Does the world need one more app for social media? That was one of the main things that the founders of the startup thought about when they came up with the idea to create a social media app.
Threads has apparently answered with a resounding “yes.” In just one hour, the Meta app gained one million users, making it the winner of this competition of social media apps.
The “Threads case” is different, you might say. And I agree. Since they already had Instagram users, that gave them an edge that other apps do not have.
And finally, is it still worth it to start from scratch and make a social media app when you do not have Instagram to watch your back? Yes, that is the clear answer.
Today I am going to discuss why social media app development is worth your time and money. Also, I will cover steps, costs, features, and other aspects.
So, let’s begin!
Introduction of Social Media App
Social media applications are digital platforms that allow users to create, share, and engage with content, fostering community-building and social connections.
They provide different features, such as sharing photos and videos, sending messages, posting updates, and engaging with content through comments, likes, and shares. The apps also offer lucrative business opportunities to entrepreneurs to promote their products and reach wider audiences.
Hence, it demonstrates room for business growth. Businesses looking to develop a social media app to reach new heights should invest in social network app development. For this, they can get help from a mobile app development company, ensuring that all the business goals are met while increasing the user base.
Future Predictions & Projections of Social Media Market
As you are going to create a social media app, at first, you must understand the market size so that you can identify it’s success potential. Hence, for a better understanding look here:
Source: Statista
- By 2030, the market for social networking apps will have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 26.2%, reaching USD 310.37 billion.
- By 2024, the average amount of time people around the world spent on social media each day was 143 minutes.
- More than 3 billion people use Facebook every month, making it the most popular social network. It was the first to have more than 1 billion registered accounts.
- It was reported in April 2024 that 2 billion people used Instagram every month. This makes the mobile-first network bigger than TikTok and app like Snapchat.
- With a total spend of 72.3 billion US dollars in 2023, the US was the biggest market for social media ads in the world.
Types of Social Media Applications
Every social media platform is different. This is why some people may be more interested in certain things on one platform than another. So, before you dive into the social media app development process, let’s have a look at the below 4 categories of social media apps.
1. Social Networks
Mobile social networking apps give you fresh ways to connect with others. They do not all have the same goals, though. For example, Facebook’s main goal is to keep people in touch with family and friends, while LinkedIn alternatives goal is to connect professionals around the world to encourage teamwork and productivity.
Example: Facebook, LinkedIn
2. Media Sharing Networks
At first, media sharing networks were meant to let users share videos, photos, and music, as well as connect viewers and people who wanted to work together. Over time, they have grown beyond the original idea of sharing media and can now be used for more than one thing. If you want to develop a media sharing app, you need to pay attention to something important that most users miss.
Example: Instagram, Snapchat
3. Disucssion Forums
People like these social networks because they let them learn new things from experts and talk about a wide range of topics. Discussion boards make it easy to find the information you need. You can also start a conversation, ask questions, and get answers from experts or other wise users.
Example: Reddit, Quora
4. Social Media Blogs
Many blogging apps can help you get most of the traffic and comments you want on your blog. A lot of new bloggers like to use platforms that have already been tested and reviewed to help them start their own blogs and build a large, loyal following. You can also develop a social media website like Medium with the help of dedicated developers.
Example: Medium, WordPress
7 Key Steps to Create A Social Media App
Developing a social media app like Twitter might seem like a daunting task. However, it can be an exciting journey if you break it down. So, where to get started? Well, as per the social media app development services provider, to build a social media app from scratch, you can start according to the following steps:
- Extensive Market Research
- Choose the Tech Stack Appropriately
- Develop UI/UX Design
- App Development
- Testing and Quality Assurance
- Launching and Marketing
- Maintenance and Updating
1. Extensive Market Research
Social media app development is about more than just coding and launching the application for end-users. Its success also depends on appropriate market research. If you create a social media app, examine the whole market’s effectiveness. Identify who is your actual audience and what new they want from your app.
Additionally, study how competitors are playing and learn from their strategies. The collected information will help you identify which direction you should move and how to develop a successful social media app.
2. Choose the Tech Stack Appropriately
You can not make a social media app if you do not know or understand what technologies (programming language, database, and framework) are used in making this kind of application. The tech stack required for your app development depends on the platform (iOS and Android) you are targeting. Selection of the most accurate tech stack ensures the success of an app.
Furthermore, if you can not find what tech stack will suit your social networking app development, do not worry; just consult an entertainment app development services provider. Professionals better know what kind of tech stack your app requires.
