Social media success was once defined by public stamps of approval, but now brands are recognizing that in-feed engagement is both an inaccurate and incomplete approach to measuring impact. Reaching consumers within their DMs has emerged as a growing strategy for many marketers.

• Almost half (48%) of 18- to 24-year-olds said they had messaged someone on social media in the last week, per an October Ypulse survey.
• Snapchat brought ads to private chats last year.
• Messaging app Discord is launching a new ad product in June, offering brands more opportunities to engage with consumers.

“People are so used to liking content out of habit, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they connect with it,” said influencer marketing consultant Lindsey Gamble, who pointed to the lack of privacy that comes with in-feed engagement.

Brands can benefit from reworking both their organic content strategies to find their footing in the DMs.

Feeding private channels

Platforms like Meta haven’t been shy about the value of private messaging. Instagram introduced Broadcast Channel replies last year, which allows subscribers to interact directly with creators and brands, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said that shares are more important than likes or comment counts in expanding reach.

“What would get someone to share this?” is the question that brands should be asking themselves when taking to social media, said Gamble.

“Sometimes it’s not the product messaging or features. It’s about creating content around a trend that’s related to culture,” he said.

Positioning content for private channels and threads will also shift influencer strategies, said Christina Westley, head of influencer marketing at PepsiCo.

“As influencer marketing continues to become more community-centric, brands will learn to release creative control to talent in order to create content that audiences want to share because it feels natural,” said Westley.

While in-feed success is often defined by link clicks, brands can embrace direct messaging as they account for a more complex consumer journey, Gamble said. Just 1 in 5 marketers are confident in last-click attribution, according to an October 2024 EMARKETER survey.

Creating direct consumer touchpoints

Direct messages also represent an opportunity for brands to connect directly with consumers.

“Comment for a link in your DMs” is a common practice from brands that are looking to Instagram as a conversion driver, said Natasha Brito, CEO of Austere.

“This has been highly effective for brands, influencers, and creators looking to take engagement past the post and straight to getting people off platform and into a sales funnel,” said Brito, who added that using DMs to nurture leads feels “high-touch and ultra effective for brand affinity.”

Leaning on existing relationships

Instead of chasing a broader audience’s approval, brands can approach social media as an opportunity for nurturing the relationships they already have, which is where private channels can come into play, said Westley.

“While the ad placement on DMs will largely be determined by platform capabilities, I think what we can expect is more ambassador partnerships, where brands will look for influencers to represent them even beyond posts contracted on the feed,” she said.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.