HIVE Social App: Influencers Flocking To Instagram Alternative

The Hive Social app (official name: theHIVE Social) is the hottest new social platform you’ve never heard of.

Yes, there’s a new social networking app on the block that is poised to top the list of best Instagram alternatives.

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Influencers are already “buzzing” to it in droves, and it’s only been around for a few weeks.  

Why? From giving monetization ability to everyone, to giving everyone a fair crack at engagement, TheHIVE Social app is promising to be a serious game-changer in marketing. 

Read on to discover everything you need to know about the Hive Social app, plus some tips to start your new account with a bang.

Why Influencers Are Flocking To The HIVE Social App, New Instagram Alternative

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Now on to the Hive social app…

Over the past few months, more and more people are looking for alternatives to Instagram. 

For content creators and influencers, Instagram used to be the go-to place for connecting with our fans, while earning a living from paid sponsorships. But recently, it’s becoming more difficult to do both of these things.

Due to Instagram’s algorithm making it harder and harder for user content to actually be seen, as well as removing likes and shadowbanning left and right, IG isn’t the fun space it used to be. It is also harder than ever for new creators to grow and monetize on Instagram. 

And here’s where TheHIVE Social app pops up (seemingly overnight) to solve your Insta-woes. This user-friendly social app seems to be on a mission to solve your biggest IG pain points. And they are doing it almost perfectly. 

Is The Hive app going to be the best of all Instagram alternatives? Let’s explore some reasons why they just might. 

What is the Hive App?

TheHIVE social is a free social networking platform that is designed to look much like Instagram. It launched in October 2019, and can be downloaded for free via iTunes. 

It is currently available for iPhones only, with an Android version expected to come in 2020.

This alternative to Instagram app offers many of the same features that Instagram does (photo and video sharing, commenting) while adding additional features that offer a better platform for users – especially for content creators and businesses. 

Due to various features being removed or made more difficult over on Instagram, many Instagrammers are becoming frustrated.

Just last week Instagram removed the number of likes from appearing under a USA user’s Instagram account. (Likes have been gone from Canada and UK accounts for some time).

In that respect, TheHIVE Social Network couldn’t have launched at a better time. And its user base is growing rapidly.  

Pros of the Hive app

There are some really good reasons why this new social app is taking the Internet by storm.

Truly, there are so many awesome pros to the Hive app! Here are the stand-out pros that need to be noted.

What all the “buzz” is about:

You can post links ANYWHERE

That’s right. With TheHIVE app, you can share links anywhere you want. Directly into your captions, in comments, and throughout your bio. You can post as many affiliate links as you please. Let that sink in. 

With the Hive app you can literally monetize your account the moment you sign up.  This is the biggest news in the world of affiliate and influencer marketing right now.

This is the opposite of Instagram, in which users have at least 10k followers to be able to post a link in an Instagram Story (Swipe up feature), or perform a time-consuming workaround to add a shoppable feed. 

Here’s what my live post with a link in the caption looks like on the HIVE app:

^ that’s a link right in the caption – oh baby!

Also, come connect with me there. My account is @HerPaperRoute.

I’m really excited to test some affiliate marketing strategies on the new Hive social app, and see how it goes, as the platform grows and evolves.

I just signed up a few hours ago so I will need some more time to really dig into its money-making possibilities. You can be sure I will share my findings and revenue stats with you via the HerPaperRoute Member’s Lounge weekly email.

You can join my Member’s Lounge for free right here, to stay in the loop.

I also have an influencer list, where I connect brands with influencers in my community. Let me know where to send your invite code by filling out the form below:

Likes Are Encouraged, Not Hidden

Instagram recently hid how many likes a post gets. This has annoyed Influencers and creators who have previously set their advertising rates based on how much engagement their posts get, in likes.

Brands and influencers have had to tweak how their Instagram marketing and campaign efforts are measured as a result.  But over on the Hive social app, likes are visible and encouraged on the platform. 

Content is displayed in chronological order

By displaying photos in chronological order in the feed and in search results, everyone has a chance to shine. Chronological order allows users to see what has been posted most recently, by everyone, not just what has had the most popularity.

This is exactly what disgruntled Instagram users have been asking for for a long time. The Instagram algorithm favors content and users who have high engagement, prioritizing their content above others in search results.

This, unfortunately, results in lesser-known users never getting a chance to have their content seen beyond a small pool of people.

TheHIVE  app aims to solve Instagram’s problem by displaying content in a most-recently-posted order of all user’s content. This is important because if it works, it could give a fair chance to everyone on the app to have a slice of the pie. And as a business owner, this could be the key in finally having your brand get some exposure to new audiences.

Post GIFs & Stickers With Ease

Not sure what to post on your new profile? Let a funny animated image from the built-in GIF and sticker library do the talking for you. 

