When it comes to social media sites, there are so many options. Everyone knows the big ones: Facebook, Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, YouTube. So I thought it would be interesting to share some lesser known social media sites that are gaining momentum and that offer a new social twist. In some cases, I have noted how these sites could potentially be used by small businesses to engage with their customers in a new way and differentiate themselves in the increasingly crowded social media space.

1 – ArchetypeME

Through a short quiz, this site helps discover your archetype and proposes content that would be interesting to you based on your profile. You can connect with friends and learn about their archetypes and preferences. Provides a novel approach to both content discovery and socializing.

2 – RebelMouse

RebelMouse consolidates the various stories / photos / videos you share online across different sites into a single space simply called a page (not very original). This allows you to direct your followers to your RebelMouse page (or pages – you can have more than one) or embed the pages directly on your website – creating dynamic content that updates regularly based on your activities on the bigger social media sites. RebelMouse is hoping this fresh content will be appealing to both individuals, as well as businesses. For a small fee, you can use your own URL.

3 – Storify

Instead of using your content to create your page, Storify lets you find content to create your story. You can use keywords to search several social sites (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, G+, YouTube) and come up with content for your story. You would then pull in the most relevant content (tweets, stories, photos, videos), add your own text if you wish to narrate the story and publish it on any one of your social sites, web site, or send it by e-mail. As an example, businesses can use this as an original way to tell a story of what others are saying about their products or services, or report on an event they attended or organized.

4 – About.me

About.me is like your digital business card. It presents you (or your business) on one page with links to all your social sites, a short bio, a few buttons to interact (favorite, e-mail, share, etc.), and a big beautiful background image that you can create. It is a great alternative to a full-blown website for freelancers and solopreneurs looking to promote themselves and gain exposure.

5 – ListGeeks

If sharing is caring, then you can show you care by sharing lists of things with your friends. Enter ListGeeks – it allows you to create your own lists of things by adding your own content (from websites) or using content from other people’s lists into your own list and sharing this with others. Sharing. Geeks. Lists. It’s almost too much for the mind to take in. From a business point of view, it could be an alternative to infographics, for sharing data internally and externally (ie. top 10 products, or most popular colors, or countries to which we ship the most products).

6 – Storylane

Storylane is probably the most personal of these seven sites in that it asks its users to write their own stories to share based on questions Storylane asks. Other users respond by sharing emotions (was impressed, likes it, wants it, agreed, was moved, …) and their own stories to the same question. Definitely a site for the more creative-minded seeking to make meaningful connections.

7 – 43things

43Things is social goal-setting site. You set your goal and 43Things will show you how many other people are working towards that same goal. You can discuss the goals, share how-to stories, and monitor progress with each other. Business might consider setting shared goals with their followers (ie. weight loss for a dietician, or fund-raising for a charity, …)

Which one is your favorite lesser known social media site?