Social media is always evolving and new platforms continue to emerge catered to a variety of different audiences. These different platforms allow us to better engage with different types of users and promote your company in new ways. If you're struggling to connect with your target audience through social media advertising, it may be time to switch up your platform. Explore our list of niche social platforms that stray a little further than your typical Facebook and Instagram user.

1. Tagged

A social media platform which makes it easy to meet and chat with new people by way of games, similar interests, profile views and friend suggestions. Tagged is designed to help users meet lots of new people with similar interests in a short amount of time. The platform also encourages "social discovery" the idea of growing your network to meet as many people as possible.

2. StumbleUpon

A discovery and advertisement search engine, which recommends content to its users based on interests. StumbleUpon is the 4th highest traffic driver and also offers paid discovery to specify gender, age, and interests.

3. The Dots

A community for you to share projects, find inspiration, entrepreneurs, and creators. Similar to a LinkedIn for professionals in the creative industry, anyone can create a profile and portfolio, as well as businesses can pay to recruit talent and post jobs.

4. Kiwibox

A social network geared towards teens and young adults as a place for them to meet people, chat, and share ideas. A great way to target a younger demographic, the platform promotes content that is written and contributed by high school and college students.

5. Snapfish

a web-based photo sharing and printing service- a photographer work zone. Members can upload files for free, and are given unlimited photo storage.

6. ReverbNation

A place for musicians to grow their careers, find tools, and management help. The platform offers services and tools designed to help artists get more fans, more gigs, and more money.

7. Wayn

n acronym for "Where Are You Now?", Wayn is a social travel network helping users find out great places to go next, as well as like-minded people in the area. The network spans 196 countries and allows users to easily connect with others in their area.

8. Xanga

A website which hosts weblogs, photoblogs, and social profiles. The platform did receive new updates for mobile friendliness, ease-of-use, and security, however, studies show that the popularity of the platform has been declining since 2007.

9. Meetup

An event scheduling platform which helps users find similar people, or events being held in the area. Allows you to connect with users in specific areas, as well as creating events for users to join.

10. Quora

A question and answer website which was founded by two previous Facebook employees. It receives about 80 million unique visits per month, where users can ask, answer and edit responses.

11. BizSugar

A community for small business owners, where they can catch up on news, tips, blog posts and personal information about small businesses in the area.

12. WhatsApp

An independent instant messaging platform with voice over IP services owned by Facebook. The app allows the sending of text messages and voice calls, as well as video calls, images, documents, and user location.

13. Foursquare

A local search and discovery platform which provides customers with answers and small business locations. Also allows users the ability to share their location and "check-in" at certain businesses.

14. Care2

Care2 offers email, blogging, shopping, and more, all catered to those wishing to live a green life. It's also one of the number one platforms for starting and spreading petitions for good causes.

15. Reddit

An American social news platform where members can submit links, photos, texts and vote on other posts. The platform is a gold mine for information on a variety of random topics and encourages user submissions to build engagement. Increase customer service, build engagement, and post news & events, all while creating a diverse community.

Whatever your business needs, our list of out of the box social media platforms will allow you to effectively reach your target audience and build deeper connections. Get started with one of these unique programs today!