- Audience: Book enthusiasts, authors, and readers
- Niche: Community-driven book discovery and recommendations
75. ASMALLWORLD
ASMALLWORLD is a social networking platform geared towards North Americans and Europeans who are interested in meeting other travelers. It’s a paid social network with four tiers ranging from €79/year to €9,690/year. Users have to apply for membership and membership usually requires an invitation from an existing member or approval by a membership committee.
- Type: Private travel and social networking site
- Cost: Membership fee required (varies by level and region)
- Key Feature: Exclusive events, travel deals, and networking opportunities
- Audience: Affluent travelers and socialites
- Niche: High-end social networking with a focus on luxury travel and exclusivity
76. Athlinks
Athlinks is a free social networking site targeting competitive endurance athletes. So niche, right? The platform mostly focuses on competitive results for running, swimming, cycling, mountain biking, triathlon, and adventure racing. Athlinks members can connect to their competitors and fellow athletes.
- Type: Social networking site for athletes
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Consolidates race results, offers competition tracking, and connects athletes
- Audience: Competitive athletes, runners, and sports enthusiasts
- Niche: Athletic competition tracking and social connection among athletes
77. BAND
BAND is a social network that focuses on group communication. Users can create their own space for communication with others for a specific purpose. These groups range from sports teams, friends, family, interest-based groups, teams, and pretty much anything you can think of.
- Type: Group communication and community platform
- Cost: Free with optional in-app purchases
- Key Feature: Allows creating private or public groups (Bands) for efficient communication and organization
- Audience: Clubs, teams, friends, families, and communities
- Niche: Group communication and collaboration, event planning
78. Steemit
Steemit is a blockchain-based platform. Each post generates a hash and users are rewarded with STEEM cryptocurrency. Users can create posts on tons of topics and other users then add comments or upvote (similar to Reddit).
- Type: Blockchain-based blogging and social media website
- Cost: Free to use; creators earn cryptocurrency
- Key Feature: Decentralized platform where users earn Steem cryptocurrency for creating and curating content
- Audience: Bloggers, crypto enthusiasts, independent writers
- Niche: Decentralized content creation and curation
79. Mix
Previously StumbleUpon, Mix is a news aggregator social media site that lets users curate their favourite content from around the web and add it to their “Collections”. It provides several browser extensions and also has iOS and Android apps.
- Type: Content discovery platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Curated internet content based on user interests
- Audience: Content seekers and bloggers
- Niche: Content curation and discovery
80. Goodreads
Goodreads is another niche social networking site, but this one focuses on books. Book lovers can connect with fellow bookworms and share their book reviews. The site also provides them with book recommendations based on their reading history. Users can join virtual reading clubs and socialise with like-minded individuals.
- Type: Social cataloging website for books
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Book reviews, recommendations, and reading challenges
- Audience: Book enthusiasts and authors
- Niche: Book discovery and community reviews
81. Houzz
If you love design and décor ideas, then you need to head on over to Houzz. It’s a comprehensive resource for design inspiration and a venue where you can find and hire design and construction professionals. On Houzz, you can save design inspiration photos, post questions about the photos, and view the profile of the professionals responsible for the design and construction of these works. What’s more, Houzz lets you shop for furniture, fixtures, home décor, and more—no need to go to separate sites to purchase items for your home.
- Type: Platform for home remodeling and design
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Home design inspiration, products, and professionals
- Audience: Homeowners and home professionals
- Niche: Home design and renovation
82. Letterboxd
Letterboxd is a haven for film enthusiasts. With Letterboxd, you can keep track of all the movies you’ve watched, given ratings, written reviews, and more. Share reviews and opinions with friends and follow them to see all the movies they’re watching or enjoying. Apps are available for iOS, Android, and Apple TV devices. Even without an account, you’re free to browse all of Letterboxd. However, if you want to join in on all the fun, you’ll need to create a Letterboxd account. It’s free to use, but if you want to access all its exclusive features, you’ll need to upgrade to a Pro or Patron account.
- Type: Social platform for film enthusiasts
- Cost: Free; Pro memberships available
- Key Feature: Movie logging, reviews, and lists
- Audience: Film enthusiasts and critics
- Niche: Movie discovery and reviews
83. Ravelry
This is a niche, hyper-targeted social media site for people who like knitting, weaving, and crocheting. The purpose is to discover ideas, share your own work, and seek advice. It is a free site and provides tons of resources for knitters and crocheters.
