With the increasing connectivity provided by online social networks, it is now commonplace to find communities of passionate individuals that share interests in everything from mountain biking to diet and carry with them an entirely new set of consumer priorities. But until recently, many of these niche groups were considered too small and dispersed to market and sell to effectively. As a result, these markets have gone largely untapped by manufacturers of any scale, but powered by the web’s social media platforms, this trend is starting to change.

Advertising Age points to a recent product offering from General Mills that goes against the prevailing wisdom that says, “Create a mass-appeal product; distribute it nationally; stoke demand with big-budget, shotgun-style advertising to spray the widest possible market; and hope sales hit the magical $100 million first-year benchmark.” By using a social media strategy that reaches out to the 2% of the American population that are allergic to gluten (as well as the 10% interested in avoiding it), the packaged goods giant is introducing a line of gluten-free baking products targeting this small audience.

This open communication stream is enabling these big brands to get more in touch with their customers’ needs and anticipate future demand with new products. The shift is also allowing brands to get into small markets earlier, as opposed to “relying on the old model of waiting to see if an upstart niche brand will be successful and then snatching it up” down the road.

On the entrepreneurial side of innovation, Fast Company notes the growth of what they refer to as “post-industrial microenterprise,” a personalized brand of manufacturing that resembles our reliance craftsman of the past. These small studios and shops are appealing to consumers with specific, often very custom requests and what’s most important, the willingness and means to pay premiums to get what they want. “There are folks making specialty sports car racing parts, specialty camera accessories, and specialty Jeep parts and more to small niche markets of enthusiasts that all have common and specific needs. There have also been folks setting up little job shops in their garage, bidding on machine projects via other sites. Some of these folks are refugees of America’s industries who are turning to these micromarkets as a means of sustenance.”

Needless to say, it’s exciting to see this range of opportunities that are opening up on the web for businesses of all scales with the advent of smarter, more social tools that help to reach an evolving demographic of niche consumers.