How to Build a Social Media App Efficiently for Your Startup

Wondering how to build a social media app? In this competitive market of social media apps, focusing on a lean approach is imperative. Social media apps are traditionally demanding when it comes to startup resources:

• Building the right functionality, 
• validating and testing, 
• iterations, and 
• user acquisition till reaching the critical user mass. 

However, the challenge pays off. Statistics show that people all around the world spent 143 minutes each day on social media in 2024. That is almost 2.5 hours every day. Quite a commitment! 

What is most important is that people spend this time wanting to be entertained or relaxing. As such, it is a great opportunity to bring them products. So, it opens great opportunities for monetization. In addition, observing users over this much time every day presents an opportunity to serve them the products and services they will actually be interested in. One of the popular social media networks did an experiment. They turned off most of the advertising, and engagement dropped significantly. Advertising as content is a new theme that is developing with the rise of social media apps. In addition, the real attraction of the social media app business is user-generated growth and unprompted user engagement. 

Yet, this market is quite competitive. This makes it essential to develop your app in a lean and efficient manner. This guide will outline how to build a social media app from scratch. We’ll also answer the question: how much does it cost to build a social media app?

Social Media App: Definition

According to academia,

“A social media application is a digital platform that allows individuals to connect with others, share activities, develop skills, and display virtues in an online community setting.”

• So, for instance, Facebook is a social app that allows users to connect with others. Reddit and Discord are other examples of community-oriented social media apps.
• Instagram is a prime example of a social media where people share their activities. These can be day-to-day activities, traveling, or events. Other activity-focused social media apps are Strava and Meetup. 
• LinkedIn is a great example of a social media app to target skills development. Duolingo also has this focus on developing skills and engaging in a community around them. 
• In terms of displaying virtues, there are social media apps such as Nextdoor, GoFundMe, or VolunteerMatch. However, other social media apps such as LinkedIn, X (Twitter), or Instagram can have accounts that advocate for different causes. 

If you want to know how to build a social media app from scratch efficiently, start with the right user needs.

Benefits of Creating a Social Media App

Market Statistics

First of all, we’ve said that the social media app market is competitive and listed quite a few social media giants. So you might wonder whether there is space for your app. Here is a bit of statistics to provide a snapshot of the social media app market as per Search Engine Journal:

• The total number of social media users is 5.17 billion users which is about 63.7% of the worldwide population;
• Every second, there are 4.7 new social media users still;

These two bits tell us that the market is large and growing.

Next:

• On average, one user engages with 6.6 social media apps;

This is great news because there is certainly no monopoly. In addition, people have multiple accounts. The latter grew from 4.8 to 8.5 and then went down to 7.1 social media accounts per person on average. 

One can also spot a slight dip in usage time and number of accounts. It in no way indicates fewer market opportunities. It is quite the opposite – users get disengaged with current social media and wait for something new.  So, if you want to know how to build a social media app, you are on the right track. Now, let’s dive into the benefits of social media apps.

Network Effect

Once your social media startup reaches a critical user mass, the growth becomes organic. Your product becomes more valuable without having to rely on expensive advertising or aggressive messaging.

Engagement-Based Revenue Model

Clubhouse got a ridiculously high valuation of 4$ billion with zero revenues. Why? Because of its number of users and engagement metrics. Potential for revenues in the social media app market stems from engagement. It does not matter whether you choose to rely on ads, subscriptions, or partnerships.

User-Generated Content

All content on social media apps is user-produced. If you look through a variety of business models, content production is often quite central and costly. Having a social media app provides a great benefit of not needing to engage in content production like many other apps.

Data-Driven Insights and Market Feedback

When a business wants to advertise, social media advertising is a more efficient choice. Social media reaches users when they are relaxing or chilling, most of the time. In contrast, traditional advertising catches users when they are rushing somewhere or highly stressed and distracted among other things. This is why knowing your audience is a source of highly effective advertising on social media apps.

Social Media App Trends

When you are thinking about how to build a social media app, considering trends is vital.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for personalization and engagement

AI and ML technologies are gaining momentum everywhere. In social media app development, their use cases include:

• personalization of the content, 
• content moderation and suggestions;
• AI-powered filters, effects, etc;
• personalizing newsfeed.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to create a metaverse

Trends indicate that a new generation finds less and less difference between online and offline. For them, reality and digital space merge together to become one. This makes AR and VR technologies essential to catering to this generation of users. 

