Time at the top is usually limited. In the case of social media, the stay at the top may be even shorter for businesses trying to capitalize on trends. Facebook, Inc. rose to prominence in the previous decade, beating out MySpace LLC to become the top social networking website. Now, amidst growing criticism over its marketing strategies, some are turning to a new social network named Ello, Inc.

While there are plenty of analysts who say Ello is no threat to Facebook, it is not hard to find some who say it is. If the invite-only, ad-free social network wanted to topple Facebook (its founders say it does not), here are three ways it could get the job done.

3 ways Ello could topple Facebook

1. Stay Ad free – It is easy for a web-based business to start out ad free if it has venture capital investors, but eventually, it will need to monetize the site. Can Ello find a way to make money on the web without selling user information to third parties? It might be able to survive by selling premium services or by allowing companies to pay to connect with willing customers, but survival is a long way away from flourishing. If it can stay ad free, however, it will have a big advantage over Facebook.

2. Make privacy a priority – Many of the disgruntled Facebook users who might be willing to try Ello dislike Facebook’s ever-changing privacy policies and sometimes less-than-ethical use of user data. While Internet users may be overreaching in their expectation of privacy in social media, they nonetheless expect privacy, or at least the semblance thereof. The more Ello markets itself as a privacy-friendly alternative to Facebook, the more converts it can win.

3. Continue the counterculture – In an age where both sides of the spectrum consider themselves to be alternatives to the “norm”, a company can go far if it convinces people it represents the counterculture. Facebook is definitely the norm, and Ello can at least thrive in the shadows if it continues practices like having a “manifesto” on its site and championing the LGBTQ community after Facebook’s “real-names” policy alienated transgender people who wanted to use gender-bending names. If Ello can continue riding the “we’re not like them” wave, it might put a dent in Facebook’s social empire.

Ello has been catching on very fast, even managing to process 31,000 new signups per hour at one point. To be successful, it will need money to continue building infrastructure to keep up with its rapid growth. If it can do that and keep users thinking it is a sound alternative to Facebook, it might compete, even if competing is not its goal.