- Type: Social platform for knitters and crocheters
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Patterns, projects, and yarn database
- Audience: Knitting and crochet enthusiasts
- Niche: Crafting and yarnwork
84. Dogster
If you love dogs, then this is the place for you! Dogster is a social network site that caters to dogs and dog owners. It has resources on topics like dog health and care, dog breeds, dog training, and puppies. While it’s primarily an online publication, you can connect with and learn from other dog lovers and owners by leaving comments on the published articles. And if you’re stressed from a long day at work, nothing beats looking at photos of all the adorable dogs featured on Dogster’s Instagram account.
- Type: Social community for dog lovers
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Dog-centric articles, forums, and adoptable dog listings
- Audience: Dog enthusiasts and owners
- Niche: Dog community
85. MyAnimeList
MyAnimeList is a community dedicated to anime and manga. Launched in 2004, it still remains as one of the world’s most active online communities for anime and manga. On MyAnimeList, you can create, well, a personalized list of all the anime you’ve watched or all the manga you’ve read. It has a community (forums) where you can get updates and discuss your favorite anime or manga. You can also get industry insights as the network also shares anime- and manga-related news. This global database has users from over 200 countries and has more than 500,000 users daily.
- Type: Anime and manga social networking and cataloging
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Track and rate anime and manga titles
- Audience: Anime and manga enthusiasts
- Niche: Anime and manga discovery and community
86. Barista Exchange
Are you a coffee enthusiast? Then this one’s for you. Barista Exchange is a niche network for all things coffee. You can create your own Barista Exchange profile and start interacting with other members. Take part in discussions centered on coffee and get to know more about various roasters, speciality shops, and more through its Classifieds section. Like any other social network, you can join groups and take part in their discussions. Barista Exchange also lets you post a job or look for one.
- Type: Community platform for coffee professionals
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Networking and forums for coffee industry members
- Audience: Baristas, coffee shop owners, and coffee enthusiasts
- Niche: Coffee industry
87. Care2
Care2 is a social media site for activists, where they can discover trending stories and petitions from around the world. The community is made up of more than 62 million people who want to make the world a better place and stand against cruelty and injustice.
- Type: Social networking for activists
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Petitions and cause-based networking
- Audience: Activists and socially-conscious individuals
- Niche: Social action and community-driven change
88. Gaia Online
Gaia Online is an anime-themed social media site where users can participate in trending conversations through forums. They can also explore the platform to meet new people with shared interests and play browser-based games.
- Type: Anime-themed social networking and forums
- Cost: Free; premium items for purchase
- Key Feature: Avatars and virtual communities
- Audience: Anime and gaming fans, mostly younger users
- Niche: Virtual world with an anime theme
89. Cellufun
It is a social gaming community where you can create avatars, play games, socialise, and purchase virtual commodities. The site is free to use, but you can pay to get additional features using FunCoins, their virtual currency. It can be used on both mobile and desktop devices.
- Type: Mobile social game site
- Cost: Free; in-app purchases available
- Key Feature: Virtual goods and avatar customization
- Audience: Mobile gamers
- Niche: Social gaming
90. 8tracks
8tracks is an internet radio and social networking site that lets users create, share, and stream user-curated playlists of at least (you guessed it) eight tracks. It’s free to create an account so you can browse and listen to curated playlists as well as create your own. There is also a subscription service, 8tracks Plus, available in the US and Canada.
- Type: Internet radio and social networking
- Cost: Free with ads; premium version available to remove ads
- Key Feature: Allows users to create and share playlists with a minimum of 8 tracks.
- Audience: Music enthusiasts
- Niche: Curated playlists by real people, not algorithms.
91. We Heart It
This is another image-based social media site where users can discover and curate their favourite images into their collections. There are several channels on the platform including art, music, school, quotes, and more. Users can check out these channels for relevant images to inspire them.
- Type: Image-based social network
- Cost: Free; premium features available
- Key Feature: Visual discovery and collections
- Audience: Prim
92. FilmAffinity
Another social media site for film enthusiasts, FilmAffinity is a movie recommendation platform. Users can rate the movies they’ve watched and get movie recommendations based on their favourite genres.
