Social media applications already dominate a significant section of our life, and the future also entails growing smartphone usage and the rising app market. With the integration of social media apps into our lives, many opportunities and ease have come our way. That’s why you’ll want to know how to make a social media app.
You may now express yourself on TikTok, Tweet thought-provoking information, and make new Facebook buddies, and even then, social media has a lot to offer.
To say that social media is a global phenomenon is almost an understatement, given that the number of online users globally is predicted to rise over 4.4 billion in 2025.
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As a result, many business owners are considering creating and designing new social media apps to enter the burgeoning industry.
This article demonstrates the secret sauce to designing a perfect application with the help of 5StarDesigners.
Five Star Designers boasts substantial expertise in creating social media apps and can provide helpful advice. Examples of such practical uses are PlayPoundProfit, Activ, and BizKi.
Let’s get started with the guide!
Is it Profitable to Build a Social Media App in 2022?
It’s evident that the social media app market is flooded, and newcomers face challenges to make their name among the giants. Many small business owners think that it’s just not viable to get into the digital world, but it’s quite the opposite.
Look at the current statistics which demonstrate the power of social media applications. It’s astonishing how business owners are exposed to such a large audience with social media apps. The potential of social media apps is limitless; hence, a business owner should definitely build a social media app in 2022.
Source: Statista
App Design and Development, if executed smartly, can bring in better and more profitable results much earlier. You can hire developers everywhere on the internet but finding the most competent is challenging and demands time and finance. 5StarDesigners is your one-stop shop for every application design needs.
Different Types of Social Media Apps
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Social network apps
They are executed to interact and converse with others online.
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are three examples of social networking tools that may be used for personal and business communication.
Content Curation and Bookmarking Networks
These social applications allow users to exchange various media assets (photos, videos, GIF files). The most well-known instances of this kind are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Imgur.
Reviewing Platforms and applications
These social networking platforms allow users to search for and review organizations they have done business with. Yelp is the most well-known site in this genre.
Discussion Forums
These apps are excellent for sharing data, news, thoughts, and skill sets, posing questions, and receiving responses. Of course, this niche’s two most popular social networking sites are Quora and Reddit.
Content Curation and Bookmarking Networks
These applications allow users to share their material and find and store other people’s stuff. These social media platforms include applications like Flipboard, Mix, and Pinterest.
Blogging Platforms
Users may publish material on these social media networks on their blogs. In recent years, Tumblr and Medium have grown incredibly popular, with hundreds of individuals writing daily.
Common interests Apps
This kind of social networking brings together people who share common interests. Users may share their interests and experiences on these networks. For inspiration, look at Goodreads or Last.fm.
Anonymous or Hidden apps/Networks
These apps are trendy among teenagers since it enables anonymous communication. The most well-known websites in this category are Whisper, Ask.fm, and Hiddenpost.
Social Media App Features: Basic & Additional
You must consider the appropriate features when determining the price of social media app development since they significantly impact it. These elements need to meet the requirements and expectations of your intended market.
The features you choose will depend on the nature of your application. Audio and video calls are essential for online conference systems, or you need the add-post capability to create a social networking app like Twitter.
We may separate the functionality into essential components—without which it is impossible to create a social network app—and optional, platform-specific components.
Let’s break down basic and additional for better understanding:
Basic Features
Think of a social media application. A user must register, create an account, access a newsfeed, chat, search, like and share articles, contribute posts, and have notification capabilities.
Additional Features
The best part of your app is the added features. The functionality depends on your notion. However, it is advised to focus on functions like voice and video calling, content editing, augmented reality filters, and live streaming. Naturally, there could be more.
Must-Have Features for Your Social Media App
Must-have features are essential features that your social media app should have to attract users and build a better platform.
Signup
Your users must be able to create an account. Give users a choice between registering by email, a password for a mobile device, or other social media sites like Facebook. Include a forgotten password feature as well.
Profile Management
Allow users to personalize and establish their profiles. Give users the option to contribute pertinent information about themselves and to choose a profile photo. It would be advantageous if the user could contact his friends and subscribers directly from his account.
Searching Features
A convenient search engine is required for users to locate friends or blogs to follow. Feature to search the whole platform, for instance, using locations, tags, and usernames must be added.
Updated Newsfeed
Users are always up-to-date with latest news, thanks to this function. Here you may find all the latest news and updates from your friends and communities. This functionality can be incorporated, much as Instagram did. In this scenario, the social networking app’s main screen is the news feed.
Messaging and Chat Options
Without messaging capability, a social networking app is impossible. It’s how, regardless of the kind of social network, your users can easily connect.
Content Management
It’s vital to have a post function, whether you’re creating a social media app, media sharing site, or platform for customer reviews. It helps your users communicate ideas, life updates, and more.
Liking and Sharing
It would be excellent if some people could respond to each other’s posts. Therefore, remember to use the “like” button and the sharing option for publications.
Notification Management
Users may subscribe to a community and receive push alerts for new posts, new messages, reactions to their posts, and other things. Push notifications may increase user engagement, so developers select 5StarDesigners.com to create them.
CMS Features
How can a social networking app be created without the integration of a CMS? – No way!