Facebook published analytics on the growth of AR/VR technology in 2021.

Meta is already onto Meta Quest 3S for experiencing mixed reality or metaverse. 

Overall, the possible uses of AR and VR technologies are:

• Creating AR/VR enabled meetups;
• VR can enable users to attend events such as physical concerts or conferences virtually;
• Adding immersive gamification to social media platforms can engage users individually and in groups adding value to social connections while keeping users entrained.

The video keeps users hooked

The video trend of short engaging reels is not going away any time soon. Even though this trend is not new, but it is sure here to stay. And there more can be done to hook users. First, consider the three dominant formats:

• YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram short videos;
• Live streams;
• And gaming videos like on Twitch.

And how to enhance this? Here are some potential directions:

• AI technologies can help users make content more engaging and higher quality;
• Videos might embed more and more interactive clickable elements for interactivity;
• Integrating video with e-commerce.

Virtual Marketplaces on social media

Social media apps are increasingly embedding shopping opportunities. Virtual commerce is moving to where users spend most of their time online. So, no wonder that social media apps are becoming synonymous with virtual marketplaces. Instagram shoppable posts, Pinterest product pins, and TikTok’s in-video shopping are not a novelty. However, imagine:

• AR/VR shops on social media;
• AI that shows users the right products at the right time;
• Seamless payment integrations.

After all, shopping has often been a social activity. So it is only natural to integrate it in all aspects of social media: newsfeeds, content, brand profiles, etc.

Social Media App Types and Must-Have Features

When you think about how to build a social media app, choosing its type is paramount. Social media apps differ based on the nature of networking as well as the primary media content. For instance, X and Instagram. X social component is about joining a public conversation. In contrast, Instagram is about building followership. X achieves its goal by using microblogging as its major media. Meanwhile, Instagram is all about visual storytelling. There are also such platforms as TikTok. They are more media-focused and the community itself does not matter. TikTok is about how well its AI algorithm serves entertaining content. In contrast, Facebook was born out of the closed doors of colleges and its focus on social networking. 

In short, here is a brief app classification:

• Quora, StackExchange, and Reddit are forums where users can ask questions to get an expert opinion;
• Facebook and LinkedIn are social networks with media that center around personal and professional lives;
• YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are media apps that focus on sharing content;
• Periscope, Twitch, and Clubhouse are live-streaming platforms where users do live video or audio sessions;
• WordPress, Medium, and Pinterest are publishing social media;
• WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and Zalo are private messaging apps that also allow the creation of groups and content sharing.

Must-Have Features for Each App Type

Social Media App Type	Must-Have Features
Forums	Answer ranking threads/groups Reputation system Moderation tools AI-generated suggestions
Social networks	Personal customizable profiles Newsfeed supported by AI and ML algorithms “Like” functionality Friending functionality Networking suggestions DMs and group spaces Opportunities for marketing and promotion
Media apps	Upload for content display/playback functionality ML and AI algorithms for content suggestion Engagement functionality (comments, ratings, etc.) Monetization for content creators Moderation tools
Live-streaming platforms	Live streaming functionality Interaction functionality for live streams (chat, reactions, upvotes, etc.) Moderation tools Engagement functionality (raise hand, Q&A, etc) Recording, playback, posting Monetization (tipping, ‘buy me a coffee’, etc)
Publishing social media	Text editor with formatting capabilities and media embedding In-built SEO optimization Subscribe/follow functionality Social media integration, commenting ML algorithms for content suggestion
Private Messaging	Messaging that supports different formats (text, photo, video, audio) End-to-end encryption Groups/channels Voice/video calls Emojis, sticker packs, and other tools to enhance expressing oneself

Guide: How to Build a Social Media App

Building a beta version of your social media app should follow the MVP development process. A detailed guide is in our article MVP Development Stages Explained: How to Launch a Startup? Here, we’ll focus on what matters for social media apps.

Idea Validation: Finding A Valid User Problem

Social media is a tough market. For one, you need to find a valid daily user problem. A thing that will create a mental itch for a user so that they come back to your app on a daily basis. And so that they will do it without having to rely on paid advertising or aggressive messaging.

For instance, Clubhouse used FOMO (fear of missing out) to successfully glue users to its app. Clubhouse users were listening to audio conversations while doing other things and even while sleeping. There were no recordings – if you miss, you miss. 

In contrast, Facebook and LinkedIn also target a fear of missing out. Facebook utilizes fear of being out of the loop when something happens in the lives of friends or family. LinkedIn targets a need for professional development as well as also creates a fear of missing out on a professional opportunity.

