A few months back, Princeton researchers made a prediction that Facebook will lose 80 percent of its users between 2015 and 2017. With 2015 rapidly approaching, the anti-Facebook sentiments remain: too many ads, not enough organic reach, and too many complaints about the ever-changing privacy policy.
Still, the social king can't be dethroned without revolutionaries — though a few contenders may have emerged. Recently, two new social platforms jumped onto the scene and are slowly but surely gaining traction.
Say hello to Ello and tsu. Get the 101 on the new social platforms that are writing manifestos and openly solving Facebook's most griped about problems.
Ello: The always ad-free social site
Out of the two, Ello has definitely drummed up the most buzz, particularly because it's invite-only for the moment. Launched in early August, the social site already has 1 million active users, 3 million users on the waiting list, and $5.5 million in venture capital. Not too shabby for a new kid on the block.
But why the sudden, furious frenzy to get an Ello invite? No advertisements, minimalistic design and no selling of your data certainly caught the eye of many. Ello even decrees, "You're the product that's being bought and sold," and they want to give you another option. They're vowing to never sell your personal data or bombard you with advertisements.
Instead, they're going to operate much like a freemium game. Everyone gets to play, but if you want Ello's newest features, you're going to pay.
For now, Ello looks like a simplistic version of Facebook, exclusively in black and white. You still have a profile picture, cover photo and status updates. You can scroll through your friends' section to see what they're up to, check your notifications or browse the noise — "a curated collection" of Ello's favorite community posts.
Ello looks like a simplistic version of Facebook, exclusively in black and white.
Tsu: Pays you for what you share
Like Ello, tsu is invite-only, but they're taking a wholly different approach. They agree that Facebook takes advantage of its users' data. To solve that problem, they want to help fill your wallet by paying users for posting and inviting their friends.
In essence, tsu wants to share with you their slice of pie.
The more eyeballs and engagement your posts get, the more ad revenue you receive. Social media influencers are a clear fit for this. However, since tsu shares 90 percent of their ad revenue, there's room for everyone to benefit. They declare, "You'll earn fair value for all the social things you normally do."
Tsu dubs its users "content creators" and "recognizes members for their likeness, image and content by sharing earned revenues."
According to tsu, the more eyeballs and engagement your posts get, the more ad revenue you receive.
What this means for your business
With two, like-minded social platforms emerging, social media users are clearly tired of the same ol' same ol'.
Tsu teaches us to share the love. If you have social media influencers and fans who are always touting your products and having a measurable effect on brand awareness or sales, you can reward them with freebies, exclusive deals or even a small cut of the profit.
Conversely, Ello reminds us it's time to get back to the heart about what social media is and should be about: connecting. Social media is about far more than blasting out your newest product or advertising sales.
Social is about having authentic conversations with your brand's fans, listening to what they have to say, and far less about how many likes you've amassed.
