Must-Have Features for Your Social Platform

Are you dreaming of launching your own social platform? To stand out in today's crowded digital landscape, your platform needs to offer a unique user experience and have some must-have features.

And today we will talk about:

• Types of social platforms
• Must-have features for your social platform

Let's get started?

Types of social platforms

If you're considering creating your own social platform, let's try to define which type of social platform would be a good choice for you, and which one you might be genuinely passionate about.

Because launching a successful product requires both your passion and the ability to solve potential clients' pain points.

But first, a few numbers:

• 93.2% of internet users are on social media [according to the latest data, the global internet user count stands at 5.35 billion].
• 30% of the top 20 websites in the world are social media platforms.
• 49.5% of social media users use these platforms to keep in touch with friends and family.

So, what types of social platforms can we outline?

Social Networking Platforms

These platforms connect people for social interactions. They allow users to create profiles, share updates, photos, news, and interact with others.

Examples: Facebook, Instagram, X.

Professional Networking Platforms

Such platforms are focused on professional and business connections, offering networking and job-related features.?

Example: LinkedIn.

Discussion Forums and Interest-Based Communities

These platforms foster community discussions around specific topics or interests, connecting users with shared passions. They often have categories or threads for ongoing conversations.

Examples: Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow, Discord.

Media Sharing Platforms

These platforms focus on sharing various types of media, such as photos, videos, and music. Users can upload, share, and comment on media.They can be divided into photo-sharing, video-sharing, and audio-sharing platforms.

Examples: Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat, YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music.

Social Review Platforms

Users can leave reviews and recommendations about products, services, and places.

Examples: Yelp, TripAdvisor.

Check more types of social platforms in one of my recent posts.

-> Download the full document <-

Must-have features for your social platform

Now, let's dive deeper into the world of social platforms and discuss the essential features to include for delivering a positive user experience and staying competitive in today's highly competitive market.

User Profiles

Allow users to create and customize their profiles with photos, bios, and interests. This personalization fosters community and connection.

Intuitive User Interface (UI)

Make sure your platform has a clean, user-friendly interface . It is key to user adoption.

Seamless Content Creation

Provide users with easy-to-use tools for creating and sharing posts, images, and videos. User-generated content is the heart of any social platform.

Engaging Content Feeds

A well-designed news feed that prioritizes relevant content will help to keep users engaged and informed about their connections.

Search Functionality

Help users discover new content and people, making it easier to discover new connections and engage with relevant topics.

Effective Notification System

Keep users informed with real-time notifications about interactions, messages, and updates, ensuring they stay connected.

Secure Messaging

Offer private and group messaging to enhance communication and build relationships among users.

Social Features

Implement likes, comments, shares, and reactions.

Community Building Tools

Facilitate group discussions, forums, and events.

Advanced Analytics

Provide insights into user behavior and platform performance via an analytics dashboard to help them understand their impact on the platform.

Message me for a free consultation. I’ll share my insights and experience on developing user-friendly, visually appealing social platforms that not only attract hundreds of thousands of users but also drive investments.

Check the case study of one of the apps out itjet team developed:

Recently the version 2.0 of the social app Clockout we developed was released and...what else should I mention here?

• hit the App Store charts
• monthly Retention surpassed 40%
• DAUs 20xed
• 240+ social clubs were created...

Ready to find out how this journey started, from building the app from scratch to releasing the first version?

-> Read the Clockout Case Study <-