In the years between its launch and eventual special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, Elon Musk realigned X into a more widely permissible public forum, and a range of alternative social media venues stepped up to cover other gaps in consumer preference. Unfortunately for shareholders, this leaves Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology in a tricky position moving forward.
Trading at a truly shocking 700x revenue with rapidly dwindling download rates, Truth Social is far from the top pick among alternative social media stocks in today’s market — but these three may offer improved prospects.
Rumble (RUM)
Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) is the social media stock most directly analogous to Truth Social. Branding itself as a YouTube alternative that platforms alternative political pundits alongside more mundane (and traditional) video fare means that Rumble can target multiple consumer swaths. By including disenfranchised mainstream platform refugees alongside more mainstream watchers diversifying their viewing habits, Rumble narrowly targets both sales streams in a recipe for success as the social media stock grows.
Rumble’s multi-niche targeting plan is already bearing fruit a few months after closing a deal with Barstool Sports to offer viewers a full range of the sport site’s video content alongside advertising opportunities for both parties. Rumble’s performance is improving across multiple indicators, including monthly active users, active live viewership, and app downloads. Likewise, the company’s end-of-year revenue more than doubled in 2023 compared to 2022. We’ll need to wait a few weeks before Rumble posts first-quarter financials. Still, if other leading indicators prove reliable, investors should expect big things from this social media stock moving forward.
Braze (BRZE)
Social media advertising technology is undergoing a silent but steady series of transformations as digital consumer trends evolve and influencer or creator-centric media replaces legacy fare like cable. While venture capital continues to flow into private adtech companies, publicly-traded Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) stands out as an up-and-coming social media stock perfectly positioned to capitalize on these emerging marketing trends. Braze helps brands to manage multichannel marketing across all major digital platforms with a fresh and unique approach.
Unlike legacy adtech companies that target consumer segments with aggressive campaigns, Braze navigates consumer engagement more effectively. It manages curated journeys accompanying users across platforms, providing a personalized and unique experience. This personalization fosters a mental connection between the user and the brand, often converting potential customers quickly. This effectiveness is why prominent names like Match (NASDAQ:MTCH), NASCAR, and Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) take advantage of Braze’s unique services.
Braze isn’t yet profitable and admittedly trades at a premium, though far less overvalued than Trump Media & Technology, considering it trades at “just” 8x sales. Still, Braze is a leader in emerging advertising trends, and early entrants like Braze often need a bit of time to build momentum and generate word of mouth among top-dollar corporate clients.
Meta Platforms (META)
Though a far cry from alternative social media stocks, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is rapidly right-sizing operations and, by watching X’s growth post-Musk, may be positioning itself to realign company values with changing consumer preferences for freer speech and greater diversity of opinion. Though often tagged as a platform for Boomers, Meta is on track to remain dominant among Gen Z audiences, which may increase further as TikTok’s short-term future comes into question.
While Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision has faced delays, shifting towards virtual reality as a staple in future digital and social interactions seems inevitable. Despite a dip in interest in metaverse-style fashion shows and real estate ventures due to technological and accessibility challenges, demand in this sector is steady (if not spectacular). To that end, Meta’s metaverse initiative stands poised to dominate the burgeoning social media landscape even if initial rollout operations were a bit premature.
When you add its forward-thinking outlook to its existing base of over 10 million active advertisers who pay premium rates for visibility on users’ feeds, Meta clearly ranks as a top social media stock to anchor a diversified portfolio including other, alternative social media offerings.
On the date of publication, Jeremy Flint held a long position in RUM. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Jeremy Flint, an MBA graduate and skilled finance writer, excels in content strategy for wealth managers and investment funds. Passionate about simplifying complex market concepts, he focuses on fixed-income investing, alternative investments, economic analysis, and the oil, gas, and utilities sectors. Jeremy’s work can also be found at www.jeremyflint.work.