Read More: Best Apps Like Wizz
3. Develop UI/UX Design
When considering developing a social media application, ensure that it is easy to use and intuitive, appealing not only to you but also to the users you are catering to. Design a social media App with a prototype, visualizing the user interface. A prototype helps refine the user experience and collect feedback from potential users.
After prototyping is complete, you should focus on crafting a visually appealing and intuitive UX/UI design. Consider ease of navigation, usability, and delightful aesthetics. It will attract a broader range of users to your social media app.
4. App Development
It’s the stage to create a social media app where the actual app development process starts. This process is usually divided into two phases:
Discovery Stage: Here, social media app developers explore the market opportunities and finish the stage by inserting major features that are basic requirements of an app.
Development Stage: During this phase, developers need to work on the app code. You can create a mobile app for a signal platform- Android or iOS- or you can target both platforms.
5. Testing and Quality Assurance
Now that you have developed your app successfully before launching it on the market, it must undergo some testing. The primary purpose of testing is to ensure that your app is bug-free and the glitches or technical issues are resolved. For such a technical stage, you can hire a hybrid mobile app development company with good knowledge about all this.
Testing includes usability testing, scalability testing, functional testing, user acceptance testing, and many more. Hence, it helps to know whether your app is lacking in meeting user requirements and where you have to adjust some changes.
6. Launching and Marketing
Now, you can present your app to the market. After testing, your social media app is ready for the users. However, developing a successful one is not enough. You are responsible for crafting a launch strategy, creating a buzz with the marketing campaign, and a soft launch to receive initial user feedback.
The app’s launch and marketing aim is to create awareness of your app among potential users. To reach a wider audience at a time, you can use social media marketing channels as they cover a range of users.
7. Maintenance and Updating
Your app’s journey continues after its launch. After this, you must listen to potential user feedback to resolve issues in your app. You must also keep your app functional with new security patches and features. For a better outcome, you can also seek the help of a mobile app maintenance services provider.
Furthermore, ensure regular updates to keep your users engaged and ensure they can smoothly use your app without any security threats. Hence, this ongoing process ensures that your app can survive in the current competitive market.
Essential Features of Social Media App
Just like making a dish perfect, you need perfect ingredients. In social media app development, too, you need to find the ideal balance of features. These are what make the application what it is and how it will turn out. So, look at some of must-have features to develop a successful social media app like Instagram, Twitter, or meetup:
1. User Panel
- Profile Creation
Allow users to create profiles with basic information, bios, and photos. With this feature, they can also customize and edit their profile, reflecting their personality.
- Social Feed and Discovery
Create a social media app, allowing users follow their friends and see updates in a personalized feed. Ensure users can discover new content through recommendations and hashtags.
- Content Creation and Sharing
It enables users to create text posts, share videos and photos, and express themselves creatively. In-app easy-to-use editing tools and filters help to enhance content.
- Comments and Likes
Most people on social media post for likes and comments. So, ensure your app allows them to like or comment on a post according to their feelings.
- Notification
Ensure with your app, users can receive alerts for mentions, likes, messages, and other relevant activities to stay engaged.
2. Admin Panel
- User Management
Develop a social media platform like Meetup that enables the admin to view user profiles, manage user accounts, and solve the user-reported issues.
- Performance Monitoring
It allows the admin to track key metrics, such as content performance, user engagement, and app usage, to understand user behavior and optimize the app.
- Content Moderation
Develop a social media app that allows the admin to review and remove inappropriate content. This ensures a positive and safe online environment.
- Analysis and Reporting
With this feature, the admin can access insights into content trends, user demographics, and app performance. It helps to make wise or informed decisions about future development.
- Community Management
create a social media app that enables admins to foster a healthy community by creating groups and promoting positive user interactions.
