How Off-Channel Commenting Gets You in the 'For You' Feed

In Part 1 we explored how brands are increasingly looking beyond their own social channels to build awareness and cultivate brand affinity within broader online communities. 

By contributing to comment sections of viral posts, even when unrelated to their category, brands find new ways to connect with diverse audiences that aren’t engaging with them on their own channels. This off-channel engagement helps break through algorithms and creates opportunities for brands to become part of trending conversations and build new relationships with subcultures that align with its mission and values.

While navigating off-channel engagement might initially feel overwhelming, especially when deciding where to start, the impact is undeniable. Below, we’ve outlined several strategies that can be implemented easily to help your brand engage with social media users off-channel immediately. These strategies allow you to leverage organic conversations and create meaningful interactions that go beyond traditional brand communication.

Let Your Brand’s Voice Take Center Stage

Commenting, whether on your own channels or off-platform, is the perfect moment to let your brand’s tone of voice shine. Whether your personality is funny, weird, or witty, this is your chance to humanize the brand and create a relatable connection with your target audience. 

Slim Jim mastered this by making witty comments on user posts that directly referenced or featured their products as a core strategy. Their playful, zeitgeist-savvy responses drove millions to their page, showing the power of a brand voice that resonates. As Evan Weissbrot, CXO at 180, said, “If there’s a post that looks like our audience would like it, we are going to be the first [brand] to comment.”

Prioritize Impact Over Volume

Brands don’t need to comment on every post to build an impactful off-channel commenting strategy. The key is adding value to the conversation, being personable, and avoiding self-promotion. Whether engaging with viral content or posts featuring your brand, focus on thoughtful, authentic interactions that leave an impression. 

Starry excels by favoring quality over quantity, as seen when a single comment earned over 26,000 likes and “prompting several additional comments’ worth of banter and another flurry of likes” from the video’s creator. According to Starry’s marketing lead, Michael Smith, their strategy is to lean in when it adds value. “We should be really liberal in how often we're willing to lean in. Because it’s either going to give us a shot to do something that’s a lot of fun, or it’s going to make us better the next time that we engage.”

Qulture in the Press - Modern Retail

Modern Retail’s article “Scarcity and growth are oppositional: How the streetwear brand Supreme lost its luster”, documents this once cultural icon, Supreme, who has experienced a significant decline in recent years, culminating in its sale to EssilorLuxottica for $1.5 billion - a loss from its previous $2.1 billion valuation. 

 This downfall is attributed to the brand's increasing accessibility and corporatization under VF Corp's ownership, which led to consecutive revenue drops, decreased search volume, and waning popularity on resale platforms. Supreme's journey from an independent New York City skate shop to a brand changing hands multiple times has diluted its exclusivity and community feel. 

Quynh Mai, CEO of Qulture, states: "When Supreme was on Lafayette Street back in the day, it was a skater hangout, a clubhouse of sorts. When it scaled and opened stores, no matter how magnificent, it lost its community and with it, its cool."

Read full article HERE