Your users may create and amend posts using content management system capabilities. On Instagram, for instance, users may edit a post’s text after it has been published. On the most widely used social sites, all of these functions are accessible. For instance, you require all of them in one location to create a social network programme similar to Twitter.
Advanced Features to Focus on Social Media for Better Results and Popularity
Augmented reality and face filters
Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok are the trendsetters in this area. These fascinating filters have become a popular trend among teenagers and don’t seem to disappear soon. You may add numerous filters and effects to a photo or video on a social networking app to make it stand out.
Examples of AR filters include dog ears and beauty masks, which are available on Instagram and Snapchat. Exciting filters can draw visitors to your social media app. Five Star Designers application developers use ARCore and MLKIT to build AR filters.
Source: Pixabay
live communication and updates
Your users can connect with their followers or friends by using a live broadcasting tool. Facebook and Instagram both provide live broadcasting capabilities.
Location-based Content
The ability of a social networking app to deliver material based on the user’s location is another intriguing feature. The software shows content other users posted with the precise location after evaluating the region. The image or video’s creators might additionally include their geographical information. The creation of location-based content pieces can be facilitated using Google Places.
Editing Photos and Videos on the Go
It is brilliant to offer customers the option to alter their photos on your social networking app. You might, for instance, provide users with the ability to trim and rotate their photographs, eliminate extraneous items, make collages, and more.
Stories and Shorts
It is the kind of content that appears in your newsfeed for a maximum of 24 hours before it is removed. The top two apps are once more Snapchat and Instagram. Due to stories, everyday time spent on various social media platforms has grown. It’s an excellent method to attract and excite visitors.
Secret Chats
Secret chats will be helpful to give your users anonymous, safe, and private communication. A self-destruction timer and sophisticated encryption techniques are typically used to secure such discussions. The Telegram messenger is well-liked for having this functionality.
Source: Pixabay
Video Calls
Video calls improve user participation on your social network even more. Numerous additional apps, like Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook, also provide this capability.
App Design Tips for Perfect Designing
To maximize the effectiveness of your app design, take into account the following advice:
- For other operating systems like iOS and Android, adapt the design.
- Maintain the same nav bar across all displays, with the profile icon, alerts, and search.
- Include an endless scrolling newsfeed.
- Develop the concept of minimalist design while concentrating on user requirements.
- If you’re going to release a web app, make sure your platform is the same for both the mobile and online versions.
- Add a user-friendly search feature that allows you to set different filter options.
- Give users the option to edit their profile, such as changing the cover image to resemble Twitter or the message colours to resemble Telegram.
- Make the user’s profile photo rounded to make it simpler to recall and draw focus to the face.
Monetizing Your Social Media App: The Right Way!
So, how can you make money off of your social networking app? You’ll need a strong monetization plan to remain competitive for longer. These methods can help you get started.
Source: Pexels
Advertisements
The most common source of income for social media platforms is advertising. Many applications choose this option so that consumers can use the application without paying anything to the developers.
Premium Subscriptions
Many social networking websites (like YouTube and LinkedIn, for example) offer paid memberships to gain access to extra services. For instance, LinkedIn provides job searchers with premium alternatives. Users may check who viewed their profile and explore over 15,000 educational courses to upgrade their knowledge and skills.
In-App Purchases
Including premium content, users may purchase another way to make money off these apps. In the official Facebook messenger, for instance, users may purchase their preferred pack of stickers from Facebook’s sticker store.
Lead Generation
Another important monetization tactic is to convert potential social media users. It might be intimidating because there are so many different methods to use social media to create leads. The most crucial lesson to learn is to provide your potential clients with something exciting and helpful as soon as they enter your sales funnel.
There are several strategies to monetize your social media following; you may pick the most effective ones. New platforms are needed to connect individuals due to expanding interests, professions, and hobbies.
The Right Tech Team to Build a Successful App
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After deciding on the sort of programme and the features required for its development, you must select the technologies that will support everything. The chosen technological stack directly impacts the stability and cost of developing social networking apps; thus, it is crucial. Let’s look at the technologies required for creating social network applications for iOS and Android.
| Android | IOS |
| The architecture used in Android is MVVM | The architecture used in ios is MVVM |
| Programming language: Java, Kotlin | Programming language: Swift, Objective-C |
| Framework: Google Play Services | Framework: Dip |
| Library: RxJava2 | Library: RxSwift |
| UI: RecyclerView, Fragments | UI: DTCollectionViewManager, LoadableViews |
Social Media App Development Cost and Timeframes
Many essential aspects influence the cost of creating a social media network application. The dev company’s prices, chosen tech stack, and the amount and complexity of features are all essential factors.
Look at the following table or use a social media app cost calculator tool by Simpalm to know the cost of development:
Please note that these prices are simply estimates for developing social networking apps. They give you a rough estimate to aid you in launching a social network. One of the most remarkable ways to cut costs is to experiment with a lean strategy. You may thus develop an MVP for a social networking application. To obtain expert guidance, however, as each scenario is different, get in touch with Five Star Designers immediately for your free tech consultation and estimated cost.
Quick Review, How to Make a Social Media App
Should you develop a social network app? It serves as a reminder that you should create your own social media application.
You can succeed because more people use social media every year, and effective social media sites are emerging. Specify the app’s kind and standout features to implement your idea.