Are you looking to do the Social Network?
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You look at Facebook and wonder how this guy (Mark) makes a lot of money from the air. I think you have a logical question, can I repeat his success? Let's look at
how to create a social networking site like Facebook, Youtube and earn good money.
Easy money doesn't happen, of course, if you don't play the lottery) Although there to earn money, you need to have good luck. Facebook, like other companies, has no exceptions. Legal claims, problems with financing (at the first stage), problems with confidentiality, etc. This is certainly not pleasant, but when your product enjoys popularity, these all go into the background. So the first rule is to have patience and
be ready to fight.
Everything starts with small.
So, you want to
create your own social network that will have similar functions like Facebook. It's not as difficult as it seems, but not as easy as we would like. Let's divide this process into
several stages.
1. Development of ideas
Big projects start from
an idea. It must have value and be unique. Of course, you can copy the idea of Facebook, but who needs Facebook #2. Take care that
your social network is interesting for users. Segmentation will help you in this. You can
build a social network for lovers of movies, books or music. But…. this already exists. Anyway,
the idea should stand out you among other similar projects. Like the
crypto currency exchange platforms, which are gaining popularity in the world.
Very often people have an idea, but they are afraid to tell it to their friends. They think that someone will steal it and earn a million. This is a
big mistake. First, to make a project, you need money and effort. A lot of effort. Secondly, no one gives a guarantee that a good idea will have great success. So, only you can create what's in your head. Moreover, the more you share your thoughts, the more feedback you get. Maybe you will find like-minded (co-founders), who will help in
the development of the social media website.
You knew that investors do not want to deal with the alone founder. The minimum team should consist of 2 people, but better of 3. This is due to the fact that all ideas are amenable to the collective discussion but only the best ones are being implemented.
2. Preparing for the development of a social network
Short documentation
First of all, you need to make a
list of the functions of the future project. This can be a small document, which briefly describes the goal of the social network and its functions.
Domain Name
Before the
phases of the development, you must select the name of the social network and the domain name. The cost of the domain will be $10-20 per year. I recommend using
one platform for domain registration and hosting.
Hosting
If you plan to
start a large social network site that will have
500,000 - 5,000,000 users per month, I highly recommend using powerful servers, for example, VPS. It will enable you to cope with high loads.
3. Social network design
Design plays a big value. It should not be flashy or dull. It is best to use
modern web design trends. It will allow you to promote your network more actively. In addition, the first page should
have a call-to-action, so you can get more signed up users. Trust only professionals.
4. Development of a social network
The development of a social network site begins with the choice of technology to be used. They can be divided into two types: ready-made CMS and frameworks. Let's see what is the difference between them and what is better to use.
Social networks CMS
These are already ready social network with a
template design and main functions. You will only need efforts to develop a new design and customize the project to your requirements. The most popular CMS for social networks: BuddyPress, Dolphin, phpFox, SocialEngine, etc. Although, such systems have a whole set of problems.
-The first problem with the speed of work. They cause high load and bring failure. Two clients addressed to our company Merehead, in 2018. They had similar problems. We could not help them because the projects had to be completely rebuilt.
-The second problem is poor scaling. If you need to add new features, it will require a lot of effort, time and money.
-The third problem is the project customize. It can take a very long time. Since the CMS does not provide a global customization. New functions may conflict with the old ones. It will be a movement in a circle.
As you can see, the popularity of CMS is falling. BuddyPress leader among them.
Frameworks
Frameworks are used to develop different web applications. In fact, they are universal and designed specifically to improve the quality of the code and speed up the coding process. Projects based on frameworks have
high speed, high security and scalability. In our company, we prefer to use Laravel PHP-based framework. It should be noted that there are about 10 popular PHP-based frameworks (
CakePHP, Codeigniter, Zend, Symfony etc). You can see the dynamics of popularity below and
check the web development trends.
The main disadvantage of using frameworks is that the project needs to
develop from scratch. This will take time and resources, but in this case, you can be sure that the website will work stably and bring profit. In fact, this is your investment in the future.
5. Testing and launching a social network
After the completion of the development, it is necessary to check the social network. As you understand the bugs in the sign up/login or in the main functions will very badly affect the
promotion of the social network. Users should enjoy your website. Our company has experience in
developing social networks. For example, our project
Frevend got 50,000 users in few months.
6. Marketing
After
creating your own social network like Facebook, it is very important to conduct an active advertising campaign. You need to use an aggressive approach. It is very important to get an audience that will create content and feel in the life of a social network. According to our estimates, it is necessary to
attract 20,000 - 50,000 visitors within a few days. So, let's see what the most popular sources of traffic you can use:
- Google Adwords. I don't recommend using it to attract users to the social network. The cost of clicking is very high.
Google Adwords (Google Ads) is well suited for expensive services.
- Facebook Ads. You can get visitors at a cost of $0.05-0.1. This is a good source with a huge set of filters for segmentation. Thus, attracting 10,000 users will cost $1000.
- Guest posts. Write interesting articles about the project. Send them to popular media and bloggers. You will be surprised how many people are willing to publish interesting material for free. For example, one publication in
TechCrunch can give 10,000 - 20,000 users a day!
7. How to make a money by own social media website
Monetization of the social network has its own features. Users are not used to paying, which is why most networks, including Facebook, are completely free. I believe that two types of business model are suitable for such projects.
-Freemium. Users have free access to most functions. But additional features will require a small fee. Typically, the cost is small, since it refers to all participants in the social network. Having a conversion of 1% from 1,000,000 users, you will receive 10,000 transactions per month. With a minimum cost of $9.99, your monthly
income will be $99,900. Agree, a good future! This business model uses LinkedIn.