You can add music to your profile

Remember Myspace? Remember how you could set a song that would play when people visited your page? A song that perfectly illustrated how cool, emo and not-mainstream you were?

*cue I Write Sins Not Tragedies – Panic At The Disco* ….video posted below, you’re welcome 😉

As an unexpected feature, TheHIVE app claps back and gives you this ability. 

Cons of the Hive app

The following cons aren’t exactly ‘cons’ per se, but rather small growing pains that would happen to any app going viral overnight, and can be fixed pretty easily.

With the rapid growth of this brand new Instagram alternative app,  it’s fair to assume that they weren’t 100% prepared for every single detail. 

The layout of the post editor needs fixing

When you go to add a new post, the area to write in is teeny tiny. You can only see about 20 characters at a time (pictured below) so you need to scroll up and down constantly to make sure your caption looks right.

I like to be able to see what the full caption will look like while editing, so I can check for spelling errors and make sure my hashtags are right. With the way the post editor is laid out right now, that’s not possible. 

There is no image editor

Whether you used Instagram’s filters or not, you probably used some of their native image editing tools from time to time. Such as the sharpen tool, crop or exposure settings. 

You won’t find any of those things on the Hive app. With the Hive, you just upload an image from your phone and post it – no editing of the image possible. So all the more reason to get Lightroom and edit your images ahead of time. 

It’s a bit glitchy right now

As outlined above in all of the ‘pros’ this new app shows a lot of potential for being the perfect Instagram alternative. But at this moment, the app itself has some glitchiness where some pages are slow to load.

Since the app has only been around a few weeks, we can give it the benefit of doubt and assume that they have a team working to fix this. 

They could stand to change their brand name

I think that changing the app’s name would be something to consider. There are already a handful of other social networks and apps called Hive, the Hive, Hive Social and so on. There is even a security incident response platform (SIRP) exactly named theHIVE. 

As it stands, the name theHIVE makes it pretty tough to find in the marketplace right now. But who knows, if this growing Instagram alternative platform becomes a massive company they could just buy out all the other apps using the name and dominate the marketplace themselves. 

But even still, THEHIVE is already trademarked by a clothing company. 

They need a proper website & TLD

The Hive Social app is running great, but their associated website isn’t loading in most browsers right now due to an error with their SSL.

This could just be a result of them having this sudden overnight success and not really being prepared for it. 

Also, their website uses a .org domain which is odd for a tech startup company. I could see them changing that in the future to use something higher level and modern if they stay around.

TLD (top-level domains) still include .org, although usually only used for non-profit businesses. .com, .co and even .io are all more suited for this type of business. 

4 Tips For Creating A Pro Hive Social Account

1. Make your bio stand out

You have space to fill out a bio on your page. Include who you are, who you help and how people can get what you sell/offer. You can add more than one link in your bio, too so don’t forget to link to your opt-in freebie. 

• How do you add a banner image at the top? When you click to edit your profile, you will see a big gray background behind your profile picture. Click that background to upload an image from your phone, which will be the banner image on your profile. 

2. Post a welcome photo

Everyone is new on the app, so introduce yourself! You could make your first Hive Social post a ‘welcome post’, letting this new community see who you are.

I wouldn’t recommend posting a commercial post/affiliate post right off the bat. Post something personal first and warm up to the business stuff. 

3. Make friends

Your new profile isn’t going to grow on its own. Go out there and make some new friends.

Click the ‘search’ icon to see recent posts where you can discover new people to follow. Put yourself out there and like, comment and engage with people. Be human.

To discover more, click on the ‘followers’ or ‘following’ tab on someone’s profile to see all the people they follow and are followed by. 

4. Use Hashtags

Hashtags work in search on theHIVE app, so use them. Although some of the most popular Instagram hashtags don’t yet lead to any search results, they will in time. 

The HIVE Social – Influencers Are Flocking To New Instagram Alternative App – Conclusion

Overall, TheHIVE Social Network offers users incredibly useful features and solves some of Instagram’s biggest pain points. I think this new social app appears to be a strong contender for the coveted spot of #1 Instagram alternative in 2020.

Over the years we have seen many social networks come and go, so we will have to see how this plays out. But currently, I’m really liking it and enjoying being active there. Come and connect with me on the Hive App, my account is @HerPaperRoute.

Let me know what you think about this new social networking platform in the comments!

Do you think it will stick around? Do you think it will replace Instagram altogether?

Will you use it to make more money this year? Let me know. 

Be sure to enroll in Paid To Post to learn how to make money on social media as a brand ambassador. 

Also, before you go, check out my brand new blog media Kit Templates. This is the perfect thing you need to look super professional when you reach out to brands to sponsor content on your brand new HIVE social account. 

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As promised, Panic At The Disco

Follow along on Instagram!