What is it?
The time of broad appeal is over. Subcultures are the new demographics.
In the past 3 years our lives have seen a complete overhaul. Covid lockdowns offered renewed perspectives on hobbies, habits, and ultimately, spending. We spent more time online, forced to look for connections and belonging in new places, and that search led us to discover belonging in new and unexpected communities (sourdough starter anyone?).
It’s estimated that roughly four billion people worldwide now use social media; a number that’s increasing every day. But how we use these tools and platforms is changing. Where once Facebook and Instagram offered us a window into the lives of people we had some degree (however distant) of connection. Now, those feeds are mostly populated with ads, suggested follows, spam and marketing content from brands. For the first time in its history Facebook user numbers are declining.
Instead, people are turning to new spaces in search of community and connection, away from the noise of mass platforms.
This shift to niche or micro connections and authentic engagement isn’t just about online. Its as important IRL as it is in the digital - think book clubs, running groups, or your Saturday afternoon amateur football game. Online, algorithmic curation-based platforms like TikTok are giving micro-communities a place to thrive, becoming more niche than ever before. Instead of serving the highest rated or paid content, the algorithm pushes interests. Instead of broadly defined ‘niches’ like ‘beauty’, ‘fitness’, or ‘fashion’, we’re now thinking K-beauty, charity shop hauls and knitting WIPs.
You can’t build a society purely on interests, you need a sense of belonging.
Valery Giscard d'Estaing
Why should I care?
Niche communities offer the opportunity to look beyond demographic assumptions and stereotypes, to consider motivation, passion and interest. Niches aren’t binary. Niches can and do intersect, inform and build.
Bottom line, the data doesn’t lie - people want to engage with brands and causes they can trust, but they also want choice and options that reflect their individual interests and identities in terms of how they support or donate. You might have an attitudinal segmentation, but are you at risk of deploying it with a demographic sledgehammer?
What’s exciting about all of this is the potential to innovate. Communities want to engage with you to design and create. They want to see themselves reflected in your cause, so why not invite them in to co-create? These supporters may surprise you with where they take things.
1. Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is likely one of the most recognisable niche communities, having been around for decades. However, it has recently seen a revival, with 2020 breaking records for interest in the game. As people were forced to find new ways to interact with friends over the course of the pandemic, the game’s popularity has shot up (potentially its pivotal role in Netflix series Stranger Things might have stoked the fire).
And unlike the stereotypes, this new popularity is not just amongst 20-40 year old men. The popularity of the game is relatively balanced across demographic segments.
Much of the game’s growing popularity is taking place online, (potentially a relic from the pandemic), but IRL is growing. Search D&D on Facebook, Meetup, Twitter and more, and you’ll immediately be directed to your local D&D gatherings, boardgames cafe or games workshop. For those who do attend, the game can be a real outlet to showcase individuality, fantastical thinking, and strategy skills.
2. BookTok
If you’re an avid reader, maybe BookTok (on TikTok) is the thing for you. Having amassed over 42 billion views by now, the BookTok hashtag enables fans to post and discuss about new trends in literature.
It’s a community like any other: there’s inside jokes about certain books, cult favourites, and influencer-led trends. There’s even sub niches for certain genres, although the mainstay of the community tends towards romance.
“TikTok famous” books have sold millions of copies this year, popular bookstore chains have started creating TikTok sections in-store, and hundreds of millions of TikTok users have been able to find like-minded people. If you’re looking for the latest recommendation, a critical analysis of the book you were meant to read for your bookclub, or someone ranting about the characters in their favourite novel - BookTok is the place to go.
3. Anti-Vaxxers
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the micro-community world though. A niche can easily turn into an echo-chamber, and what happens when the echoing opinions are dangerous? For every positive niche that helps someone find belonging and community, there’s a darker niche that has potential real-life harmful impacts.
Take anti-vaxxers - any social media platform is host to rampant misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns. Where on BookTok people may share their book recommendations, in an Anti-Vaxx Facebook Group people share their favourite homemade recipes to stave off the pandemic.
The problem with controlling these communities is of course the crucial question: who decides when a niche has gone too far? And who decides which opinions are harmful and which aren’t? When 40% of Gen Z’s are using social media instead of Google as a search engine for their day to day information, sorting the good from the bad is becoming increasingly difficult.
Micro-Influencers
At the helm of niche communities are micro-influencers. These influencers have built their platform and voice within a specific community. Relationships based on common interests and trust. They may be small, but they’re also mighty. When looking for influencers to partner, don’t always assume that bigger is better.
Micro-influencers have a 60% higher engagement rate over traditional influencers, and, crucially, a 20% higher conversion rate. Because users trust the influencer, they’re more likely to comment and engage with their content, and ultimately spend their money. On top of that, due to their smaller following, micro-influencers charge less than the average brand partner. (Not only is it more authentic, it’s also cheaper).
