When do creators and brands need private social channels?

When Jaclyn Forbes began her career as a YouTuber at 16, she devoted her channel to product reviews, beauty hacks and special effects makeup tutorials. But as both her audience and comfort level with public content grew, Forbes began posting more than just the tips and tricks of her craft. While makeup is still the foundation of her content, she has also evolved into more of a lifestyle creator with a public personality. 

At this point, according to Forbes, creating a more private channel devoted to a smaller group of people likely wouldn’t change the tone of her content.

“You could spend 100 hours overanalyzing content in hopes of a viral video, and that’s the one that doesn’t perform,” she said. “It's those moments that you feel like you shouldn’t be sharing that resonate.” 

Social platforms are hard at work to counter any criticism of social media as an artificial hub of constant comparison. Snapchat made this clear with its "Less Social Media. More Snapchat" Super Bowl ad this year, and Instagram has made an ode to the “Finsta” era, where users would create “fake” or secondary accounts to post more personal content within a smaller community, by testing its product Flipside. TikTok was also spotted testing a new feature that facilitates more engagement between creators and paying subscribers. 

Platforms aren’t the only players in the space working overtime to stand out. As creators and brands work to diversify their reach and remain memorable in a never ending stream of content, they are weighing the benefits of unrestricted access and posts that cater to a smaller group of superfans. 

“There’s so much content being pushed out, and I think consumers have a bit of fatigue over that,” said Ali Grant, partner and CMO of influencer marketing and talent management agency The Digital Dept. “People really want that intimate dialogue and 1-on-1 conversation.”

Balancing intimacy and reach 

Building brand awareness while eventually offering additional value to a more devoted or niche audience is something both brands and creators should consider, according to Grant. In 2018, Starbucks committed to community building by launching the Leaf Rakers Society, a Facebook group and “safe space” dedicated to Pumpkin Spice lovers who want to celebrate Fall all year long. Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez’ makeup brand that is known for its mental health advocacy, launched a “Comfort Club” in January where fans can access a library of meditations and yoga flows.

For both macro creators and household brands, secondary channels give them space to explore multidimensional identities. Similarly to brands, creators are learning to strike a balance between intimacy and reach. The power of micro creators is a consistent conversation in the creator marketing space—a 2023 study from Sprout Social found that micro-influencers see a 6% engagement rate on Instagram, while mega-influencers see engagement rates around 1.97%.

Bashel Lewis, a lifestyle creator and social strategist at Nielsen, said he knows the majority of his audience of mostly New Yorkers from “a few degrees of separation.” While posting personal content all on one channel has driven Lewis’ success as a creator, he said that the magic of community could get lost on bigger pages and be replenished with secondary accounts. 

“It seems like Instagram is trying to help bigger creators, as it’s no secret that micro creatives have such high engagement rates from being so connected to a smaller audience,” he said.

Building a multifaceted footprint

Forbes, who admits that “my 'Finsta' is, unfortunately or unfortunately, my real account,” said she’s found ways to create offline relationships by posting about vegan pop ups in the Greater Toronto Area. For Forbes, building smaller communities can come from maintaining a central public presence that doesn’t compromise her overall visibility. 

“Does Flipside even have a place in the modern day world when people now post TikToks on their toilets?” she said. “What’s the point when consumers want to view raw and authentic content?” 

From the talent management perspective, Grant sees Flipside and secondary channels as a feature for creators to try, as testing out new content strategies in an ever changing social landscape is crucial. 

“This is a really big step in the right direction of building an intimate community,” said Grant. “It won’t work for every creator, as it’s more time and investment to create content for a separate channel, but my suggestion is to always test and play with it.”