Mighty Networks, the new digital fireside for niche audiences
Mighty Networks is allowing online brands to create the customer’s digital experience of tomorrow through its platform. MN can be used by businesses to gather and connect online communities around discussions on specific interests, reach directly to members, bolster interaction between them and achieve enduring brand memory.
Mighty Networks is a service platform where content creators and businesses can capture online traffic beyond sale transaction and build social networks. It is more about selling ideas than consumer goods – although the platform is compatible with apps that allows it – since anybody can be a content creator and share knowledge via online classes or articles and thus, become a “host”. Hosts are charged between 12$ and 57$ a month for owning a domain with a unique web landing page and benefiting from all of the MN services to bring their people together via classes, events and articles around their specific interests. Hosts decide whether to charge their members for access to their network, content or not at all. Depending on the bundle, available features include the possibility to track community’s engagement via the analytics tool provided by MN. Communities are not directly joining Mighty Networks per se, MN is the invisible architecture that provides a support for a host’s website which in a way makes the website and domain name looks great but might limit MN’s notoriety.
If the host is an influencer or an existing business that already has a base community, MN is the perfect meeting point. An example of a MN community called “Better” is hosted by writer Gretchen Rubin and has over 80,000 people. Among other things, her fans and her discuss key concepts brought up in her books and share thoughts on her work. Mighty Networks highly supports the creation of niche content since it often results in more appealing and stronger communities. Below are some examples of the tips shared on their website as well as example of other thriving networks.
Since subgroups can also be created within MN, I would imagine many possible instrumentalization of the platform by established brands as well; invitation to join niche subcategories based on customers past purchases could be send as a form of developing brand engagement. Sucategories could be nourished with exclusive events or targeted entertaining content. It could be a way to create mechanisms of C2C visibility online to increase a feeling of brand community and allow social interaction. For brands, it also allows more direct communication in what seems like a digitally intimate setting which could support brand’s image of authenticity and transparency.
Compared to classical types of online services platforms, the risk of multi-homing or disintermediation is not an issue since the platform is the service and any other kind of related content posted on other websites or members meeting on the platform and gathering offline would either contribute to its network effect or act like a good publicity. For example, a MN community called FWFG Kula mediated by Adriene Mishler has a community of 90,000 people on Mighty Network, most are originally fans of “Yoga with Adriene” her YouTube channel with over 5 million subscribers. Her MN has reach a level of communication that is more qualitative than an open Facebook group would at this scale since only true fans would request to join it.
In the context of thinking about the next phases of social media, Mighty Networks CEO Gina Bianchini affirms that “the future is niche audiences”. MN is really representative of how platforms have allowed the development of niche interests and its ability to connect beyond social circles defined by our geographies. Mighty Networks’ website is addressing the question of how it compares to Facebook in order to emphasize the added value of using the MN platform by highlighting features such as privacy of data, security, sophisticated branding features, added payments and control over trolls but most importantly, Mighty Networks is revolutionizing influencers-fans or brand-consumer dynamics by shifting from a one-way, pyramidal communication format to an horizontal one.
Sources
“This Entrepreneur Says Niche Audiences Are The Future Of Brands And Businesses”. 2019. Girlboss. https://www.girlboss.com/work/gina-bianchini-podcast-interview.
“Mighty Networks”. 2019. Mighty Networks. https://www.mightynetworks.com
Wow, this is fascinating! I am tempted to agree that the future is “niche audiences”. It seems that, somewhat ironically, the tool that was supposed to bring us closer together (the internet) has instead divided audiences into ever smaller fractal groups (niches). I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. I see it very strongly in podcasting for example. People are getting content that is more relevant to their lives and interests, while those interests have the opportunity to become more and more unique. I will definitely look into this platform soon.