When it comes to utilizing the immense reach and popularity of social media for marketing or commercial purposes, household networks like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, are usually the names that come to mind.
Most digital marketers focus so much on the aforementioned platforms that they completely ignore the idea that there could be opportunities elsewhere, but they are completely wrong.
While Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc, are undoubtedly good platforms that have performed consistently for digital marketers, other social media platforms are simply underrated when it comes to online marketing and in this article, we’ll be covering some of them.
Telegram
For over a decade now, WhatsApp has dominated the internet messaging category on social media, but for the past four years, Telegram has made a name for itself as a formidable alternative.
In 2024, Telegram has continued to make many innovative strides that have led many online marketers to put it at the very top of the chain when it comes to social media messaging.
At this point, Telegram is more than just a social media messaging application for mobile and desktop, it is an all-in-one platform with features unlike we’ve never seen before, and this is what sets it apart.
Although, a lot of digital marketers don’t utilize Telegram, a glance at some of its merits might be a game-changer for you. Here are some features of Telegram:
Groups & Channels
With Telegram, you can create interactive groups and/or personalized channels for yourself or your business with ease. There is effectively no limit to how many members or subscribers you can have and you have the freedom to customise your group anyhow you desire.
Earlier this year, Telegram released its monetization programs for public channels, although there are some criteria to be followed, the platform effectively gives you 50% of advertising revenue which you can access by having more than 1,000 subscribers and displaying ads on your channel.
Storage & Media
On Telegram, your data is stored on your device and not on the cloud. This means that you have more control over your chats, media, etc, and you can delete them on your own accord, hence, the need to continuously backup your files is no longer there.
Telegram also permits you to upload and download files to a very high limit of 2 GB per file. This would come in very handy for online marketers who run channels that require large or bulk uploads.
Telegram Premium
This is simply an optional subscription-based service that Telegram offers. It grants you access to a host of other features and improves on the features that you already have.
Some of Telegram Premium’s features include 4 GB uploads, faster download speeds, voice-to-text for messages, custom emojis, a channel boost option, advanced chat management, no ads on channels and groups, etc.
Cryptocurrency Network and Wallet
In 2018, Telegram developed the TON network which is a blockchain similar to Ethereum to be its competitor. Although Telegram abandoned the project for an independent developer, the network has been adapted into Telegram’s ecosystem.
The Telegram wallet, on the other hand, is a tool inside the Telegram app that you can simply access through your Telegram account. It functions like a regular cryptocurrency wallet which allows you to send and receive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, USDT, Toncoin, etc
Paid Advertising
As a digital marketer, if you want to grow fast on Telegram, and do not have the time or experience to grow your channel or group from scratch, then the Telegram paid ads initiative is perfect for you.
With paid advertising, you can promote your channel on other public channels, especially those in the same niche as yours. This is great because according to the data, Telegram generates 1 trillion views on public channels and over 950 million monthly users.
Pinterest has always been a relatively popular social media platform, but in terms of utilization, it seems many digital marketers are not looking that way. Pinterest is a photo-sharing app with a creative and in-depth feel to it, but its tendency to draw the attention of a lot of people to one location is underrated.
Whether it’s a landing page, blog post, affiliate link, etc, Pinterest is the perfect place to grow your brand on, but like every other social media platform out there, you need to study and play by the rules.
As a digital marketer, if you have not used Pinterest before and intend to try it out, I recommend you study what is already working on the platform and model your efforts after that. Hence, you won’t spend too much time making the beginner mistakes.
Quora
People are always looking for answers on the internet, and Quora has proven itself to be the perfect platform for them. On Quora, the gap between a question that emanates due to a problem and a satisfying answer is bridged.
Quora generates millions of visits every month to its website and mobile application. According to Semrush, Quora receive 1.3 billion visits in July 2024. This is a big advantage, however, relatively speaking, not many digital marketers utilize Quora for their businesses.
With Quora, you are almost certain to garner attention if you provide the best answers to questions on the platform, it does not matter what the niche might be. When you do this consistently, it’s easy to gain followers, build trust, and use your reputation to sell products, services, mentorship, and/or grow your online business.
Quora is free to use and if you want to scale your efforts on the platform as a digital marketer, you can also run paid ads which will boost the reach of the question or answer that you provide on the platform and grant you access to useful statistics.
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Conclusion
When searching for a platform to help you maximize your digital marketing efforts, you mustn’t leave any stone unturned, like the social media networks mentioned above that are underrated but very useful. If you like this article, kindly check out some related blog posts below.
