Everything we see online has been fed to us. The shift from social media as a follower-driven space to an algorithmic recommendation engine isn’t new and we’ve lived in this world for years. The real question isn’t about whether feeds are controlled by algorithms. It’s about how brands can stand out when every piece of content is optimized, corporate, and trying to sell you something.
The answer? You don’t compete in the feed. You compete in the group chat.
The Power of Cozy Spaces
Group chats, private stories, and DMs are the new prime real estate in digital culture. This is where decisions are made, plans are formed, and brands get either clowned or championed. The feed might introduce a brand, but the group chat decides whether it’s actually worth something.
This is why the brands that rely on traditional social media strategies (pumping money into ads, pushing broad influencer campaigns, and chasing trends, etc.) end up feeling like noise. It’s not enough to be seen. You have to be talked about. And you have to be talked about in the right places.
How to Earn Your Spot in the Chat
Winning the group chat isn’t about just showing up. It’s about being worth mentioning. And to be worth mentioning, you have to stand for something.
Brands that try to be for everyone end up as background noise. The ones that create culture take a stance, have a distinct voice, and make choices that spark real conversation. The easiest way to know if your brand is doing this? Ask yourself if people are debating whether they love or hate you. If they are, you’re doing something right.
Think about the brands that consistently get dropped into group chats. It’s the ones with strong collaborations, creative activations, and a clear sense of identity. They’re the ones that don’t just sell a product, but sell a perspective.
Influencers Still Matter, But They Have to Feel Real
The influencer economy isn’t dead. But the era of mass influencer marketing is. Gen Z is not interested in staged endorsements that feel like paid posts. The best influencer marketing now happens when brands integrate into real moments. It is the outfit check before going out. The group chat debate over where to eat. The Snap story where someone casually drops a brand mention because it actually matters to them.
Instead of chasing macro influencers with giant followings, brands should focus on creators who have cultural weight within specific communities. The right creator can make a brand feel like a natural part of the conversation, rather than just another ad.
The best partnerships show up where culture happens. KITH’s collaboration with Magnolia Bakery created a moment that felt nostalgic and fresh at the same time. Stake’s work with Drake created a whodunnit mystery that took over the internet for a week. 16 Handles partnered with Danny Duncan to tap into an audience that felt deeply connected to his humor and personality. These are not just sponsorships. They are cultural signals. They tell consumers, “This is a brand worth your time and attention in a busy world.”
Proof of Purchase and Cultural Affinity Win Every Time
The brands that win the group chat aren’t just talked about. They’re actually used. Seeing a friend post a receipt or a Venmo transaction for a brand does more for credibility than any ad campaign ever could.
This is why proof of purchase is the ultimate brand signal. It’s one thing for someone to say they like a brand. It’s another for them to spend their own money on it. The brands that create repeat customers – whether it’s through exclusive product drops, limited collabs, or experiences worth showing off – are the ones that become a real part of people’s lives.
A Final Thought: If You’re for Everyone, You’re for No One
The biggest mistake a brand can make today is trying to be universally appealing. Bland, neutral messaging does not cut through in a world where everything is algorithmically optimized and focus-grouped to death. The brands that dominate the group chat do so because they stand for something interesting, build niche cultures that become mainstream, and give people a reason to care, or at least stop scrolling.
Focus on winning the group chat by taking that exact approach. To bring us into this for a moment, our drops aren’t announcements about rewards. They’re our Super Bowl, every week. Our text announcements are ridiculous, unhinged, and designed to make people laugh, screenshot, and share. People do not just Claim rewards. They trade them, flex them, and send screenshots to their friends. That’s how we separate ourselves from big ad platforms and rewards apps that lack real identity.
It is not about reach. It is about real estate. And the most valuable real estate is not in the feed. It is in the conversations that actually matter.
Luke deWilde is head of insights at Claim, a customer acquisition social app. He can be reached at [email protected].
