Building a platform that sticks

Saskia

Oct 23, 2024 • 4 min read

A cool platform isn't enough to make the biggest audience stick around.

As we explore social alternatives, there's a feeling of uncertainty, a question. Will this one stick?

To be successful, a social media platform shouldn't just onboard users, but keep them there - an idea explored by Michael Foster in his blog.

However, as social media changes, more platforms pop-up, each offering something different.

Thankfully, many new platforms are built on open technology. Like email, you don't have to have an account to interact with someone on a different platform. With more and more platforms (and social media users spread further afar than ever), this is really a no-brainer.

But, as we measure success in MAU, how can a single one of these platforms stand out? Does it have to be cool? Should it be full of new features? Should you get the 'kids' onboard?

It's not a shock that young people are the biggest users of social media. But I think this is often misunderstood and, because of that, strategies using this information lead to failure.

Platforms expect young people to sign up and start posting and invite all their friends. This is, increasingly, not the case.

Young people don't like posting on social media. They are more often passive, rather than active posters.

So, why is this important? Because you can't have an empty social network.

If only the Gen Z's turn up your social media site will, probably, fail. Less posts equals less entertainment which means no stickiness! Bye bye Gen Z, they've moved onto the next thing.

You'd actually have a more active platform if you built for Baby Boomers - the ones who complain about young people's social media usage. Crazy.

There are a number of reasons why young people are less likely to use social media to be, well, social. These range from an increased self-awareness and caution of appearing online to the idea that to young people, social media is entertainment rather than communication. I think it's a mix of both.

Finding the balance

It's not just that the coolest platform wins. You can have a sparkly new feature that everyone who uses TikTok said they wanted and still fail. You can have a feed full of posts (with barely any engagement) and still fail.

There is a divide. Places like TikTok and YouTube are getting all the users, but far far less of the social.

Honestly, fight me, but I wouldn't even class them as social media platforms. They're entertainment. Just because there are real people on there doesn't mean it's social; we don't class Discovery Channel as social TV.

Is it time we redefine what success for a social media platform is? Afterall, the context in which platforms are placed has changed beyond recognition since the early days of Facebook or Twitter, yet our definition of 'success' hasn't. It's all about numbers of users.

A cool platform

So, how do you build a platform that everyone wants to be on? I think you do something no one else is really doing at the moment - community.

Bluesky is nearly there, embracing the post and chat ethos which built Twitter. Niche corners are thriving. But there's still more to do and more young people to win over.

There's still a real lack of young people across micro-blogging alternatives and, to the lurker, there isn't really anything that exciting or informative going on on them either (I'm thinking green owls at a Dua Lipa concert style exciting).

To pull in the very online but very passive young people, you need to entertain and excite them. Social media is the arena, young people are Caesar.