Top Market Leaders in Social Media Industry
When it comes to monthly active users, Facebook and YouTube are currently the market leaders. If you want to be the next industry leader in the social media industry, then take a quick overview of the best social media apps by active monthly users:
Best Social Media Apps |
Available Platform |
Monthly Active Users |
Download |
Ratings |
Android | iOS | 3.07 billion | 10 B+ | 4.3 | |
YouTube | Android | iOS | 2.49 billion | 10 B+ | 4.1 |
Android | iOS | 2 billion | 5 B+ | 4.1 | |
Android | iOS | 2.11 billion | 5 B+ | 4.3 | |
TikTok | Android | iOS | 1.6 billion | 5 B+ | 4.1 |
Android | iOS | 1.37 billion | 4 B+ | 2.9 | |
Facebook Messenger | Android | iOS | 1.01 billion | 5 B+ | 4.2 |
Telegram | Android | iOS | 950 million | 1 B+ | 4.2 |
Snapchat | Android | iOS | 850 million | 1 B+ | 4.3 |
Douyin | Android | iOS | 755 million | 1M+ | 3.7 |
Kwai | Android | iOS | 544 million | 500M+ | 3.9 |
X / Twitter | Android | iOS | 611 million | 1 B+ | 4.0 |
Android | iOS | 583 million | 50 M+ | 2.4 | |
Android | iOS | 571 million | 10M+ | 1.7 | |
Android | iOS | 522 million | 1 B+ | 4.4 |
Benefits of Social Media App Development
The social media industry is already full of opportunities. Here are some more reasons why you should not miss the chance to work in the industry that is growing the fastest. Let’s have a look at the benefits of social media marketing app development.
1. High User Engagement
If the interface of your social media app is interesting, you will have more interested business customers and buyers visiting your app every day as soon as you make a social media app like Instagram. This brings more people to the site and makes it possible for more functions and achievements to grow.
2. Complete Access to Data
Mainstream social networking sites do not give full access to user data. They only tell them what they need to know. But if you make your own mobile app, you have full control over the data, which helps your social media marketing and lowers the cost of getting new customers.
3. Traceability
As a social media app like Twitter lets any business find new customers and try to turn those customers into sales. The company’s return on investment will be easy to see, and you can make the changes needed to boost sales. You can even make your own social media software platform and encourage people to make money from it, like Instagram does with Facebook’s Advertising Manager program and affiliate marketing.
4. Purchasing Power
A record shows that one-fourth of people who use social apps buy things online. This is a big number. A business owner wants to make sales all the time, and social media makes that easy with little work. For example, one of the most important ways that social media app development makes the world a better place is by increasing conversions.
5. Easy Monetization
On most well-known social media sites, you can not sell things to the people who use them. But your custom social media applications for businesses does not work that way. Social networking apps make it easy to quickly set up online markets. You can also add features like “one-click” and “express purchases.” You make it easy for people to buy the things they want and get paid for it.
Cost To Create a Social Media App
The cost to develop a social media app can range between $10000-$25000. But it is not the exact cost. The social media app development cost varies depending on your project requirement and multiple factors. For example, app complexity, features, tech stack, developer’s location, time, and so on. Here is the table that shows the cost as per app complexity.
App Complexity |
Features |
Cost |
Simple Social Media App |
|
$10,000 – $16,000 |
Midium Social Media App |
|
$16,000 – $21,000 |
Complex Social Media App |
|
$25,000+ |
You should think about other things that can change costs if you do not want to get caught in the hidden cost to create a social media app. These include:
Cost Affecting Factor |
What’s Included |
Cost |
Design |
|
$4500 to $7,000+ |
API Integrations |
|
$1500 to $4500+ |
App Security |
|
$2500 to $4000 |
Remember that these are just rough estimates. The exact numbers will depend on your app development needs and the social media app development company you choose to hire. So, if you want to lower the cost to develop a social networking app, you might want to start with MVP development and add features as user feedback and needs dictate.
Why Is It Important To Fix a Budget For Your Project?
With that out of the way, let us discuss why it is crucial to establish a budget before beginning the process of developing a social media app. If you want to build a social media app the right way, making a budget is the first step. It will show you how everything fits together. Therefore, keep the following in mind before you begin taking any action to expand your business:
1. Helps Identify the Actual Needs
You can give people what they need right now by thinking about what they want along with your social media mobile app development services budget. It will be simple for you to know what features your app needs and pick the right ones.
2. You Need the MVP
This is the bare minimum product that will get you to the investor meetings. You need a budget to figured out how much and how long an MVP will take.
3. Aids in Market Research
Once you know how much you can spend, you need to do a lot of market research to find out what the going rates are.
4. Need to Save for Marketing
There is no way that your work and costs will end when the app is done. This process of development still has some steps to go. You need to market the app and get it to the right people. That is the real problem. If you want to know the cost to build an app like Instagram, you can. But the costs that come up after the app is made are what really matter.
