Just as we’ve gotten used to Clubhouse, there’s a new star in the social media sky. And this star could even overshadow Instagram. At least, if you believe various online media.
Hive Social calls itself the newest and trendiest social media platform for Gen Z. Although the app itself isn’t all that new (it was developed in October 2019), it has been experiencing a boom since the beginning of the year, especially in America and Australia. On February 3rd, Hive Social went viral on Twitter: Over 100,000 tweets in one day, the most downloaded social media app in the Apple App Store. 130,000 users are said to have registered overnight. But Hive couldn’t handle the enormous rush. The servers? Crashed.
But what makes Hive so unique? How can you use it for your marketing strategy? And why are businesses and influencers especially drawn to it? But first things first:
What Is Hive Social?
Imagine Instagram and Twitter had a baby—with a nostalgic obsession for Myspace and Tumblr. That’s Hive.
Sounds a little chaotic? Maybe. But it works. Hive combines what we love most about visual and text-based platforms. – and takes it further, making it even a bit better.
Hive offers users two different profile views, combining Instagram and Twitter in one application. When you look at a user’s profile, you automatically land first in the “visual” feed. Here there’s space for photos – but also for videos and GIFs. If you think you’re on Insta now, you’re not wrong – the app is visually strongly modeled after its counterpart from Meta. Those who prefer to express themselves with words will also find what they’re looking for on Hive Social. By tapping on the smiley, you switch to the second text-based feed. Similar to Twitter, users have the option to publish short text messages here. The diverse formats make the app particularly interesting for content creators, but also for anyone who doesn’t want to use 10 different social media platforms. Plus points are also given for the chronological feed – which, if we’re honest, we’ve all wished would come back.
Hive Social: Where Nostalgia Meets Modern
It’s not just the different formats that make the app exciting and varied for your marketing. Another way to personalize your own profile – or use clever storytelling – is the music option. Every content creator can add a song to their profile via iTunes, which automatically plays when the profile is called up. If you’re willing to pay, you can even buy more spots for an individual playlist. Well, does that awaken memories of Myspace?
And something else seems familiar: the aesthetics of the posts. Looking around the Explore page, one can’t help but think of Tumblr. Everything appears a bit alternative, artistic, different. And nude: the app is not yet (sufficiently) moderated. Companies should therefore intensively engage with the platform beforehand and critically question whether they want to see their posts next to naked people in case of doubt.
The aesthetics are not the only interesting thing about the Explore page. Overall, users have three different tabs available:
Featured: Here you’ll find posts presented to the user based on their interactions, in chronological order.
Trending: All currently trending hashtags are listed under this tab. Tapping on a hashtag automatically redirects you to the posts found under it. This results in enormous potential for entrepreneurs to gain visibility.
Browse: Under this tab, you can view all posts on a specific topic (e.g., art, cars, music, fashion, video games, travel, anime, LGBTQ+, literature, astrology, and DIY). This function is particularly interesting for reaching niche audiences and presenting your products to a tight-knit community.
The Hive Social App offers many different possibilities to be creative and create your very personal space on the web. Content creators and influencers benefit from the many different content formats within one app. Companies benefit from the immense storytelling possibilities that Hive offers. Some readers will rightly ask at this point: “Is that all?” No. Hive offers its users one decisive advantage that they have to wait a long time for on other apps.
Hive: TO HELL WITH THE "SWIPE-UP"
While Instagram only gives its users the option to place one(!) clickable link in the bio, or a swipe-up link in the story (usually for accounts with 10,000+ followers), Hive immediately offers the possibility to monetize your own account. Clickable links can be integrated into both the bio and the captions of individual posts. In addition, URLs can also be placed in the comments. Affiliate links can thus be permanently placed and found used by your target audience.
The small Hive development team led by 22-year-old founder Kassandra Pop is already working on additional features (e.g., Stories) to make the app even more comprehensive. A few weeks ago, the servers were upgraded and the beta version was launched. Initial bugs such as long loading times and uncontrolled app crashes are now a thing of the past. Similar to Clubhouse, Hive Social is currently only available for Apple users – the Android version is already announced for this summer.
Hive is an exciting app with a lot of potential that should be kept an eye on. With a well-thought-out social media strategy, it’s conceivably simple even for users without thousands of followers to monetize their own account and increase their sales.
