What: Once considered fringe with audiences not interested in fashion or beauty, platforms like Reddit, Discord and Twitch are attracting the attention of digital marketers aiming to diversify their channel mix away from Instagram.

Why it is important: As frustrations grow over the rising costs and diminishing returns from advertising on the Facebook and Instagram, marketers are casting a wider net. Platforms including Reddit, Discord and Twitch, all of which once had a reputation as digital homes primarily for young men and gamers, are getting a closer look from fashion and beauty brands.

Reddit has long been a place for engaged digital communities to gather. But fashion and beauty brands are increasingly tapping its power, too. The platform says its top fashion and style communities have 20 million monthly visitors. Reddit users interested in fashion are 41% more likely to visit a retailer site weekly than the average internet user, according to internal Reddit data. Meanwhile, Reddit users make nine times faster purchase decisions and spend 15% more, according to a study Reddit commissioned with Vero Analytics.

Users on Twitch — the Amazon-owned livestreaming gaming and entertainment platform that counts 30 million daily users — are three times more likely than the average consumer to wear something they saw their favourite influencer or celebrities wearing, according to the platform’s Research Power Group.

Resale platform StockX advertises on Reddit and is a Twitch partner. “There’s just a more rich, emotional connection between us and some of the communities we engage with on some of these platforms,” said StockX vice president of customer acquisition Mitzi Emrich.

Discord is the platform that is perhaps the least familiar to fashion and beauty brands. It could be considered as the first toe in the metaverse for brands. There are no brand profiles or homepages, but instead “servers,” customisable digital spaces that offer a combination of voice, video, images and text. The goal of any Discord server is to bring together a community, and for brands, that means offering them discovery, education, customer service or experiences such as panels.

While brands like AllSaints, 1stDibs and Nars are active on Discord, there are no paid ad tools on the platform yet. Discord is testing influencer monetisation. Meanwhile, fashion brands can create digital goods that users can “purchase” using points they’ve redeemed on the platform (though they are not NFTs or tied to the blockchain).

Finding Fashion Consumers Beyond Instagram