Social Media App Development Trends
If you want to make an app that changes the game, you should keep up with the latest trends in your industry and, if you can, use them in your social media app.
1. AI Integration
Implementing AI in the social media app development makes them more useful and improves how users interact with them. Chatbots and virtual assistants, which are powered by AI, offer real-time support and interaction. This makes the customer service better.
Machine learning algorithms look at how users behave and suggest content that is relevant to them. This keeps users coming back and makes them happier. In order to keep the internet safe, AI development solution is also very important for content moderation. It automatically finds and deletes inappropriate content.
2. Personalized Algorithms
This type of algorithm looks at how people use the site, what they like, and how they interact with it to make personalized feeds, suggestions, and ads. Personalization algorithms use information like likes, shares, comments, and search history to show users the most relevant content. This makes them more engaged and keeps them on the app longer.
3. UI/UX Novelties
New ideas in UI/UX design are important for social media app development that are easy to use, interesting, and look good. Designers are focusing on making interfaces that are simple and easy to use so that users can find their way around more easily and have a better overall experience.
As with other UI design trends, dark mode options have become popular. They are a nice-looking and battery-saving alternative to traditional light themes. Personalization in design, like profiles and themes that can be changed, lets users show who they are.
4. E-commerce Integration
To reach more people and make more sales, more brands are using social media. This is because of the influencer marketing trend. So, adding e-commerce features like product tags and sponsored content to your app can help you get brands and influencers to use it.
How To Monetize Social Media App?
How to create a mobile app for social media is not the most important question. That is how to make money from it. The good news is that even free apps can make you money. You can make money in a few different ways. Check out the short descriptions of each one below.
1. Paid Subscriptions
A lot of people will be willing to pay for a subscription as long as the content is really useful to them. So, do not forget to include a free level with good content and one or two paid levels with more in-depth or valuable content. Also, because of the culture of apps, Apple and Google’s payment systems make it very easy to pay for subscriptions.
2. In-app Purchases
As a way to make money, some social media sites let you buy stickers or filters that you can use in the app. You can make money from your app in a number of different ways because you can see.
3. Sponsored Content
Just because a lot of dedicated people are on your platform does not mean you will make money. Paid sponsorship does! The best way to make money from your audience is through sponsored posts on your platform.
One example is an app like Tiktok. Sponsored posts are just regular posts that have a sponsored tag and a button that tells people what to do. But your business needs to be honest and only let responsible sponsors join the member base.
4. Advertisements
Advertising is the main way that social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok make money. The best thing about the platforms is that they have a lot of users. They get personal information from all of its users, like their age, gender, location, and interests.
This data is used by social media to make very specific ads. This is probably why TikTok has become so popular with brands that want to promote their goods and services: it has more than a billion active users every month.
5. Freemium model
Users can sign up for an app for free and use the basic features with this way of making money. It is possible for paid users to access some extra features. LinkedIn is a great example of this. Some features, like job matching, InMal, and educational courses, do not require a paid subscription.
Create a Social Media App With Dev Technosys!
We know that starting to create a social media app might feel risky and not go smoothly. But outsourcing can really make the process easier. Here at Dev Technosys, we have learned all about the ins and outs of social media app development and have a lot of experience working with them.
So, if you are planning to create a social media app for your business, it is best to contact us to make your social media app a game changer. If you need help with a social media on demand app development solutions, just let us know.
FAQs
Q1. How to Build a Social Media App?
To develop a social media app, you can follow the below procedure:
- Make a business plan
- Set an idea
- Choose a platform
- Build UI design
- Integrate mvp features
- Test and release the app
Q2. What Are the Most Popular Social Media Apps?
Here are the best social media apps in the world, which have billions of monthly active users.
- YouTube
- Facebook Messenger
- TikTok
Q3. How Can I Make Money With Social Media Apps?
Free apps don’t have any problems making money. There are multiple monetization strategies that you can implement. Here are some of them:
- In-app purchase
- Sponsored content
- In-app advertisement
- Freemium model
- Paid subscription
Q4. Is Developing a Social Media App for Android Different From Making an App for iOS?
Yes, the process of social media app development for Android and iOS is different. It is because they have different ecosystems, programming languages, and rules for how to make things.
Q5. What Are the Essential Features of a Social Media App?
The essential features for a social media app are mentioned below:
- Secure login
- Content sharing
- Push notifications
- Eye-catching user interface
- Search functionality
- Implementation of artificial intelligence