- Type: Movies and TV shows
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Personalized movie recommendations
- Audience: Movie enthusiasts
- Niche: Film discovery and reviews
93. Yelp
Yelp is a crowd-sourcing review website where users can share their opinions about local establishments. It’s a great way to find the most recommended places and events in your area.
- Type: Local business reviews
- Cost: Free for users; businesses can pay for ads and premium features
- Key Feature: Community-based reviews of local businesses and services
- Audience: Consumers and local businesses
- Niche: Local business discovery and reviews
94. CaringBridge
CaringBridge is one of the only social media sites of its kind. It’s a personal health journal that connects people with their loved ones during a health journey and allows them to provide support. It’s an excellent platform for people who are undergoing serious illnesses and health struggles as it helps them stay connected with people who care about them.
- Type: Health journaling
- Cost: Free (donation-based)
- Key Feature: Personalized health updates for family and friends
- Audience: Patients and their support communities
- Niche: Health journey tracking and community support
95. BlogHer
BlogHer is a vital resource for bloggers and content creators who want to expand their reach and cultivate their brands. It’s been around since 2005 and now reaches over 10 million women who are looking to scale their businesses. One of its key features is a content library that’s focused on bringing education to small businesses and inspiration to its audience.
- Type: Women bloggers and readers
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Women-centric content and events
- Audience: Women bloggers and readers
- Niche: Women’s interests and empowerment
96. CafeMom
CaféMom is a social networking site that’s geared toward mothers. This “mommy blog” has anything and everything that mothers and mothers-to-be need, from baby name ideas to health and relationship resources. This hub also helps its audience learn from other mothers who share their experiences with pregnancy, motherhood, and everything in between.
- Type: Social networking site for mothers
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Mother-centric forums and articles
- Audience: Moms and expecting mothers
- Niche: Motherhood and parenting
97. Goodwall
Goodwall is a social networking site whose mission is “to connect youth to opportunity.” It’s an online community that connects the youth to opportunities that can help them make a meaningful impact. This social network lets members connect with other youths, showcase their abilities, and explore personalized job and scholarship opportunities.
- Type: Youth opportunities
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Scholarships, job listings, and challenges
- Audience: Students and young professionals
- Niche: Career development for younger demographics
98. MyHeritage
MyHeritage is a genealogy-based social media site. Users can create family trees, upload and view family photos, and update their family histories. People have even used the platform to find their ancestors and learn more about them. MyHeritage has also introduced DNA testing so users can more accurately trace back their family histories and discover their blood relations.
- Type: Genealogy platform
- Cost: Free basic usage; subscription plans available
- Key Feature: Family tree creation and DNA testing
- Audience: Individuals exploring family history
- Niche: Genealogical research and DNA analysis
99. Classmates
Classmates is a social media site that connects you with your ex-classmates and school alumni. Users can easily plan their high school reunions through the platform and access their high school yearbook.
- Type: Social networking site for connecting with school alumni
- Cost: Free; premium membership available
- Key Feature: Reconnecting with high school friends and alumni
- Audience: US-based school alumni
- Niche: School nostalgia and reconnections
100. italki
italki makes language-learning easier by connecting users with native language teachers through video chat. This helps language learners to get interactive, one-on-one tutoring sessions so they can easily learn the language of their choice. They can choose from thousands of teachers in any language.
- Type: Language learning community
- Cost: Free community features; paid lessons with teachers/tutors
- Key Feature: Connects students with language teachers
- Audience: Language learners and educators
- Niche: One-on-one language lessons
101. Bettermode
Bettermode is a cloud-based community where consumers can connect with a brand community. Users can engage in conversations and discussions under specific brands. They can explore and follow different brands, ask questions, start discussions, and create polls relevant to the brands.
- Type: Brand communities
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Augmented video chats with visual recognition
- Audience: Younger demographic; casual chatters
- Niche: Video chat with augmented reality (AR) features
102. Substack
Substack is reinventing newsletters for the digital age. The platform allows individual creators to create their own newsletter and connect directly with their audience. It follows a subscription model where writers are paid directly by their readers. With Substack, you get complete ownership over what you publish, as well as your IP and mailing list. If you have an existing blog, you can transfer it to Substack. The platform also lets you do podcasts.
