We all know the basics - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn. If you’re a small business owner, you’ve probably spent more time then you care to admit researching the different platforms, developing your strategies, and creating content to post.

Managing your social platforms can feel like a full time job (hence how people come to me!). It’s often that extra chore that eats up your time, and can make your head spin trying to navigate the different algorithms, crafting the right content, and simply remembering to get content scheduled and put out there.

The idea of yet another social platform to worry about, let alone multiple more, can seem down right impossible. But it doesn’t have to be scary. When handling your own content creation, we subscribe to the theory of only buying into the social media sites that appeal to your audience, and that you enjoy (as much as you can) posting to.

Not gaining any traction on Facebook? Don’t make it part of your daily routine. Make a note to update it once a week/every 2 weeks and call it a day. Are you more of a service based business whose clients aren’t really hanging around Pinterest? Shelf it for now and revisit later on when you have more space. Just because a platform is popular, doesn’t mean you have be apart of it.

Keeping that in mind, let’s explore some of the new and upcoming social media sites that you may (or may not) want to add into your repertoire for 2021.

TikTok

THE social media platform of 2020, TikTok took off during the Pandemic, Filled with entertaining videos and the ability to get lost in it for hours, people flocked to TikTok to entertain themselves during the many days at home. While TikTok has a larger younger audience, Millennials in their 30’s are jumping on the bandwagon and shopping influencers posts and finding new favorite products/ideas.

Platform Size: 800 Million Monthly Users

Audience Breakdown: 41% are between 16 and 24.

Nextdoor

When you’re looking to get super local, Nextdoor is where you’re looking to be. The local gossip site is a favorite among close knit neighborhoods, and can be an excellent resource for local businesses in reaching their ideal audience.

Platform Size: In 270,000 Neighborhoods in 11 countries

Benefit to Businesses: Touts over 50 million small business recommendations made on the platform.

Medium

For those who enjoy blogging, Medium can be an excellent platform to post on. The microblogging site offers the ability for thought leaders and experts to share and educate the masses. Despite being around for a while, Medium has really grown in the past year with over 1.4 million articles posted a month.

ideal for: Adding backlinks for SEO and defining yourself as an expert.

Audience Breakdown: Mostly college grads.

Snapchat

Again, another oldie (at least in the world of social) but definitely a goodie. Snapchat reaches almost 249 million people a day, and is wildly popular among Millennials and Gen Z. Their AR partnership with Apple has been widely talked about for 2022, but for the immediate future, it’s new ability to scan and shop products within the app could be money makers for businesses.

Dedicated Users: On Average Snapchatters open the app over 30 times a day.

They are Buyers: Snapchat users are 60% more likely to make impulse purchases.

Clubhouse

The ultimate insider platform, Clubhouse is SUPER popular among influencers and the elite (and is currently invite only), but it’s promised to open it doors to the world soon. Clubhouse’s claim to fame is the ability for users to bounce around to different profiles and listen to stories, have conversations, listen to lectures/presentations or collaborate with others. BTW - if any one has an invite laying around I may know a certain marketer who is dying for one cough cough.

Great Opportunity for: Virtual events and summits in the post Covid era.

Network Central: Build your audience and network your butt off.