The From Line

TREND
Marketers who take advantage of niche social media (primarily in the B2C space) are a step ahead of the competition. Rather than sticking with a blanket approach on popular-yet-general Facebook or Twitter, socially-savvy businesses are developing relationships with very specific market segments. By posting content, asking questions, creating public lists and rewarding followers who share a common interest, they’re helping to develop a brand and generate product interest.

Niche social media sites are attractive to hobbyists and fans who enjoy sharing and discovery. Their users are passionate about particular topics such as investing, fashion, art, cars and sports. Like Facebook, niche sites allow people to build a group of followers and find other like-minded users.

TAKEAWAY
For marketers, niche social sites like Polyvore for fashion-minded women and GoodReads for bookworms open doors to specific target audiences. They are growing communities of individuals looking to benefit in some way – either through meeting new people, learning new ideas or finding great discounts. Niche social media participants are receptive to marketers who add content, provided it is presented in the right way. The key goal is to remain conversational and fun, and to respect the community itself. Promotions that lack interactivity are unwelcome, and it takes time to build trust.

HOW TO
Many industry-specific niche social networks haven’t yet been tapped by marketers. Some sites award points to the most useful content, so it’s important to collaborate and add value while remaining transparent. Posting is usually a manual process, and it takes time to build a solid following based on trust. Get to know your followers and invite them to know you.

Here are a few niche social media sites of note. A longer list is available after the jump.

Fashiolista - Fashion photo, blog and link-sharing site with sponsors, rankings and followers
Feed the Bull – Message boards and education on investing topics
Yard Barker – Sports blog network with quizzes and news
DesignBump – Arts link-sharing with news, trends and discounts ranked by popularity
Fark – A link-sharing site where users thrive on sarcasm and create viral activity
Dine.com – User-submitted restaurant reviews, ratings and recommendations.

Click "Continue Reading" for a list of over 30 growing niche social media sites.