Are you planning to create a social media app?
Yes, right? But, you are not sure what should be your next step.
Alongside, you might have these questions in mind.
Being a leading mobile application development company, we have experience in developing 300+ mobile app solutions. We are going to answer all your questions and guide you step-by-step in this blog post.
Table of Contents
According to the October 2023 report of Statista, here are the most popular social media networks around the globe. The table below provides information on the rankings and monthly active users of the social media apps.
Social Media App | Number of Users (Million) |
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3,030 | |
2,000 | |
2,000 | |
1,327 | |
TikTok | 1,218 |
Facebook Messenger | 1,036 |
Telegram | 800 |
Snapchat | 750 |
666 | |
571 | |
465 |
As you see, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are the top three social media apps that users around the globe frequently use.
Look at this picture that tells us how much social media apps are supposed to grow around the world by 2027. As you can see below, the total number of people using social media worldwide is expected to reach 5.85 billion by 2027. Impressive numbers, right? So does the competition in the social media app market.
Creating a social media network app is worthwhile if you have a unique idea. For example, As the Clubhouse social media app launched in 2020, within the next few months, it got buzz around the users. And, Clubhouse app’s valuation reached $100 million in May 2020. As this app had a unique feature and idea of inviting only platforms, the app got good traction from users worldwide.
So, if you have a unique social media app idea is important and can later help you to succeed. Next, let’s learn about the step-by-step process of how to make a social media app.
An effective social app can be assured only by a structured approach to social media application development. So, where to get started? Follow the below steps to create a social network app from scratch.
You must first identify the essence and then develop a social media network based on set criteria and principles. Decide what your network will be all about. Be sure that you have a full view of the business and developed competition in the community. For that, you must;
All this helps you find a distinctive niche when creating a mobile social media platform.
It’s possible to get lost in the many different functions and basic features you want to incorporate when you first begin designing your own social media app like Instagram.
But initially, to ensure that all the features are necessary at this early stage, make sure to consider the limits, budget, and business requirements. You can also make a list of features by checking existing social media platforms.
To create a social media smartphone app, you need to hire a custom social media app development firm. The firm will assist you with strategies to make your idea into a live application.
A professional app development company has years of experience and follows a standard mobile app development process to create your social media network application.
To find the best social media app developers, you can refer to their technology stack, portfolio, and references from prior clients.
To craft a perfect UI design flow, it has to go through various stages like,
Once the prototyping of the app is done, the social media application development team will build its back-end by setting up servers, databases, APIs, and working out perfect storage solutions. To break down this process, you can follow the below-mentioned points:
If you decide to develop your own social network app with our development team, our technical staff will also ensure the publication process, providing all documents, including screens, and video guides that explain the application effectively. All this allows brands to stand out in the Apple Store and Google Play Market for social applications.
Once the project is launched to the application markets, we also promise all forms of service and the introduction of upgrades for our clients.
Want to Build a Custom Social Media App?
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To get down to the financials, you first need to understand the performance indicators that affect the social media app development cost, such as
However, if you need a rough figure, simply refer to the table below where we have stated the average number of hours it can take for basic and advanced features integration for both Android and iOS social media app.
Features of Social Media Appication | Estimated Man Hours | |
---|---|---|
Android | iOS | |
Sign-In | 7 | 7 |
User Profiles & News Feed | 18 | 20 |
Post Likes & Comments | 14 | 14 |
Chat | 21 | 20 |
Uploading Photos and Videos | 8 | 8 |
Push notifications | 3 | 4 |
Privacy & Settings | 6 | 6 |
Live Streaming | 22 | 20 |
Geo-Location & Tagging | 9 | 8 |
Transient Stories | 12 | 15 |
Block or Disable | 6 | 4 |
AR & Face Filters | 32 | 30 |
Multi-Language Support | 20 | 20 |
Data Analytics | 10 | 10 |
If you want to learn in detail about the cost of making an app, check out this dedicated guide on app development cost.
Although social media apps typically approach overlapping demographics, starting with MVP features (essential features to create social media app) is advisable and they are listed below.
Have no idea of what MVP is? Read our detailed guide on minimum viable product development.
If you have set up your social networking company and are ready to take it to the next stage, incorporate advanced features into the Android and iOS social media app like Instagram as stated below.
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The bigger the project, the larger the stack of technologies to be used. At Space-O, here’s what we use for create a social networking app for Android and iOS app.
Tech Stack | |
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Programming Languages |
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IDE |
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Cloud Storage |
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Database |
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Utilities |
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Payment Gateways |
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Messaging Platform |
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Libraries |
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Analytics |
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Deployment platforms |
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Ultimately by making a social media app, you want to make money out of it. Here’re some monetization strategies.
Most social media apps are free to use. So, advertising is the primary source of revenue. However, there are other ways to make money from free software, aside from putting advertisements. Such as,
With a mix of entertaining content feed and an enticing commodity, you will need to find a balance of so much self-promotion and self-expression. In that case, aim to create a social media community with direct purchases. If the mobile app product has a graphic nature and visual appeals, such as interior design, fashion, or real estate, direct sales may be the best option to consider.
Excelling in a course, ebook, video, or audio file that you know members of your community would love to pay enough for? Offer them the ability to access digital content through in-app purchases right from the app, being part of the monetization strategies.