But there are also niche social media targeting other user problems.

Niche social media

For instance, Meetup takes up quite a niche space for organizing local meetings and online events. It targets a need for genuine connection. In spite of some financial difficulties, it is starting to gain momentum again. Last year’s (2024) acquisition by Bending Spoons has led to drastic revenue model changes. They opened up a free tier and restructured its paid plans. But they did get the niche audience correctly in the first place.

The interesting idea was also introduced by BeReal in 2020. The social media app focused on real unfiltered photos. They targeted the user’s need for authenticity. However, its popularity dwindled down because there was little to go on from those photos. At first, it was a great novelty but it was not sustainable in generating continuous interest. On the other hand, maybe we need to be deeper into AI-barrage to start appreciating something like this once again. 

After all, as David Alston said: 

“Social media is not media. It’s a conversation.” 

To validate your idea, you need to conduct user interviews, analyze the app’s feedback, use surveys, and whatnot. The toolkit is really extensive. 

Moodboarding & Prototyping: Fleshing out your Startup Social Media App

Once you validate your idea, you need to bring life to it. The best MVP social media app is a minimalist one. In terms of UI, the cleaner the better. And you definitely want to have enough white space. After all, you are guaranteed to be adding features in the future. So, it is better to just add an icon or a button for it than to re-do the layout.

What you have to carefully work out though is user experience and mechanics of user engagement. Your prototypes should already show the mechanics of adding content, friending people, or other participatory actions. How will the user be creating their text posts? What helpers will they get? If that is a photo, will you be adding in-built filters or other capabilities? It is not enough to simply ask a user for content. One needs to make sure it is easier on your app than on competitors’ apps. 

Also, here are some more points:

• How do users connect? 
• How is the content suggested? 
• How does UGC get spread? 
• What app algorithms ensure the relevance of content or connections?
• All in all, how does your app become engaging to users?

Engagement Mechanics

It is vital to remember:

“Social media is not about one-way broadcasting, it’s about two-way conversations.”

– David Armano

In social media apps, it is essential to think through how the engagement is going to happen. Whether users will see updates from friends and family or content from other creators and things they can do with it.

TikTok puts the idea of two-way conversation in second place. They are mostly about content consumption, and interaction is passive: likes and views. There are comments but creators do not often engage in conversations with their followers. 

YouTube as a media app is quite different – many first check comments to see where the conversation is going. After all, YouTube’s primary content is longer and as such is a more serious time commitment. So one naturally would want to check if it is worth the investment of time and effort. 

As a social media app startup, you have to think about notifications. More specifically, what kind of notifications will be bringing users back? A notification about the response to one’s comment? Or a new video that a user might find interesting? How often are they going to receive them?

Pre-Development: Market Research and Tech Stack

There are Different Types of Mobile Applications if you are wondering how to build a social media app from scratch. Will you be starting with a native app? If so, Android or iOS? Or maybe you would go a desktop route? Or hybrid? In general, mobile is the first choice for most social media apps. Exceptions might be Slack or LinkedIn. As a matter of fact, almost 70% of LinkedIn’s traffic comes from desktops. But… mobile for LinkedIn is the source of the higher user engagement and higher ROI on video views.

If you go a mobile route, it is worth starting as far as simply reasons to install and uninstall an app. After all, if you want to prioritize things in your app development, you want to prioritize things that go straight to your bottom line. According to the academic study, the description of the tool, content of user reviews, and screenshots are major reasons to install an app. These are easy to get right. The uninstall statistics study is much trickier.

Planning Development: Prioritization

The number one reason to uninstall an app is that the app turns out to be useless. You should take care of it at step 1. 

Then, two next reasons are crashes and memory allocation. These should become a focus of the pre-development stage. These two reasons like no other highlight the need for lean development: do fewer things and do them right. 

Interestingly, the following two reasons for uninstalls relate to the 2nd phase – prototyping and designing. Your app should be consistent and have an intuitive uncluttered user interface. This again emphasizes having fewer things but they must be carefully thought out. 

To get these right, one needs to use iOS app development services. 

You can optimize for other things with time. However, the key to successfully launching your startup’s beta version is narrowing down a list of priorities.

Technology Trends

In terms of technology trends, the Stackoverflow 2024 survey reveals the following:

1. Professional developers prefer JavaScript programming language, then Python and Java on web-frontend / backened development;
2. For database needs, PostgreSQL is a top choice with no-SQL database MongoDB taking up 25.2%.

