Top Features of Social Media Apps: How and Why to Select Them?

What attracts you to use the social media app again?

The answer can be its functions or its features, right? That’s the role features play in apps. Features make the app to function effectively and attract users to download it.

Okay, let’s discuss another perspective for those who want to create it.

To make your app win the race of top social media apps, you should evaluate the important features of social media apps.

You heard it right, features can change and shape your app. Want to know how?

Let’s check out the details here. In this blog, you can find brief market stats on social media, top basic and advanced features, why and how to select the key features.

Shall we begin?

Growing Market Statistics of Social Media Apps

Before discussing the best features of social media apps, let’s conduct market research in brief.

• The total revenue within the social networking market reached US $129.60 billion in 2022.
• This is expected to show an annual growth rate of 7.30% resulting in a projected market volume of US $189.50 billion by 2027.

• Meta platforms own four of the biggest social media platforms, all with more than one billion monthly users. Facebook has 3,065 million active users followed by YouTube with 2,504 users.

After analyzing the growth of social media platforms, you must have a reason to develop a social media app. But, before that let’s get ahead to learn social media features.

Basic Features of Social Media Apps

Now that you have understood the market stats, can we head on to the social media top features list?

Let’s learn the basic features that your social media app should contain.

1. Login/Sign up

Under this feature, you should perform the signup feature. It should completely depend on creating personal profiles with details including name, profile picture, bio, etc. Here you should remember that the process of login/sign-in needs to be short so that users can easily complete the process of signing up in the app.

2. Social Interaction

Apps like TikTok contain the feature of social interaction. This is among the must-have social media app features that are useful in successfully integrating and connecting with people across different platforms. People have the tendency to share their views and experiences, thus, social interaction is an important element.

3. In-App Messaging and Calls System

Without an in-built call and messaging system, you cannot dream of a social media app. Hence, you should consider in-app messaging as well as calling among the social media app features list. Users always seek to solution that can cover all their problems. Adopting an in-app messaging and calling feature can provide users an effective experience of using the app.

4. Appealing News Feed

It is the tendency of app users to switch from one social media network to another if they doesn’t find it attractive. The news feed is among the basic features of social media apps that can help you discover content that relies on a centralized location that can be shared by others within their network. Here you should check the quality of content to engage the target users.

5. Posting Feature

In this feature you should allow the app users to share various types of content, including text, photos, videos, links, and status updates, with their network. You should help your app users post their views in the form of either images or a message that makes it among the top features of a social networking app. Help users to post stories that can be used for 24 hours as an app like WhatsApp.

6. Push Notifications

Push notifications is an important way to keep your app users engaged. It is among must-have Features to create a social media app that keeps the users feeling engaged in their field of interest. Hence, when users receive any message, they look to their phones to know what’s happening.

7. Simple User Interface

This feature can be amazing to improve your user experience. This is among the core social media app features that create accessibility to allow auto-generated responses and captions. It will also provide an inclusive experience for differently abled people. The app should be designed simply and should be easy to navigate.

8. Privacy settings

Social media apps provide privacy settings that allow users to control who can view their profile, posts, and other information. Users can adjust privacy settings to customize their level of visibility and control over their accounts. This is one of the top features to consider while developing a social media app for enabling the security of personal data to the users.

9. Send Friend Request/Follow Request

This can be among the main features of a social media app to increase your social media engagement rate where you can allow users to add and send friends request. Here users can be able to see people who have been invited by another member or can accept invitations to join their group conversations.

Advanced Features of Social Media Apps

After learning the must-have features to build a social media app, let’s head on to advance features. You should understand this section to learn a complete segment of features that make a social media mobile app popular.

Check out the list below to know more. The given list is the continuation of the above section representing features of a successful social media app.

10. AR Filters

Nowadays, filters have become one of the engaging social media app features. Users cannot assume a camera that does not contain features to capture their faces. Hence, you should consider features as an integrated element to include while making apps like Snapchat. These features also assist the users in incorporating old photos and videos for optimum experience.

11. Live Streaming

You can create a live streaming platform where you can help the users to broadcast live videos to their followers in real time. This is among the social networking app features list that can be useful to the app users to record live-streamed presentations and post them online later to reach the target user base.

12. AI and Chatbots

To implement such social networking app features, you should be aware of the new technologies. You can build a chat app that contains this feature to train the end user to use the app. This feature can display your creativity which can further become a point to entertain the users. AI in social media is just another creation bringing revolution to the industry.

13. Shopping

Several social media platforms have integrated this e-commerce feature allowing the users to buy products directly within the app. This is among the best features of a social networking app for business-oriented platforms. Here you can help the businesses to directly help them link to their end user with the platform.

14. Events and Polls

With the usage of this feature, users can create polls and events. Here they can create RSVPs to events and can conduct polls to gather opinions from their network. This has become one of the most popular features of a social media app effective in creating engagement. It is a feature that can enhance your app’s popularity like CapCut.

15. Language Translation Feature

Language translation feature can make your app more accessible to differently-abled users. Users may find it difficult to read lengthy texts and emails. Hence this can be among the must-have features for your social media app helpful to convert lengthy texts and emails to natural speech by eliminating the struggle of reading them.

