Are niche Social Networks the new direction of social media?

Social network options are huge. There are already hundreds of them and more are emerging with each passing day. Marketers are spoilt for choice, or rather, let us say confused by the plethora of choices available to them. Too many options and too little knowledge is making marketers go bonkers about these social networks. Marketers today have two options when it comes to picking up on the social media networks.
1. Networks which they have no idea in terms of the users or tactics, etc.
2. Networks where all the competitors, prospects, customers and competitors are already conversing and active
The options are now narrowed down to two and the obvious choice would be the network where everyone related to a particular business are already connected. This is where niche social networks are coming in. Image Source: intersectionconsulting.com Every social media network has a different purpose and a different goal. Social media first reminds us of Facebook. Facebook is a wide social media network where people from various geographic locations meet and converse. Though Facebook offers a great array of opportunities, it gets tougher for a marketer to sell or promote products, if they do not find their niche audiences on the network. Also, if you are pitching to irrelevant people, chances are that people might tag you as a spammer, which could affect your reputation in a drastic way. Usually Facebook is not used as a channel to meet new people, but a channel to get connected with people who are already in your networks in real life.
Twitter and Google Plus have different metrics when compared with Facebook. Both these channels allow strangers to get connected and build relationships. On these two channels, when people happen to see a person or a group adding something relevant or something that triggers an emotional connect, they tend to catch up and build a relationship. Over a period of time, followers and connects can turn out to be great customers.
If we consider the case of Pinterest, which is a 100 percent behaviour based network, people get connected based on their interests. Though it is a great channel to share a wide range of pictures, photos, etc, it might not turn out to be a great site to sell if you are a B2B company. Whereas for B2C, Pinterest is like the Midas touch. All you need to do is strike the right chord, and you will have a bunch of customers.
LinkedIn is another great network to get connected with people usually based on their job profiles, skills and expertise. LinkedIn has also proved to be a great channel for sales. It is usually a channel to build relationships and credibility.
Though there are other social media networks like FourSquare, Instagram, YouTube, etc. most of them are not in use to create a bonding with customers, which is actually required for any brand or business.
Depending on the industry you are in, there are social media networks budding every now and again. And if you are lucky enough to have a niche social media network, you can have relevant activity to make it happen in the best way possible. When you have niche social media networks, you can talk to the right target audiences, check out on the connections to know where their interests lie, share thought leadership information and promote products or services in the right way to the right people and win better deals.
Remember, if you are comfortable sitting in your chair and hitting the target in the dark, you can afford to work on any social media network available. But, if you are looking to target the right audiences and win more deals, you need to get to know the niche channels that best suit your brand.