How to Build a Social Networking Site
There is nothing new under the sun. It is unlikely that you will create an absolutely new unique niche. If you are trying to understand how to create a social media strategy, it may be more appropriate to research the existing profile of the social networks, narrow the profile in the direction you are interested in, or vice versa, combine previously uncombined criteria.
So what do I start with?
1. Start with drawing up a psychological picture of the future user “persona” to be able to meet their requirements and thus provide a decent number of subscribers.
To do so, you can arrange a survey and find out what your potential users do/don’t like in the existing social and what they’d like to add, for what they are willing to pay extra.
Such analytics from users should be carried out at all stages. The result of this survey should be a description of the goal and the list of functions of your future project.
2. Make sure that you have a clear idea of the niche or specific topic for your social network.
What businesses will the new network allow to cooperate with? Maybe you will offer specialized services in a segment of a specific field of activity?
3. Most likely, you can choose the name of the social network and the domain name, as well as the design by yourself.
The hosting is provided virtually. Dedicated servers may be confused with cloud hosting, in which the network pays only for the number of resources and the provider distributes them between random servers.
The dedicated servers, in the meantime, are suitable for resources with changing load: one day there are thousands of visitors, the next day – a hundred. And vice versa. This is typical for the development perspective which is evident but not exact.
4. Think out what kind of software to use to build a social media site. The right software will help developers significantly save work time, which means better efficiency and productivity.
There are quite a few free engines for websites. In some cases, no website development skills and knowledge of programming languages are required. They allow non-skilled users to independently work on creating and modifying a website.
Image Source: Synergy Way
Though, there are decent disadvantages – the high level of resource-greediness. Not to mention limited functionality. Quite often they load the server very heavily and lead to accidents. Besides, if you need to add new features, it will take a lot of effort, time, and money.
Social Media Sites Promotion
When the development phase is completed, you will have to test the entire project and run an active advertising campaign. It is necessary to set the strategy and to think of your unique “thing” that will interest the target audience.
For a better result, you may want to pay careful attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at the early stages of your project. Bring in a partner advertising program, outsource the team, or hire an in-house team for online promotion.
Besides, when a project grows, and there are real and stable results, it gets investors’ attention. Make sure to use as many available communities to get help with any issues that arise.
If you focus on building your social network, go for it! This is a great option even for small businesses.
At Synergy Way, we are always happy to support our clients, no matter what the product is. Together with our clients, we pass through all stages of the web development process.