16. Language Translation

Incorporating language translation into your application stands as a key feature for social media apps, aiding in the conversion of potential users into valuable customers. It serves as an effective method to reach out to a diverse global audience, result to enhance market presence. You can seamlessly integrate cost-effective translation tools like Google Translate, SayHi, etc.

17. Provide Business Analytics

For business or professional accounts, platforms often provide insights into post performance, audience demographics, and engagement metrics. This is among the essential features of a social media app that can help businesses gain insights related to the current purchasing behavior of the users.

18. Avail Groups and Communities Feature

This is the feature that can help you to build engagement among an individual and communities or groups. It can be among the top features of social media apps because here users can join or create groups based on shared interests, hobbies, or affiliations to connect with like-minded individuals.

19. Integration with Third-Party Apps

Some platforms offer APIs for integration with other apps, allowing for seamless sharing of content and data. With the help of this feature, you can increase collaboration of your app with the other apps relevant to scale up your performance in the market. These are the features that make a social media mobile app popular.

20. Geolocation

It can be one of the key features to have in a social networking app, that allows you to add where you are to posts, pictures, messages, and whatever you want. It also makes it easier for other users to find out where you’re at when posting something that they are interested in. With this feature, you can avail the best experience to the users.

21. Automated Content Moderation

With an automated content moderation feature, you can provide your app users with AI-driven moderation systems, user reporting, and feedback loops as well as regular policy updates. This can be among the key features of a social media app that provides control to users to change their content event after posting it. You can set the timing of altering content after post for users.

Why Select the Key Features?

The growth of social media apps will continue in the coming years. Then the element that you should consider to retain the potential users is features.

After discussing the features of a social media app, it’s time to learn reasons to select it.

When you keep the features updated and maintained, it creates a way to engage the users in the long run. Let’s learn some important reasons to develop apps like Instagram.

• Aids to Define Purpose

Identifying features of the app can help you define the purpose of your app prior to initiating the app development process. It helps you to stay away from chaos and confusion. After getting a clear picture of features, you can consider other important things like technology, design, etc.

• User Experience Optimization

The prime goal to create an app like Twitter is to increase user interaction and engagement. Too many features can have a negative impact by confusing the users. Selecting a suitable app can help to make the app development more accurate.

• Provides Competitive Edge

Designing the structure of key features can assist you in adding a competitive spirit. By offering unique or highly desirable features, you can attract more users. Hence deciding on the features can help you in differentiating your app in a crowded market.

• Helps in Resource Allocation

When you develop and maintain features, it require time, effort, and resources. Here, by selecting the key features, you can allocate resources more efficiently, focusing on what adds the most value to your app and its users. It helps in optimizing the cost of making social media app.

• Provides Scalability to App

A scalable app is capable of managing the growing traffic. Here simplifying the app’s functionality can make you able to measure and scale up the performance of the app with the growing user base.

• Clears A Step Towards Simplicity

It clears a step towards simplicity and reduces the complexity of your app for both the users and developers. This simplicity of an app can result in a more sustainable and managed app ecosystem, by fixing bugs, maintenance issues, and user confusion.

Things to Keep in Mind While Selecting Features

Well, you have learned the market stats of social media apps, key features of social media apps, and why to select features for the social media app, let’s head to how to select the key features.

Shall we begin with the same?

Step 1: Understand Your User

The first step towards selecting the features is understanding the user. You should know well the demands of the target users, their preferences, and choices over users of the social media platform.

Step 2: Perform Market Research

Here you should perform market research. Market research will help you identify the current market trends that can enhance your app’s presence. Here you can explore the existing apps and learn about their features that engage the users.

Step 3: Prioritize Essential Features

Prioritizing the essential features can ensure that you develop the right things for the right people. It can include a brief description and can categorize them based on the established criteria. Here you can visualize the relationship between different features.

Step 4: Evaluate Technical Feasibility

In this step, you should assess the technical feasibility or tech stack and complexity of implementing each feature. Here you can consider factors such as development time, resources, compatibility with your app’s architecture, and scalability.

Step 5: Check Compatibility with Your App’s Functions

You should check the compatibility of the app’s functions with the aim of developing a social media app. Here you should follow the UI/UX design principles. It can assist you in strengthening your app’s presence in the market based on the design compliance practices.

Step 6: Test features and Stay Updated

Further, you should test the features of the app on different parameters. Along with this, you should stay updated with the current rules and regulations before the app launch as well as test the features accordingly.

How Nimble AppGenie Can Empower Your Vision of Social Media App?

After learning the top features to include in a social media app, you might have decided to create an app. Well, you need an experienced company in this process.

Partner with Nimble AppGenie. We have expertise in the field and are the best social media app development company focused on delivering appropriate solutions.

With us, you will experience the utmost process of app creation. We consider all the demands of our clients and develop your dream app accordingly.

Conclusion

The selection of key features in social media apps plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining users. These features not only define the app’s functionality but also shape its success in a competitive market.

By evaluating market statistics, understanding user preferences, and prioritizing essential features, developers can create compelling social media platforms that engage users effectively.

Features such as login/sign-up, social interaction, in-app messaging, appealing news feeds, and privacy settings are fundamental for user engagement and satisfaction. Advanced features like AR filters, live streaming, AI integration, and e-commerce capabilities further enhance user experience and differentiate apps in the market.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.