The exclusive, invite only social platform Ello has been the talk of the town in the world of social media. This network claims to be ad free and its fans are calling it the anti-Facebook. So, why does a social media marketer care? 

What is Ello

Ello is a simple, ad free social media platform. The interface is excruciatingly simple with little to no design details. It is invite only, and it is blowing up with nearly 4,000 sign-ups per hour. 

“We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment,” it proclaims. “Not a tool to deceive, coerce and manipulate — but a place to connect, create and celebrate life.” Ello

It is refreshing to connect with each other without bringing in commerce, even to professional marketers, but advertising cannot be THAT undesirable, right? Ello cannot kill Facebook. Right, guys? Ah, fear not my fellow social media addicts, Facebook will still remain intact, but it did help fuel the explosion. 

The LGBTQ community met with Facebook over specific instances where profiles were deactivated due to not following naming policies. This means if you were a drag artist using your performing name you may have lost your account. Musicians are also up in arms about this situation. Then there was Ello who gladly welcomed those fed up with Facebook. 

Ello is branded as a platform for the people. Will it last? 

Ad Free

Back up! This is a tech blog, you may say, not a place for your talk of social platform revolutions! Ad free may put a bad taste in those trying to expose their business or leaving it up to professionals, such as Blue Archer. However, this may end up being something better than we thought. Businesses can definitely join Ello, actually, anyone with an invite can join. So what does Ello mean when it says it is ad free? 

“It’s totally okay for companies to join Ello, and they can put anything they want up on their pages. If they want to, they can fill them with ads. But Ello won’t charge for such ads or sell user data or let brands pay to target users or otherwise increase the reach of their posts." Budnitz told the New York Times. 

This is starting to paint a more desirable picture. You can still create an online presence for your, but you do not have to pay for your followers.

Facebook  is constantly making updates that make organic reach less and less likely. Business owners are forced to pour money into paid advertising for exposure. Twitter and LinkedIn social ads can take a huge bite out of your budget. Wouldn't it be nice if we could follow the content is king formula? In my personal experience, I have had the most organic success with Twitter by building relationships and utilizing Twitter Chats. 

Ello may be an opportunity for businesses with something worth sharing, a product worth buying, and guts to appeal to a young, tech savvy, progressive audience. 

How it Works

This platform is still in the beta stage so there will be more to come. As of right now, it is painfully simple with a lack of design. 

Features

• Invite only, ask your friends to get you in on the secret
• Love button which is comparable to favorite or liking something 
• You can post text updates, images, and GIFs
• You may use the @ just like on Twitter! 

Coming Soon 

• A search bar to find your friends
• Blocking features to sort out your enemies
• Audio and video posts 

Tweet your thoughts on this new platform to us! @BlueArcherPGH. Maybe you will even receive an exclusive Ello invite!