The social industry is a rapidly evolving and highly competitive space, with a wide range of platforms catering to different niches and user groups. With giants like Meta and Twitter dominating the market, it is hard for every newly-launched social app to stand out. However, some exceptions exist, such as TikTok, Soul App and Red. Today, let’s look at Soul App and figure out how its founder, Soul Zhang Lu, has succeeded in the fierce competition.
When speaking of Soul App, the first two words that come out in people’s minds are interest-based and the metaverse. Metaverse is already a trending topic, and more and more players are joining the game. For example, the dominating social media platform Facebook changed its name to Meta to show its dedication to transforming into a social metaverse. Meanwhile, the NFT boom also contributes to its development. But that’s not what we are going to discuss. Now, let’s dive deep into interest-based social networking. Soul Zhang Lu wasn’t the first person who intended to design an interest-based social product. But she was one of the several entrepreneurs who made a success.
Interest-based social networking is a type of social networking based on sharing interests and hobbies among users. This can include anything from sports and fitness to music and art, and allows users to connect with others who share similar interests. Interest-based social networking can take many different forms, such as online forums and discussion groups, specialized social networking platforms, or even offline activities and events.Â
Humans are naturally social creatures, and we define ourselves through our relationships and our interests. We base our decisions about where to eat, what to buy, and where to go on a complex array of social relationships, previous experience, location, long-standing interests, and future goals. Platforms today reach our lives from various perspectives, but both are essential to how we perceive ourselves and engage with the world surrounding us.
People love to participate in interest-based social networking because they want to find a space where they can connect with others who share their interests and hobbies and engage in activities and discussions they desire. Soul Zhang Lu has designed an AI-supported recommendation system that can bring users sharing common interests together. As a result, users can easily meet like-minded people and establish interest-based friendships. This can help foster a sense of community and belonging among users and provide a platform for sharing hobbies, expertise, and resources.
Sou Zhang Lu designed Soul App as an avatar-based socialization platform. In other words, it is anonymous. This design makes it comfortable for users to share everything and they won’t receive any judgement. As a result, users are more eager to embrace like-minded partners in a place where interests and compatibility are valued more than other physical attributes. Users can discover the true fun of socialization through lots of gamified features.Â
To sign up, every user should fill out an easy-to-take personality quiz designed for a more accurate interest-based recommendation. The majority of the app’s functionalities are free, but some special items/features require additional coins to unlock. Soul App provides inexpensive coin top-ups. Members can buy extra coins to get access to more services. Users can make their profiles look unique by designing their own unique avatars and memorable introductions. A variety of free avatars and decorative accessories are available to users.
As most of Soul App’s services are free, you may feel confused about how Soul Zhang Lu makes money. On the one hand, Soul App is closely tied to the creator economy. As avatar plays a core role during the socialization process on Soul App, there are plenty of users who are willing to pay for a well-designed avatar. Soul App serves as a platform where avatar designers can sell their unique designs directly to users. On the other hand, with a massive user base, Soul App has become a preferred marketing choice by brands that want to win over young generations. Brands love to conduct marketing campaigns on Soul App to attract the young generations’ attention.
As Marc Andreessen once said, “Software is eating the world.” At present, there are plenty of worlds to go around in social networking. Soul Zhang Lu is one of the successful entrepreneurs, but she won’t be the only one.