As long as the content presents the audience the real value, plenty of them will be ready to opt for a paid subscription. So, do not miss offering a free tier with decent content and one or two premium levels offering more in-depth or high-value content. Also, with an app-based culture, payment systems from Apple and Google make paid subscribing extremely simple.
Having lots of committed members of the society on your platform doesn’t promise the money. Paid sponsorship does! To turn your audience reach into money, sponsored posts on your platform is the biggest source (Instagram, for example). Sponsored posts are normal posts with a sponsored tag and a button for call-to-action. However, your company has to be transparent and allow only responsible sponsors to fit the member base.
Through your community site, you can encourage activity and online user experience for various purchases. Your company just needs to add them to your preferred ticketing site and begin selling them.
In the field of social network architecture, there is a lot of diversity out there. Some sites, including LinkedIn, maintain a rather professional approach, whilst others have a more organic, free-form look (like MySpace). But what is the right way for a social network to be designed? Let’s find out.
Moving forward, let’s describe what categories are split into all social media applications.
Check the following table to learn about types of social media apps. When you are planning to make a social networking app, knowing its type would help you to choose the most suitable niche as per your target audience. This way, you finalized which type of app you want to build and who are your actual competitors.
Types of Apps | Description | Top Apps |
---|---|---|
Social Network Apps | These apps are used to connect and engage people online, either for their personal needs or professional communication. |
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Media Sharing Networks | These are social applications that allow you to exchange media files of all kinds like photos, videos, GIFs, etc. |
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Consumer Review Networks | These apps are used by users to search or review companies, products, businesses, or brands they have used or experienced. |
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Content Curation Networks | Users operate such social networking apps for content sharing, discovery, and saving. |
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Blogging Platforms | Such sites for new social media trends allow users to create blogs and post their creative, informative, or technical content. |
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Community and Discussion Forums | These spaces are used for asking questions and answering them, exchanging stories, perspectives, and tips. |
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Messenger Apps | Apps that allow users to chat, call, or initiate a group chat with friends, family, or any individual who is on the application. |
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Interest-Based Networks | People with common interests are united through this form of social networking app. On such websites, users can share their hobbies and related experiences. |
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While the social networking industry is already packed with opportunities, let’s take a look at more reasons why you must not miss the opportunity to be part of the fastest-growing field.
If your social media app is designed with a captivating interface, it is needless to say that you will have more engaging enterprise customers and buyers visiting your app every day right from the moment you create a social media app like Instagram. This improves the traffic and opens a wide scope for more function and achievement growth.
Mainstream social media sites do not offer absolute consumer data access. They keep all information to them only. But, when you create your own mobile application, you have full independence in terms of data which significantly helps to boost your social media marketing and customer acquisition cost.
Facebook, for example, creates new leads for any company as a social media app and aims to turn them into revenue as well. You will visibly track the company’s return on investment and make the required adjustments to increase sales. Similar to how Instagram uses Facebook’s Advertising Manager program and affiliate marketing, you can even have a personalized social media software platform and encourage users to profit from it.
As per the record, one-fourth of social app users, which is not a small number, purchase goods online. While a business owner strive for regular sales, social media platform makes it easy in the least effort. The conversions that happen with social apps are one of the influential advantages of social media app development that improves the global community.
In most cases, it is not possible to sell stuff to the audience on established social media sites. But, that’s not the case with your custom social media app product. You can build digital marketplace solutions with social networking apps quickly. Features such as one-click and express purchases are also feasible. You get money and make it convenient for users to purchase the goods and services they want.
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With the exponential growth of technology and the emergence of no-code product development, there are various options on how to develop a social media app now. But which one is apt for your platform? Let’s find it.
SaaS solutions give you the ability to build a social network design for both websites and mobile. To monetize the content, you can customize the look, get an app running quickly, and have customized options based on your preferences. However, this might not be an apt choice if you choose to create an app product for a long-term purpose.
It is easy to compile and configure open-source applications on your own server. While they provide further customization flexibility for free, you’ll still have to pay for every hosting. Plus, you can not benefit from any customer service or any app upgrades immediately.
When you have an idea, the most suitable option is to develop a social media app like Instagram from scratch. You just need an idea and resources and you can have your entire website or app built with the least effort as everything from ideation to deployment will be handled by the social media mobile app developers. For this, development companies specializing in building social media sites can help you the most.
Do you still have questions about social media applications? Read the following frequently asked questions searched by users on Google.
Social media apps, also known as social software, provide personal and professional networking and multimedia resources based on the internet. They concentrate on creating and sustaining user connection, promoting the mechanics of user interaction and conversation.
To develop social media platforms with complicated features, sophisticated architecture, and support for two and more channels, the cost of designing such a project is likely to be over $110,000. If you want to build your own social network app as MVP, it may cost you around $20,000 to $40,000, depending on the requirements.
Based on the various factors like platform, type of app, project management, complexity, it may take 7 to 12 months to make a social media app.
With no strings attached, people want a true digital connection these days and nothing is better than social media platforms. An app like social media channels helps companies and consumers to connect on a real-time basis on a broader scale. Plus, there’s never been a better time to build one.
So, if you are thinking to make a social media app like Instagram for your startup, let’s get connected. We are a professional mobile app development company in Toronto, known for digital transformation for years. Our expert team will help you grasp the new business environment and build a social network app masterpiece. For more queries and consultations, fill out our contact us form and we will connect you with our experts for a 30-mins FREE consultation.
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