Why Niche New Media Is the Future for Brands

As high quality content and effective brand strategy move down the long tail, “community” has become an important concept for every post-Web 2.0 player. Crypto token holders, influencer fanbases, DTC brand customers, creator audiences, and new social networks are all often referred to as communities, and each has a stake in developing community for... See more

"There's more opportunity in niche communities. There are the tools for their communities to support them and buy things from them. Plus, now you've got advertisers seeing the value and pouring money into those communities."

But increasingly, creators with loyal followings are creating their own independent offerings—ranging from paid courses to niche communities to vertical social networks—with the basis of competition shifting to curated content and community, trust in a particular creator, and alignment to specific topics.

Essentially, creators have to balance the distribution potential of certain platforms with the risk of becoming dependent on them, and monetize by either earning a little off of each fan from mainstream content for a big audience or earning a lot off of deeper connections to a smaller set of fans through niche content.

There is too much surface area for Reddit to possibly cover within constraints of subreddits. This creates opportunities for startups to swoop in, create brands and products that really resonate with people

As the balance of power has shifted from mass broadcast and print media to niche and social, and as brands increasingly focus on direct-to-consumer relationships and need to cultivate real, organic communities to thrive, it’s audiences like Hodinkee’s that they should become closest with.