Plugging into a Niche Social Community is Like Putting on Your Best Fitting Jeans

While the growth of FaceBook and MySpace is still a phenomenon, there is a substantial fracturing of the social audience into niche communities. The buzz may send users to FaceBook and MySpace in droves, but do they stay? Do they plug in? Or is it simply overwhelming for most people to feel comfortable in networks of this size? 

Finding your way in a smaller niche community that aligns with your interest is like putting on your best fitting pair of blue jeans. It’s all about the comfort factor. It’s natural for people to want to hang out with people like themselves. It’s easier and more rewarding to participate if you have a deep interest in the topic. The shared interest is the sticky factor that brings people back to the site, helps them find online friends and keeps the posts and comments rolling.

Finding the Sweet Spot

Marketers are flocking to niche communities and many are finding the right notes with these target markets. CafeMom is a growing social community that recently received $5 million in VC funding. To appeal to this demographic, advertisers like SaraLee, HP, Kraft, and JCPenney are finding inventive ways to integrate into the community instead of just running banners. JCPenney has provided gift cards for a room makeover and then follows the mom as she transforms her house. Sara Lee has provided a widget that lets people take a quiz to identify which type of sandwich they are on their profile. In case you’re wondering, I’m a BLT – which tells the world that “I’m Easy Going and Make Friends Everywhere I Go.” 

To start finding your sweet spot, check out these lists of niche social networks at Fabric of Folly, and Wikipedia. 

Niche within a Niche

Even in a niche community, groups within the community allow even further fractionalization. Can you see a day when advertisers key their messages to groups within niche communities? Or would users chafe at that much targeting? There’s a migraine group on CafeMom. Would an ad from a pharmaceutical company be welcome here? The answer is going to be found in extensive testing and targeting. What works on CafeMom is not going to work on GamerVision. Marketers who listen to their audience and participate in communities are going to be able to hit that sweet spot more often.