In general, it is better to go with mainstream technologies. They tend to have wider support, richer functionality, and easier access to development talent.

App Development – Implementation Stage: How to build a social media app

It is the execution stage for developers. When done well, it should take from around a month to 3-4 months tops. It can be argued that more complex projects should take longer; however, why would your first app be so complex? If it is complex, you are very much likely overdoing and overspending.

With well-prioritized functionality, the development is usually smooth if your team knows how to build a social media app from scratch efficiently. In addition, you should take testing your social media app really seriously. Apps that crash do not have a long life on users’ phones. So your first version should demonstrate core functionality that carries the value proposition. In addition, it should perform well, without any app crashes, and be fast. In the social media app realm, a lot depends on the speed of mechanics for users to interact. 

It is true that speed is not listed in app uninstall rates. However, these statistics are average for all apps. Specifically for social media apps, the speed of loading data is vital. It is key to making sure your users are not bored. 

So, even though this stage should be quick, it must result in a minimalist quick social media app. Having a performant clean MVP is how to build a social media app.

Feedback Gathering and Processing

Instagram launched as Burnbn, and by gathering feedback through analytics, they morphed into the Instagram we know today. Their example emphasizes the value of analytics. However, it is not how to build a social media app from scratch because their beta version included too much functionality, which they ended up cutting out. However, overall, social media apps are not known for being really responsive to user’s feedback. Facebook’s history is a prominent example. Then there has been a backlash resulting from the Instagram update with profiles going vertical. Though, they are both owned by Meta. And these websites are infamous for tracking and knowing a lot about their users. But they consistently manage to make their users outraged.

The dilemma is that user engagement does not equal user satisfaction. Things that keep users engaged, and push the metrics and revenues up are not necessarily things users are happy about. 

Also, social media apps exist in a habit zone. So any change be it an update or improvement disrupts something usual for a user. This is why first reactions are never a good indicator of how successful it was. 

Bearing these two things in mind, social media app startups have to:

• be really selective about which analytics to collect. 
• Prioritize metrics of user engagement rather than user satisfaction. 
• In addition, some initial reactions might well be not worth considering at all.

Iterations

If you wonder how to build a social media app from scratch correctly, iterations must be incremental. This is because social media relies on habit-like behavior.  Especially, when a lot of emphasis is put on user-generated content. Imagine carefully posting and arranging your content for months, and then one moment… bam!, and it is completely messed up. This is actually the subject of outrage in response to the Instagram update. 

In addition, if your updates concern the user’s privacy or sensitive data, they better be optional. One often has to give a phone number, personal email, or surname to register. So imagine if it gets displayed to the general public or even your network without your permission. 

In addition, it is good to have enough white space in your initial MVP version. Users react negatively if the interface changes. So it is way better to just add a button or something into the white space rather than disrupt the previous layout. 

However, if the update is going to be big, offer an option to either ‘try’ a new update first, or ‘revert’ back to the old one for some period.

Cost Considerations: So how much does it cost to build a social media app?

If we talk about an MVP social media app, $15k-$20k can get you the core functionality of a simple social media app with an outsourced lean MVP development team. That means without live streaming, AI capabilities, or advanced security. In addition, this figure will be valid only for a mainstream tech stack. After all, the more mainstream the technology, the more ready-made and third-party solutions it has. And of course, the more chances are they’re open source.

The price tag for a mid-range social media app can be between $25k to $50k. In general, you already have to include some advanced features. So, if you ask how much does it cost to build a social media app, $50k is a healthy ballpark figure. 

In general, if you wonder how to build a social media app from scratch, you will have several expense categories:

• Core functionality;
• Advanced functionality;
• Admin panel;
• UI/UX;
• QA (quality assurance, testing);
• DevOps;
• Project management.

For a mobile app, below you can find an approximate breakdown in hours and US dollars for outsourcing options.

	min hrs	max hrs	min US$	max US$
Core functionality	409	918	14315	22950
Advanced functionality	84	168	2940	4200
Admin panel	140	280	4900	7000
UI/UX	98	196	3430	4900
QA (quality assurance, testing)	115	308	4025	7700
DevOps	42	91	1470	2275
Project management	119	238	4165	5950
TOTAL	1007 hrs	2199 hrs	$35,245	$76,965

Frequently Asked Questions on Building a Social Media App