- Type: Newsletters and independent journalism
- Cost: Free to start; Substack takes a percentage of subscription revenues
- Key Feature: Direct newsletter monetization through subscriptions
- Audience: Writers, journalists, and their readers
- Niche: Independent journalism and content creation
103. GIPHY
This is an online database of animated GIFs that are usually humour-based. Users can upload their own GIFs or search for and discover GIFs created by other users. They can react to their favourite GIFs and even share them with friends on other social media platforms.
- Type: GIF search engine and platform
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Extensive GIF library and creation tools
- Audience: Everyone from content creators to everyday users
- Niche: Animated GIFs
104. Foursquare Swarm
Foursquare is a search-and-discovery based app that helps users discover nearby places by providing recommendations. Foursquare is so much more than a social media platform but is also a location data and technology platform.
Their social networking feature is now available as a separate product called Swarm. It is a social networking app that has Foursquare’s popular functionality of check-ins when visiting a place.
- Type: Location-based social networking
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: Check-ins and location tracking with friends
- Audience: Users keen on sharing their location and experiences
- Niche: Location-based socializing
105. eToro
eToro is a social trading platform that allows users to follow leading traders in the community and connect with other traders. Users can also earn some extra income by having other traders copy their trading strategies and portfolios.
- Type: Social trading platform
- Cost: Free to join; charges on trades
- Key Feature: Allows copying of trades from experienced traders
- Audience: Investors and traders
- Niche: Social investment and trading
106. XING
This is a career-oriented social media site that helps people expand their professional networks. Users can conduct a job search, get the latest industry news, and discover professional events like conferences, seminars, and trade shows. It is mostly a European-focused website.
- Type: Professional social network
- Cost: Free; premium subscriptions available
- Key Feature: Networking, job listings, and industry news
- Audience: Professionals, especially in German-speaking countries
- Niche: Business networking in the DACH region
107. Fark
Fark is a community website that lets users comment on news articles and other content from around the web. Out of all of the story submissions the site receives each day only about 100 of them are displayed on the main pages. All of the links have associated threads where users can comment on the link.
- Type: Community-driven news aggregator
- Cost: Free
- Key Feature: User-submitted news stories with comedic and sarcastic commentary
- Audience: News enthusiasts with a sense of humor
- Niche: News aggregation with a comedic twist
Dating and Social Discovery
108. Tagged
This social media site acquired the once popular hi5 social media platform in 2011. It is mainly focused around friendship and dating. Users can connect with others through common interests, games, browsing profiles, and more.
- Type: Social discovery website
- Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
- Key Feature: People-meeting through live streaming and browsing profiles
- Audience: Individuals looking to make new friends or potential dates
- Niche: Social discovery and live streaming
109. MeetMe
Previously known as myYearbook, this social media site helps users discover new people to connect with. You can discover new people in your area to connect with and people who share your interests.
- Type: Social networking and dating
- Cost: Free; in-app purchases available
- Key Feature: Live streaming and chat
- Audience: Individuals seeking connections and relationships
- Niche: Live streaming and casual social discovery
110. Badoo
It is a social media cum dating platform where you can create your profile and find people with similar interests. The platform claims to have over 493 million registered users who send 350 million messages every day, on average. This makes it one of the largest social discovery platforms in the world.
It is available across devices and platforms and provides multiple login options. It is available for use in over 200 countries. You can use it to find people in your location and make friends.
- Type: Dating-focused social networking
- Cost: Free; in-app purchases and premium features available
- Key Feature: Matchmaking based on location and interests
- Audience: Singles seeking relationships or connections
- Niche: Online dating and social discovery
111. MocoSpace
This is a mobile social community where users can connect with other members through public chat rooms and group chats. They can also engage in private chats with other users. They can play mobile games, send eCards, and more.
- Type: Mobile social network
- Cost: Free; in-app purchases available
- Key Feature: Chat, instant messaging, and gaming
- Audience: Mobile users seeking connections and entertainment
- Niche: Mobile social gaming and chat
Which Social Media Platforms are Best for Marketing and Customer Acquisition?
