"In 2025 we are going to see brands think community-first,” according to Jennifer Quigley-Jones, CEO of Digital Voices. One place they will do this is on Instagram Broadcast Channels, the one-to-many messaging feature that allows users to directly engage with followers. As of last week, subscribers of the exclusive direct messaging (DM) channels can now communicate with the creators and brands they follow, similar to how they might use Discord or Patreon.
The move demonstrates how important community-building is for creators and brands alike.
We’ve already identified Broadcast Channels as a potential marketing avenue for brands and evidence of social media’s greater move toward messaging and community-building. The new feature shows Instagram’s confidence in those trends.
“[Head of Instagram] Adam Mosseri has made it clear that the fastest-growing form of engagement on Instagram is private conversations including DMs and Broadcast Channels,” said Keith Bendes, vice president of strategy at Linqia. “This move therefore seems like Instagram just leaning further into what consumers are showing them is where they increasingly prefer to engage.”
Building and celebrating customer communities should not be limited to Broadcast Channels, or even to Instagram. The shift toward algorithmic short video feeds in places like TikTok and Instagram has made users hungry for channels where they can engage directly with creators and other users, rather than have content surfaced and fed to them.
Brands can satisfy this want and build community by offering livestreams, direct messaging, and newsletters or working with creators who use these tactics. But in order for consumers to actually want to engage with these communities, brands need to know how their consumers communicate.
“Each of these communities has their own memes, trends, and even language. For brands to cut through and win customers, they need to speak their language and appeal to their interests,” said Quigley-Jones.
Brands will need to be strategic about their creator partnerships. Instagram's Broadcast Channels are set up to reach the subsection of a creator’s audience that opts into using them. That means brand partnerships within features like this will reach a smaller, but more engaged audience than a sponsored post.
“Similar to Facebook Groups, it means brands will have to pay attention to which Broadcast Channels offer the best opportunities to reach their target consumers and work with those creators,” Bendes said.
Brands that can figure out how to effectively use Broadcast Channels and similar community-building tools have the opportunity to target an engaged, self-selected audience.
“Brands should take advantage of this community space by offering exclusive discounts to a creator’s audience that are only shared on their Broadcast Channel,” said Quigley-Jones. “They could also use Broadcast Channels to offer a creator's community the chance to attend brand events, enter competitions, or access limited-time offers,” said Quigley-Jones
Community-focused spaces are also a good place to make exclusive announcements or glean consumer feedback.
“With this new feature, brands can actively engage their fans by asking what they want to see more of, what they’d like less of, and other indications of their needs and preferences,” said Bianca Lev-Mathias, associate connections director at VML.
This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.