Penguin Random House
Publishing company Penguin Random House has partnered with multiple micro-influencers in the book community on TikTok. The influencers create content about Penguin books, using the #BookTok. When users click on the hashtag, they’ll be directed to a page with additional information on the book, as well as other videos by micro-influencers about the same book. Through this collaboration, Penguin is able to capitalise on the organic content that already exists within the community and streamline the customer journey towards purchase.
New Platforms
Maintaining a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram used to be enough for social media engagement. But if you’re looking niche, then head over to the new kids on the blockwhere the micro-communities are thriving. Most notably, with over 1.2 billion monthly active users and a push into e-commerce, media buyers are already saying TikTok should be a staple of a marketing budget.
Beyond TikTok, platforms that cater to specific niches are also on the rise. From Letterboxd, the social network for film buffs, to Behance, a network of creatives owned by Adobe, there’s a platform for every audience out there.
Wattpad
Capitalising on these new platforms can be as easy as just maintaining brand presence in the right place. Online literature platform Wattpad is saving on its marketing budget by simply engaging with organic conversations happening in the book-nerd community. For example, if they see a user on a given platform (ie. TikTok or Goodreads) recommend a Wattpad story, they’ll simply jump in on the conversation with their official account. In their own words: “We’re not focused on growth in advertising and paid media,” their focus is on “preference, brand loyalty and getting into that conversation with [their] audiences.”
Uniqlo
Innovative campaigns hosted on unexpected platforms can reach niche audiences who might not previously have heard your voice or message. In a way, this is an opportunity to go straight to the source.
Fashion retailer Uniqlo saw it as an opportunity to engage directly with fashion-conscious social media users, by campaigning through Reddit. The platform is built on thousands of ‘sub-threads’ - each their own niche community. Uniqlo’s e-commerce manager used her personal Reddit account (verified as an official company representative) to answer questions, talk to consumers, and advertise product launches or meetups.
Ultimately, of the company’s social media driven sales, 64% came directly from her interactions on Reddit.
Personalisation
For some brands, direct engagement can be a barrier. When you can’t go to the community, how do you bring them to you? For some, the key can be personalisation. Personalised messages can cut through and, in some cases, override ‘compassion fatigue’.
Netflix has shown us how to build a market not on the broad appeal of your product, but on the micro-communities that use it. Netflix does this through identifying taste-clusters and personalising movie recommendations through an algorithm. The scale of this operation likely isn’t possible for the vast majority of organisations, but there are some that are tailoring it for their own needs.
The Telegraph
More and more brands have been tinkering with the personalisation of the content subscribers and supporters see. Though this can be algorithmic, many do this by giving their subscribers different options for newsletter content. For example, The Telegraph has combined both levers (algorithm plus personal preference e.g. Royals), which has led to higher-click through rates, page per view clicks, and time spent on site by readers coming from the newsletters.
Niche Collaboration
In some cases it might be double the niche, double the reach. The Full Steam Ahead collaboration between Gucci x North Face x Francis Bourgeois is a prime example of different niches working together to conquer more ground. The ad targets outdoorsy, active people (North Face’s demographic), who still prioritise luxury (which is where Gucci comes in), using Francis Bourgeois’ niche trainspotting image as the central linchpin of the campaign.
Whilst North Face and Gucci may not be niche brands, Francis Bourgeois certainly does represent a niche demographic. The campaign succeeded in layering various communities to create a new innovative market, using their fans’ enthusiasm for outside the box, authentic thinking.
Representation
Niches are for everyone. This trend isn’t just happening within Gen Z, everyone across all demographics experienced lockdowns and the stress of daily life together, and everyone is now looking for more authenticity. Thought TikTok was only for teenagers? Think again.
Whatever approach you take towards engaging niche communities, the important thing is to be representative of the demographics that engage with it. If you’d like to read more about the power of representation, see our article from last week.
So What?
1. EXPERIMENT - DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
What works for someone else may not work for you. Every cause, mission and organisation is unique. At the end of the day, there’s many avenues into working with niche communities and most of them are relatively low-risk and low-cost. Don’t be afraid to try a lot of different things - be adaptable. What these strategies offer is an opportunity to create a deeper engagement with supporters by reflecting them in innovation and communications.
2. ENGAGE - BUILD LOYAL SUPPORTERS
Sell to the community, not the individual. Anyone can buy an audience of individuals, but the key is to tap into a community of loyal fans. With people increasingly craving connection, your efforts may go further when targeted at a niche. It might be as simple as maintaining a presence on the right subReddit.
3. COLLABORATE - LOOK IN UNEXPECTED PLACES
Traditional brand collaborations are out, engaging with culturally influential micro-communities is in. That’s not to say that traditional partnerships can’t still be efficient, but we’re increasingly seeing the power of maintaining the direct line with communities through authentic collaborations. At a lower cost than your typical brand endorsement, trying something new can be worth it!