When it comes to marketing and customer acquisition, not all social media platforms are created equal. Each platform offers unique advantages, making some better suited for specific marketing goals and target audiences. Here are some of the top platforms:
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Broad demographic appeal with over 2.8 billion monthly active users |
Advanced targeting options, robust analytics, diverse ad formats (photo, video, carousel, etc.) |
Effective for both B2B and B2C, excellent for community building and lead generation |
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Predominantly younger users, especially Millennials and Gen Z |
Highly visual platform ideal for brands with strong visual content. Features like Stories, IGTV, Shopping |
High engagement rates, effective for influencer marketing and direct-to-consumer brands |
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Professionals and businesses, with over 740 million users |
B2B marketing powerhouse, excellent for networking, lead generation, and thought leadership |
Effective for targeting professionals and decision-makers, ideal for high-value B2B marketing |
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Diverse, with a strong presence of news, media, and tech-savvy users |
Real-time engagement, ideal for customer service, brand awareness, and trending topics |
Good for driving traffic to websites and engaging in conversations with potential customers |
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Broad, with over 2 billion logged-in monthly users |
Video-centric platform ideal for long-form content, tutorials, and entertainment |
Effective for brands that can produce high-quality video content, excellent for SEO and brand visibility |
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Primarily Gen Z and young Millennials |
High engagement through short-form video content, viral potential |
Ideal for brands targeting younger audiences, highly effective for trends and challenges |
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Predominantly female, strong in lifestyle, DIY, and e-commerce niches |
Visual discovery engine, excellent for driving traffic to e-commerce sites |
Effective for visual product discovery and promoting e-commerce sales |
How Do Different Social Media Platforms Compare in Terms of Ease of Use and Monetization?
Each social media platform offers varying degrees of ease of use and potential for monetization, catering to different types of users and business needs.
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User-friendly interface with comprehensive tools for creating and managing ads |
Strong monetization options including Facebook Ads, Marketplace, and paid events. Advanced targeting capabilities and extensive analytics enhance ROI. |
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Intuitive and visual-focused, easy to create engaging posts and stories |
Effective through sponsored posts, Instagram Shopping, and ads. Influencer partnerships also drive significant revenue. |
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Professional interface, slightly steeper learning curve for ads |
Premium memberships, LinkedIn Ads, and sponsored content. High potential for lead generation in B2B markets. |
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Simple and direct, but mastering the art of engagement can take time |
Twitter Ads, promoted tweets, and Twitter Amplify for video content. Effective for real-time marketing and customer engagement. |
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Requires more effort to produce high-quality video content |
AdSense revenue, sponsored content, and memberships. High potential for monetization through video ads and brand partnerships. |
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Easy to create and share content, but mastering the platform’s unique style is key |
Sponsored posts, brand takeovers, and in-app purchases. High engagement and viral potential make it lucrative. |
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User-friendly, especially for visual content creation |
Promoted Pins, affiliate links, and product pins. Effective for driving traffic to e-commerce sites and increasing sales. |
Conclusion
These are 111 of the most popular social media sites that you should know about in 2024. If you’re a marketer, some of these platforms can help you promote your brand and products.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top social media platforms for video content in 2024?
The top platforms for video content include YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, each offering unique features for creators and audiences, from short-form videos to live streaming.
How can businesses leverage Instagram for influencer marketing?
Instagram is ideal for influencer marketing due to its visual nature and large user base, especially among young adults. Brands can collaborate with influencers to create authentic content that resonates with their target audience.
What are the best social media sites for professional networking?
LinkedIn is the leading platform for professional networking, providing tools for career advancement, job searching, and industry news. Other niche platforms like Elpha and The Dots cater to specific professional communities.
How do social media platforms differ in terms of content monetization?
Platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon offer robust monetization options for creators, including ad revenue, subscriptions, and fan support, allowing them to generate income from their content.
What are some emerging social media platforms to watch in 2024?
Platforms like Polywork and Clubhouse are gaining traction, offering innovative features such as collaborative networking and live audio discussions, making them valuable for niche communities and professionals.
About the Author
Writer
Jacinda Santora is a copywriter, marketing consultant, and owner of JMS Copy. She enjoys using her SEO expertise combined with experience in and a deep love for all things marketing to create high-quality marketing-related content
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2024-07-25 08:00:00